Day 5 - Rolling Hills

Route: Fay-les-etangs to Forges-les-eaux
Distance: 67 km
Ride Quality : Good
Accommodation : Sofhotel

Our rule for the day was, "Don't get lost, don't get fall." To be fair, it was still early when we set these rules so our grammer may not have been perfect. But overall we succeeded!

The night at the B&B was lovely, except for the doves that decided to be noisy ridiculously early. Who knew doves could make such a racket! Breakfast was the typical breads and jam and cheese, with some yogurt that Saroja really enjoyed! We hit the road around 9:00 and made good time. Now that we're out of the bigger cities and towns, navigating becomes much easier as there are simply fewer choices. There were still some issues with Garmi where he seemed to want to keep us on the busy roads (we ignored him), but seeing as we avoided the mud pits and other random paths, I still declare it a win. Although no navigational aid could save us from the rolling hills. They were fun to go down, but such a slog to go up, especially with the trailer! It was also really windy too. Most when we got to the open areas at the top of the hills, just when you think it's safe...

We got rained on in the morning, but it wasn't too bad since not all of our stuff had dried from being washed yesterday. Wet feet were the standard for the day, although the afternoon was sunny and warm. There were even some cuckoo birds along the way! We decided to stop for a full meal for lunch and save the baguette later, so we found a steak house in Germer - de-fly. So much food!!! But so worth it. Saroja ate more than I did!

(It should be mentioned here that apparently French people don't eat vegetables. In fact,  until we ate at the steak house,  where the steaks were served with side salads,  our diet has consisted entirely of bread,  cheese,  and meat. Saroja has not been overly happy about this but the starvation claus clearly states that if starving,  you will eat meat.)

Tonight we're staying in a bike-friendly hotel (part of the official bike friendly lodging list). Not a bad place for a cycle trip, but probably not where you'd want to stay as a non-cycle tourist. They do have sheds in the back garden specifically for bikes though, which is nice peace of mind. Forges-les-eaux is a nice town. We picked up some groceries for a delicious meal from your stereotypical small-town grocer, where they pick out what you want and package it all up for you. When we said we wanted 10 or 15 cherry tomatoes, he even counted them individually for us! Such a civilized way to buy groceries.

Tomorrow we're heading to Dieppe along part of the Avenue Verte, the official cycle route from London (via Dieppe) to Paris. This part is mostly along abandoned rail lines, so we're hoping for more flatness. Fingers crossed!!

-Penguin