Monday 09th July 2018 - Stage 4 - La Baule - Sarzeau

The 6:30am breakfast was a repeat of yesterdays. We rolled away from the hotel just after 7:30am under a clear blue sky with a moderate wind and pleasant temperature of 18 degrees. With some video being shot, the initial pace was a little faster than necessary but soon calmed down.

The initial course was a gentle rolling one with some tree lined roads. It was very pleasant. As the course was horse shoe shaped, there was some debate as to the wind direction and how it would affect us. It turned out it was a slight cross/head wind on the way out and a tail/cross wind home. The temperature continued to rise all day and hit a top of over 33 degrees.

The first feed stop was around 76km. Again, no staff member dared ride with us which tells you something about the perceived pace. We did stop to take a photo of a Calvary scene on a hill top.

Scenery was more farms, small villages etc. Nearing the 2nd feed station at 146km, two staff members rode out to meet us and then tried to race away which upset the group dynamics. Just after the feed station, a short, sharp hill warmed the legs up a little for what is coming in the next few days.

Heading into the last 60km, we found a new bike which fitted the team (eight riders) so we stopped for a photo. A local man also photographed us.

Riding through another village, one rider's back tyre punctured. While this was being changed, we took some photos of the village and spoke to some locals.

Shortly afterwards, the tyre blew again. We found a suitable new bike on the round about.

Once this was fixed, we had one more village photo stop and then we were on the way to the finish line.

From there, more rolling country with some tail wind assistance saw the 209.2km for the day completed in 6hrs 47m of riding. Garmin and Strava vary wildly in the climbing with Garmin calculating 1,332m. This time there was not even a line on the road and some riders debated if we had in fact finished. As the map showed we were past the finish line and the official distance is 195km, our 209km more than covered the official course.

 

The transfer to the hotel, which is an old chateau, was about 41km and we arrived around 5pm. The rooms are reasonable but the air con is open the windows. There is currently a nice breeze but it is still 30 degrees plus.

Dinner was at a local restaurant in town. Service was very slow and muddled. The food was good but portions small.

Breakfast is scheduled for 6:30am tomorrow at the chateau and the owner has promised plenty of food. Time will tell.