Preliminary stage of the Tour de France

Avranches to Coutances. 78km

There's been a bit of a coup d'etat here today. I've been allowed to take control of the blog as a guest editor (Peter that is). 

Here goes ....We started below freezing at -1 C but reached the dizzy heights of 16C in the sun. Breakfasted on the pavement with Cappuccino and croissant (Sam Ridgeway will never believe me) and after initially cycling with freezing hands, thawed out as the sun radiated heat with wall to wall sunshine. 

Amazing coincidence, but this years Grand Depart starts here next year (aparently because no where special bid for it, it's been awarded here in France!). Our route has therefore included most of this years Grand Depart routes, from Mont St Michel and travelling through Avranches, Coutances, the infamous La Glacerie climb outside Cherbourg and Omagh Beach,

I hope they don't go through Avranches on a Sunday night because it will probably be closed like it was last night, despite its historic links to Thomas a Beckett and Henry II.  It was a good job we had a supply of bread, ham and runny Normandie Camembert with a nice bottle of red wine to help it down for dinner.

We lunched in the Monaco of the North, Granville, a port named because of its links to Ronnie Barker and the programme Open all Hours, and took detours to follow miles of 'La Plage'. 

Arriving in Coutances we were blown away by the Cathedral, especially as there was organ practice taking place. It's amazing that so many average French towns can contain something as delicious as a cathedral of this significance and beauty. 

Our relentless investigation into whether Britain is better in or out continues, with today's research revealing the the man on the street that we talked to in Avranches didn't really care, but did remark in his broken Anglais that he thought we had big balls! And seemed to find fault with the Russians and Americans. This continued into or morning coffee and reading the front page of today's L'Ouest which referred to Brexit as London wanting to dine a le carte but didn't want to eat the soup! Typical that the French should reference a major political decision to a good meal! But I think inferring they would be worse off without us! 

Tomorrow should bring another good weather day, more mileage on off road tracks and possibly a climb up La Glacerie into Cherbourg.