Week one

Huge thanks to MarkP for lending me his maps and gpx track. Lovely weather for poolside all week. At least it's been mainly flattish and mainly on cycle paths. The cyclepaths I've been on so far are way better than most in England. Met and chatted to a fair few cycle tourists in the SW. The French take the smoking ban seriously even in rural areas and move to just outside the bar door to smoke while continuing their conversations with those indoors, or watching the game. The overwhelming things for me are the smells and sounds - I woke up one morning to the very very loud song of hundreds of hirondelles. Lots of wildlife too, esp unfamilar birds. Thanks to Hilary for suggesting a way to take the mind off uphills - I've been thinking about the properties of the nth roots of integers, probably well known to mathematicians, but not to me. Most, but not all, campsites are open, but none I've stayed at so far had food available.