Day 3 Caen to Chartres "Fair stood the wind for France"

I was a bit miffed that I was last on the boat and nearly the last off. The boat was fine, what little I saw of it. I was awakened at 4.45am by soothing music, a prelude to a series of raucous tannoy announcements telling us to get out of the cabins sharpish. But I took my time and got the kit neatly sorted out. So I was particularly disappointed as I stood with my bike on the car deck to discover that I had my shorts on inside out. This is not an easy problem to resolve. Like a kilt cycling shorts are worn with nothing underneath. Bib shorts also have straps over the shoulders so you can't take them off without also removing your top. At some point in the process you have to be stark naked except for shoes and even they get in the way. There is also the issue of sudocreme now conspicuously on the outside instead of the inside (don't ask). The car deck of the ferry was obviously not the place. The problem was ultimately resolved. No further details but apologies to the two cows.

In other respects the day was shaping up to be the sort that God grants to cyclists only rarely. The sun shone, I had a decent breeze on my back and there was not a car in sight on tarmac which appeared to have been cleaned and pressed for my exclusive use. Nothing is ever perfect and after an hour or so clouds covered the sun and the temperature seemed to drop steadily. Cafes were scarce. When I did find one it was occupied by the Smokers Federation of France. It is years since I have seen smoking on that scale. It was a rural area and they were obviously all local. All it lacked was a six fingered banjo player. Lunch was also a problem. There are vast tracts of Normandy with almost nothing in them and what little there is was closed. I was close to starvation when I chanced upon a marvellous place, totally unchanged since the Liberation in 1944. Chartres was achieved just after 4.30pm. It may have other attractions but they are dwarfed by the magnificent cathedral. I was approached by an albino monk offering to sell me a hair shirt. He claimed it was autographed by Dan Brown but I am alive to that sort of scam. It wasn't much of a book anyway.

120 miles were completed in reasonable order. With about 10 miles to go I contemplated the prospect of another and more demanding 120 tomorrow with foreboding. But tomorrow is another day. By the way it is now absolutely bloody freezing. People are going round with full winter kit. I fear I look like a Geordie on a stag weekend in my shorts and flip flops but it's all I've got.