Saturday 6th September 2014 - Up and packed stuff away. Wet tent, yuck! Left at 10.30am.
First stop of the day was the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-mer. Up a long smooth flat boulevard, with trees on both sides creating nice dappled shade.
Bike lane right round to beside the entrance and visitor centre. Finding this is the great thing about cycling places, you literally can park at the door of shops, pull in at side of road to take photos and sometimes get your own traffic free smooth lane.
Anyway locked up the bike at the bike parking area and headed in. By passed the visitor center. On the rules board it said about being respectful, no eating, being quiet etc.
So on I walked....click-crunch, click-crunch, click-crunch on the pathway that had a covering of small gravel. Trying to walk on the sides of my shoes past all the other people. No SPD cycling shoes maybe should be added to that list.
Anyway, it was a lovely tranquil setting, but when you walk up towards all the white crosses in the grass, its really striking. Just imagining each on a person. Quite sad really.
Had a mooch about, then the bus loads started arriving so I left. As I was unlocking bike, two guys that had just arrived by bike came over.
Turns out they were cycling from London to Barcelona. They had also done the Mongol Rally, something I've always had an eye on doing, so it was good to hear their experience of that too. A good half hour or so later, we said our goodbyes. They said they'd been told it was €9 entry, I said I'd just walked in and to do the same and enjoy their visit - as much as you can in a cemetery, hmm.
On the bike and next stop was Longues-sur-mer for the gun battery. The following is plagiarism....
Longues-sur-Mer is the only coastal defence battery on theLanding Beaches to be classed as a Historical Monument.
A major construction in the Atlantic Wall, this battery had an artillery command post and four bunkers, each with a 150mm gun permanently in place. Located in the middle of the assault sector and on top of a cliff overlooking the Channel, it played a strategic part in the Allied Landings of 6th June 1944.
Today, it is the only battery still to retain its original guns. Located between Arromanches and Omaha Beach, it affords a panoramic view over the Landing Beaches.
It was pretty cool and hot at the same time.
Right sight seeing done, I want to try and get as far along the coast as I could.
It was hot, I had no water (again), my bike still has its wobbly wheel, it was hot, kept stopping every few km to look at map, hoping I'd magically got further than I had. There were cars, lots of close fast cars. It was hot. Motorbikes. On I went.
I did stop at a supermarche and got two packets of ham&cheese sandwiches for €1 each and a bottle of water for 22cents, last of the big spenders me.
Then I got to Courseulles-sur-mer. Head melt of a seaside town. Couldn't get out of it with all its stupid one way streets and circular roads. It also stank of fish. Not fresh fish, but rancid old rotting fish and smelly sea. Don't know how all the people sitting outside at the cafes could eat their baguettes without vomiting.
Finally made a successful escape and kept going on down the road to Colleville-Montgomery, just beside Ouistreham.
Campsite was okay. Mainly mobile homes, camping pitches were on the sites that there were no mobile homes any more. I felt like a gypo among the houses. Men were playing boules beside reception.
Wee kids kept cycling past all evening. Then, as I was in my tent, they cycled right up to my bike and sat staring at it. I looked out of tent and they fled. Clearly the lack of use of a mirror I've had may be having an effect on people, or just small children.
So settled in for a nights sleep, listening to the cackles of a woman who had had a little to much vino and the snuffles of a dog at my tent, while the man owner tried to call it away quietly shouting at it in French.
I must shower in the morning if the dogs are getting interested in me!
Day 8 - 06.09.14
Omaha Beach to Ouistreham
10.30pm to 5pm
3hrs 30min cycling
58.5km (maybe more as forgot to start garmin after cemetery stop)
1560calories
582 metres asc
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