Days 2 and 3

Day 2 (1 day late - sorry!): Chérac to Ribérac
Distance cycled: 104km
Average speed: 24.1km/hr

It was very hilly towards the end which tired us out, but otherwise not too bad during what was a boiling hot day!

Matt can't resist dancing to the tunes of Take That... Perhaps his iPod needs updating?

Just setting off. You can't really see the mist on the ground from the photo, but it was terribly idyllic!

Our bikes at the lunch stop, organised and never out of sight!

Some found the lunch break too tough to handle... Or maybe the biking is tiring, who knows.

Day 3: Ribérac to Belvès

Distance cycled: 108.5 km

Average speed: 24.5 km/hr

Another hilly day, but we used the main roads to make the ride smoother, although it did make it a bit longer.

Not many pictures taken today, as we concentrated on the ride and ended up too sweaty

to do very little except sit around in the shade.

We got one nice picture of our entry into Belvès, which was up a very steep slope indeed.

The village is very nice, situated on a mountaintop, and as we got here at about 14:00 after a hard slog in the morning, we had a two and a half hour long lunch in a restaurant.

We then went for a dip at the local swimming pool (apart from Matt, who doesn't see himself as much of a swimmer), and as I write this the others are watching the Athletics world championships: go Bolt! (Update: 9.58 seconds!? That man can't be human...)

All very anxious about tomorrow, although a pre-planned restaurant meal for lunch by a pool should be a good motivator. Tomorrow is our longest day, about 120km, we think.