Fri 17th
Decided to have a go at getting to Lascaux to see the caves. Headed out at found strange art deco campsite in Perigueux itself complete with bar. Planning next stage looks awkward due to terrain and campsites.

Sat 18th

Very cold night; had difficulty keeping warm with kit I've got. Decide not to risk heading into them thar hills so look round Perigueux as consolation. Visit Gallo-roman Temple and Arena (turned into nice park with stylish water feature, the gladiators would have loved it) And a quick look in museum. Perigueux itself is very interesting especially a house I saw that appears to be built on a tall wall; I guess there wasn't room for a ground floor.

Sun 19th
Another very cold night. Take advantage of quiet roads and take main route back west: about 75K in 5 hours, nice smooth road but uninteresting.

Mon 20th
Head for south of Bordeaux; nice sunny day. Bordeaux looks fascinating and I would have liked more time there. Camp south of the city and find Bill and Marsha, the canadians, there. they're heading into Spain as well and had found campsite book so borrow it for a quick browse; Looks like big gaps in available sites until Portugal. They intend cutting across Spain to catch a ferry to Italy to spend christmas with their children there.

Tues 21
Cloudy, threatening rain as head south. Straight flat roads through endless pine forests so make good time but rain starts mid morning. Decide to detour to larger town for supplies; visit bar for a coffee and find it is right beside a hotel. being rational and areligious I took it as a sign from the gods and booked in. TV, beer, bath, bed, heaven.

Weds 22
Another easy ride south in cloudy but dry weather. More pine forests so it is now getting boring. Make it to campsite to find Bill and Marsha again; they had had a wet night camping. Managed to get reasonable atlas of Spain to plan next stage. Solar charged PDA but was accidentally switched on so lost more charge than it gained.

Thurs 23
bitterly cold night; sleeping bag, fleece liner, silk liner and thermals needed but still not particularly warm. Must upgrade kit. Stray cats were foraging around last night sticking their heads under the flysheet in the hopes of food. Gave me quite a start. Cycle to Ondres just N of Bayonne to camp

Fri 24
Another bitterly cold night. Cycle through Bayonne and find Decathlon on outskits. Buy better quality sleeping bag which should help at nights although the lightweight tent I have is not ideally suited to these conditions; due to heat from my body and cold tent the condensation drips through the mesh inner onto me. On through Biarritz (very hot day and folk are surfing and sunbathing) Things are getting hilly now but the scenery is good. First glimpse of Pyrenees.
Spain tomorrow all being well