Perfect Day!

So we were up at 6.30am and on the road just before 7.00am. We had about an hour and a half to drive to the spot we had identified in the forests of Landes. We intended to park south of Saint-Symphorien, anywhere that we could find a spot.
We drove the A65 to Roquefort and then the A626 to Labrit where we found a fire break between the forest and tucked ourselves in - it being about 8.15am
We had one car about 200m in one direction and a family with a pop up tent about the same distance the other direction. Other than that we were alone.
After about half an hour we had a visit from the forestry guys to ensure we were not going to smoke or have a BBQ - looking at the ground you would have been mad to!
We then sat on a very very peaceful road for a couple hours chillin’ in the ever increasing heat.
Just after 12.15pm the caravan arrived which was a spectacle due to the length and flatness of the road and the road being an arched tree top affair.
Tre and I had joked earlier that there would probably be very little thrown from the caravan as they would probably drive through quite quickly, due to the limited amount of people on the road. Despite and because of this we decided to have a competition to see who could snaffle the most freebies. We took one side of the road each!
On arrival we were gobsmacked to find that nearly every vehicle was throwing items in our direction - we couldn’t keep up. The competition intensified with us shouting ‘have you got one of these?’ To the other - often the reply was ‘yes I got three’.
Following the chaos we had a tally up Tre: 40 items Me: 55 items - Tre said I had cheated because I had acted the fool to the floats, which attracted more attention 😂
Shortly after they had departed two Skoda cars arrived and parked either side of us, the occupants getting out and setting up small tables to eat their lunch. Tre and I decided not to hassle them for a free hat as we had about 20 each anyway.
After their lunch one of the guys walked down and handed Tre what transpired to be one of their puddings which was unused and some crisps. After chatting we found he was no other than Julien Simon a former professional cyclist on the Tour, now working in the Tour Organisational Team. The other vehicle apparently had another ex Tour cyclist who was Colombian, his name I didn’t get.

[Julien Simon (born 4 October 1985) is a French former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2024.
In his career, Simon competed for Crédit Agricole (2008), Sojasun (2009–2013), Cofidis (2014–2019),[7] and Team TotalEnergies (2020–2024). He took thirteen professional victories, including a record three victories at both the Grand Prix du Morbihan and the Tour du Finistère,[8][9] and two stage victories at the 2012 Volta a Catalunya.]

After several chats and trips back to his car, he presented us with a second pudding and one of their metal food boxes, which they were issued daily and which he then told us to keep as a souvenir - a fab and totally unexpected gesture on his part.

The race arrived around 2.30pm and again was a fantastic spectacle with the road completely full of the cyclists, motor vehicles and motor bikes - mayhem, again but in a good way. The cyclists were at a steady (not brake neck) speed so we had plenty of time to see them. As if we hadn’t had enough freebies today, a riders disguarded drinks bottle landed at my feet.
I took photos today on my decent stills camera so those photos are to follow.

The road re opened very quickly and we headed north generally towards Périgueux.
We initially drove to Luxey and then north east, taking numerous unplanned roads until finally - very hot and bothered we arrived at Saint-Laurent-Sur-Manoire services.
We had about an hour cool down in the air conditioned services, gulping down cold water. We also made use of the free showers to clean away the days dry dust and grime that had covered our legs and feet in the forest.
We decided to get ourselves a decent meal tonight and sought out a few restaurants within ten minutes of us, but still on the outskirts of Périgueux, on an industrial site with cinemas and bars etc. We thought we may be able to find the World Cup football in a bar after our dinner.
After setting off we headed for our chosen restaurant - Buffet Moderne in Landry, which is one of the huge buffet styled restaurants that we have found in various locations here. The food ranges from sushi, to Chinese, to Indian, to all meats - cold cuts or grills, burgers, pizza and pretty much everything else in between - for a set price.
On arrival we were given a table and after placing our drinks order, our serving robot, whose name was Messi (on the back), delivered them - still not sure how they didn’t spill.
We (I) stuffed ourselves silly on all manner of foods and as a bonus noticed a massive screen within the restaurant showing the football. We actually took little notice of the football, as outside the sky was darkening very quickly and not due to nightfall. The sky became incredibly threatening and then the winds started with debris outside the restaurant swirling in the air. I checked my weather app and no mention of bad weather - I checked my lightning app and saw what was coming. The area immediately below us and heading our way, had a massive lightning storm which was covering a huge area in a band across the country. When the lightning arrived it was spectacular. Our only concern was our safety sleeping in Roxvanne. Tre even checked ChatGBT on the dangers of sleeping in the open, in a tin can, in a lightning storm.
After watching the storm outside for a good hour we decided to take our chances and venture out to Roxvanne and drive quickly back to the services, in the hope we could find a parking spot under one of the shelters.
The drive back was slowed only by fallen trees and debris in the road, it was as if a small hurricane was passing.
Back at the services we found a spot under partial cover and after using the facilities very quickly we hunkered down in the back and listened to the storm. It was only then for the very first time that any rain appeared - there had been none of any note up to that point.
We both finally drifted off, with the alarm set for 7.15am and the hope we would not fry in the night.

Song Of The Day:
Eye Of The Hurricane - The AlarmRead more