From Vierzon to Châteauroux, day 13

Sunday, July 30, 2023, Day 13. The main topics of the day were: Broken spoke, kindness of the French, terrible headwind.

Today, the weather radar promised us no rain, and the weather radar kept its promise. However, we faced very strong, fierce headwinds again. The headwind is really wearing us down now. At the beginning of the ride, there was a loud bang and a spoke on my rear wheel burst. We continued the journey with a makeshift repair, knowing that a proper repair is needed. But not in Vierzon and not on a Sunday, impossible.

Since crossing France, we have noticed that the people here are very friendly, always greeting us, considerate and respectful. This morning, we briefly stopped at a bus stop just to take a sip of water, and an older gentleman came out of his garden and handed us two handfuls of freshly picked mirabelle plums over the fence for us to enjoy.

We rode the first 40 km without stopping, except for a short coffee break, enjoying the beautiful landscapes and the quiet country roads, grateful that it wasn't raining. We had our coffee break at a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant, which doesn't usually serve coffee, but made an exception for us. Then we continued riding, discovered interesting vegetation along the way, such as huge thistles, and as usual, we took an extended lunch break after two-thirds of the day's stage. Usually, we buy food beforehand and have sausage, cheese, and salad for lunch. The remaining 20 km are often very painful, especially today because of the extreme headwind. We have learned to divide such 20 km into 4 x 5 km segments and take a short break after each 5 km. This helps, boosts motivation, and works.

We reached Châteauroux after 67 km, settled into our once again very nice accommodation, went out for a beer and a glass of wine, had some food, and got ready for a Netflix series.