Biarritz - Day 1

555 Kilometers - 345 Miles

Managed to accomplish two things this morning I've never done before when leaving on one of these trips: I didn't wake the rooster (yep, I actually slept in until 8:15am), and I remembered to put on sunscreen.  I'm usually so excited I wake up very early and rush out forgetting to put on the old sunblock.  In Texas that can be a very ill advised thing to do.  Here...I didn't need it.  Isn't that my luck?  But, I'm at the hotel now and don't have a sunburn so I guess it sorta worked.

Pulled out of Nantes about 10:15 heading south.  Goal was to get to Biarritz today.  Since it's only 345 miles it wasn't a push, but I'd planned it that way.  It usually take a couple of riding days to get my "travel butt."  You know, the one that can go long distances. (It's also the one without kidney stones and roids, so who the hell knows what this trip's going to be like.  But if, as old Shakespeare put it, past is prologue, the worst this can be is wonderful.)

Since I wasn't in a hurry there's absolutely no excuse for not taking many of the pictures I "saw" on my ride today.  I just didn't do it.  The usual problem, I keep saying "oh, well the next one will be better, I'll make sure to get it," and then I don't.  Not to worry, one, I'm coming back through here so I'll get another opportunity, and two, I've made myself mad enough at my self to, I hope, do better over the rest of the trip.

Pulled into Bairritz about 5:00pm.  Why so slow?  I stopped for coffee three times.  Couldn't take pictures...but I could make the restroom stops, huh?

Checked into the Tulip Hotel, nice room, 75€/night, free internet.  That's "only" $94 per night in USD; meets all my needs.  The Euro has slipped about 12% in the four months I've been here.  Talk about your unintended consequences.  I didn't mean for that to happen.

A nice post-ride shower and down the road to Biarritz.

"Down" (and I mean down) from the city center a couple of blocks away.

The ubiquitous old church here in France.  I just love these things.

Betsy bashfully basking in Biarritz

Nice, neat town with a couple of casinos.

(I can't believe I'm not going to one tonight.)

Looks like pretty safe mooring behind that wall to me.

Just an example of the lengths your sore, gimpy-legged correspondent will go through for these pictures.
(Tell the editor I need a raise.)

Timing was almost good on this one.

Further down the beach (southward) toward Spain.

This is Vickie, an Australian lady I met on the beach...well, actually, near the beach.  It's too cold to be on the beach, plus I quit swimming years ago.  Too many harpoonings.

Anyway, Vickie is traveling through Europe for the next several months and arrived in Biarritz today from Spain.  She'd spent a couple of weeks there and is now wending her way to Paris.

She has that great Aussie sense of humor.  When she saw Betsy she said, "Jerry, that's not a motorcycle, that's an easy chair."

A very nice lady.  You meet the nicest people on these trips.

Next stop: España.