Cooked, pretty much

We broke off from watching le Tour and its parade past the chateaux of the Loire to try to do a little touring of our own during the morning hours before conditions became such that only mad dogs and Englishmen would be out and about. Our first obstacle was a flat tire. GRider actually went out to JRA for a bit while I worked on the tire. The flat is unrelated to earlier problems but still required the time necessary for repair.

We did get in a nice ride. The GRider got back home in time to carry on with more or less her planned upon schedule. I had to ride on for a bit into conditions which were not ideal. I dunno, I finished but I feel a little like Chris Horner. "Did I finish?" he keeps asking. Horner has a head injury, I do not. But by the time I finished I was pretty much cooked, all in, done, knackered, over.

It was so hot that I never even for a moment thought about my camera, I just wanted to turn the pedals and get to the end.

Le Tour today went past lots and lots of Loire Valley chateaux, here is one we visited in 2006.It is the Chateau Villandry, famous for its elaborate gardens.