After 3 flights over 36 hours, we finally arrived tired but excited at Bordeaux Airport. We collected our battered bike boxes from the oversized baggage carousel, thankful that my overzealous use of bubble wrap and cut-up sections of pool noodle had proved effective in stopping any damage to our bikes. Once I found a quiet stairwell within the airport, we quickly set to work reassembling our trusty steeds, then attached the panniers to pedal off on a 20km shakedown ride in searing 40 C to our campsite on the outskirts of Bordeaux at du Lac Village, where we set up our tent on a shady pitch beneath a grove of plane trees.

Like horses of old, our touring Bikes stand tethered and ready to ride. In withering, furnace-like conditions, we cycled out along the beautiful waterfront of Bordeaux to the finish line of stage 7 of the Tour de France at des Quinconces, joining thousands of our passionate cycling kin in the dedicated fan zone, drinking in the unique atmosphere and spectacle that is the Tour de France.

Bordeaux is a proud, historic, multicultural city, brimming with beauty and a casual elegance, while cycling around is simple due to the city’s easy-to-navigate, interconnected cycling network. These last few days we have been sightseeing in the morning, then waiting out the heat by the pool in the afternoon; last night we were woken by a fierce thunderstorm, thunder claps and fork lightning electrified the air, while we stayed snug inside our Big Agnes tent. 

As I sit here writing, whistling kites circling high above us squeal at the sun while gasping sparrows scurry beneath my feet, fearing me less than the burning sun. The current heatwave sees temperatures hovering in the low 40 C. The updated forecast expects the heat to ease by Monday, at which time we will saddle up and head south to the Pyrenees, not sure which route we may take, but it’s certain to be an adventure. Viva La France!