80 miler today was always going to be hard but none of us banked on it being monotonous. After an eventful route out of paris which included climbing a huge flight of steps, cycling down some winding back alleys, & walking through a street market we found ourselves on the road to Orleans - and a long, windy road it was, about 50 miles in a straight line surrounded by empty fields and wind farms. We did find a small village with a bar & an even smaller village where we stopped to eat our improvised packed lunch of bread & cheese purchased because France is pretty much asleep on a Sunday afternoon. 15 miles to go & we the rain came. We huddled by a barn out of the wind when the owner came out to us & offered us a cow shed to shelter in to wait out the shower.

The last 3 miles was also wet but we arrived at the most beautiful hotel, with a tumble drier & were driven into town for a very welcome burger dinner.