September 8, 2023 was our first rest day after a block of 5 stages from Paris. While I feel good and surprisingly in shape after these long days of cycling, it is really nice to take a day off. We’ve banked an extra 50 km in distance and almost 1900m in climbing above the tour averages, so that feels good.
It was so nice to sleep in, although my leaky pad is kind of a pain. Around 8, I got up and after a while rode down to the local Decathlon store with Andrew and Wytze. We each bought a replacement sleeping pad and a thinner protective pad for underneath. Wytze had a bag of other stuff and it was fun watching him ride through town. There was a slight uphill at one point that I could really feel in my legs.
Next up was breakfast so we headed to the old town on foot and found a nice Salon de The for drinks and food. We walked around the old streets for a while, then up to the cathedral. Le Puy-en-Velay is a major Camino stop, so we had a look at the center which had a great map of all the pilgrimage routes that come from countries all over (Poland, Denmark, Italy and many others) all the way to north-western Spain at the Santiago de Campostela cathedral.
Back in camp, I relaxed, logged my recent rides, and did some nerdy data stuff, setting up my electronic gear shifting system to work “even better” with my bike computer. When Wytze and Andrew came back, they did the same so at least I’m not the only one. I also did my first bike love session, which was just cleaning and lubing the chain as everything else is ok. It is so nice to just relax in the shade in camp. I called Katie who had just done a trail run and sounded happy.
Around 6, Andrew, Wytze and I headed into town and had beers at a nice modern bar, sitting on sofas outside. Wytze had a brain flash and got us a platter of local cheeses and bread and we were living like kings. Our dinner reservation was a few steps away, at a lovely small outdoor restaurant. We started with delicious salad, then I had a fisherman’s stew, mushrooms and fish, tasty! All washed down with a bottle of Viognier, light yet full of taste. We shared dessert then walked home. Can’t wait for the next rest day!
Nathan's Blog 
Yay! A rest day!
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that food looks great.
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Good you could have a day to “rest”, tho it sounds as if you were not inactive! I wonder if you’ll see signs of the earthquake that has occurred near Marrakesh.
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That earthquake was centered right on our planned route so could be a problem. But we’re still at least a month away. We’ll see how it goes. Terrible tragedy.
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