Day 19

Beziers - the mayors office laid a lovely breakfast banquet on for me - made me feel very special - they were really nice people. The official photographer took lots of photos which they said they would send to Stockport council.
One of the councillors is a keen cyclist and was asking me all questions about the no of teeth on my cogs and how often do I change them - he looked a bit bemused when I said I have no idea - I just pedal the thing!
Anyway, tomorrow I'm off to Argeles where the campsite is we've booked in readiness for Carolyn and the two boys to fly out on Monday.
It's been an interesting journey and an eventful one and I hope to be able to share some of it at a supporters night in the near future. We are going to continue fundraising until we have reached our target of £5k so I guess I will use this blog as a vehicle for keeping people uptodate with the progress.
God bless for now.

Day 18

Carcassonne to Beziers. Well the last leg of the journey has been done and I have arrived safely in Beziers. It was another very hot cycle and it made me quite glad that the first 2 weeks were done in the rain rather than the burning sun. The last leg along the canal du midi was quite tricky as its not really a cycle path, more a footpath and there were lots of tree roots and stuff to avoid - ended up losing a spoke and breaking my speedo but I was almost there by then.
Spent the evening wandering around Beziers taking in the sites - its quite a big city - its got a magnificent cathedral with views down to the Mediterranean coast - its also got its salubrious areas - bit like Stockport then 😉
I've got a 9am meeting with the Mayor of Beziers at the Hotel de Ville tomorrow (see pic).
I just wanted to thank all those friends and family who have been supporting me and praying for me - i have really felt like I have been lifted up on the wings of the prayers by everyone - thank you I couldn't have done it without you!
As I'm sure you know, we are hoping to raise £5,000 for a wonderful childrens charity 'ShinelikeStars' -please give generously at www.charitygiving.co.uk/stevesstarcycle
I will blog the details of my meeting with the mayor tomorrow.

Day 17

Belflou to carcassonne. Hottest day of the ride so far. Cycled 40+ miles on the canal du midi and arrived very hot and sweaty and jumped straight into the campsite pool - heaven!
Beginning to get a bit bored with my own company now - gets a bit tedious when the most conversation you have in a day is 'bonjour, une baguette s'ils vous plait'.
The secretary for the mayor of Beziers has just phoned to say that she is going to try and fix up a reception for me on Friday - watch this space.
Have agreed with Andrew Phillips that we should set a £5,000 target for the bike ride - I know we are a long way short of that currently but we believe God is telling us to be bold. So the fundraising will continue until we reach the target.
Another event we have been discussing is a shine like stars supporters summer gala ball. We could use the mobile bar from Huffys and a large marquee - just need to think of somewhere to put it - anyone got a large back garden ? We could put some entertainment on, maybe have a hog roast, show some slides from the bike ride, etc. We would aim to sell 200 tickets - if we charged £25 a ticket that would raise the £5k.
My sister is organising a coffee & cakes event in aid of SLS which I will get along to - any other ideas out there?

Day 16

Verdun to Belflou. Followed the canal all morning until I reached Toulouse which is a very big city - no 3 or 4 in France. I used to work there many years ago and recognised some of the places. The canal brought me to a dead end in the city do I had to make my way through the city centre. I noticed C&A are still going strong in France.
After a quick stop at McDonald's (yes I know but they do a nice cup of tea and a decent chicken Caesar salad topped off with a lovely vanilla frappe - and they've got free wifi!) - I made my way to Belflou.
Turned out to be a strange sort of campsite - advertised as by a lake and offering all kinds of water sports as well as a bar/restaurant and a takeaway service. Well the Madame who runs it is stretching the truth a bit. It does have a lake but there is no real access apart from wading through mud. When I tried to book a table she said she only opens the restaurant for groups of 10 or more! She said I could have a takeaway as long as it was confit de canard which came with a pile of green beans and nothing else but it was enjoyable all the same.
I must admit the views over the lake are amazing but I think I will move on - I've never been to Carcasonne - supposed to be well worth a visit.
Btw I've just looked at my speedo and I've clocked up 1000 miles exactly.

Day 15

Agen to Verdun-sur-Garonne (Toulouse)
The new pillow was an absolute winner - I've ditched 12inch rubber forever!
Picked up the 'canal du Midi' today and it's amazing - completely flat - no hills - traffic free - I love it already.
Verdun is a bit of a ghost town as its Sunday - no restaurants/cafes open, no shops open, there's a rumour that the pizza takeaway may open its doors later - hope so otherwise what did I do with bit of baguette from yesterday!

Day 14

Rest day - spent most of the day by the pool resting up. Today is Bastille day which is a bit like our guy fawkes night only bigger. Just read the local paper and can't believe that some Indian guy has stolen my thunder. He's pictured with the Mayor of Agen as he is cycling round the world from India - its going to take him 3 years which puts my 3 weeks into perspective but I bet he hasn't got a replacement knee!
I'm excited about going to bed tonight as I have gone mad and treated myself to a proper pillow. The one I've been using is a 12inch plastic blowup job which is very uncomfortable - this is a proper pillow - not sure how I'll carry it but if I get a good nights sleep, I don't care.
The picture of Agen station will bring back horrible memories to those people who came on the church holiday a few years ago and had to catch the train from Bordeaux to Agen (doug).

Day 13

Bergerac to Agen. Woke up to clouds again so said goodbye to my American friend, John, and set off for Agen. On the way the skies turned blue and the sun came out - could this be the start of the hot weather ?
Went through villeneuve-sur-lot and then onto Agen - the road was up and down, up and down with very few level bits - and the downs do not make up for the ups! I was very tired (70 miles) when I reached Agen but thankfully the campsite had a pool which I wasted no time in testing.
That evening I cycled into Agen where there was some kind of big military parade taking place (not sure what the French army is celebrating - maybe Bastille day?).
Had an indian curry where they ask you if you want any spices - apparently it normally comes spice free - my mate birdsy would love that.
Cycled back just as a big black cloud heralded a rainstorm.

Day 12

St. Aulaye to Bergerac. Woke up to rain so decided not to waste my rest day and to cycle on to Bergerac. As I packed my tent, an Irish family in the next tent invited me round for breakfast. We were joined by a french friend of theirs who was very interesting - he writes poetry and has recently recovered from a tumour - he then said that his best friend was 'jesu christos' - and the Irish family couldnt wait to tell him that I was a baptist minister!
I arrived in Beregerac and stopped at the municipal site by the river next to another cyclist who was carrying more gear than me! Turns out he's an American called John who is 64 and retired and he is spending the summer months touring Europe - 35 years after his first trip. He said he was heading for a small village on the Spanish border where he has an old friend to visit. When we looked on the map, it's the next village along the coast from argeles where we are staying for 2 weeks so he's said he will look us up.

Day 11

Varaignes to St. Aulaye. Chris and David sent me on my way with a bacon butty (with brown sauce of course). Had a shorter journey today of about 40 miles so arrived by 3pm. The campsite is ideally situated on a river with a beach and diving boards and a nice looking bar/cafe. I had booked tomorrow as a rest day so will spend it here - hopefully sunbathing if the weather is ok.
My heart was pounding a bit last night and kept me awake so I think a rest day is in order.
Do you like my little tent ?

Day 10

Lessac to Varaignes. Weather cloudy with some rain but ok for bike riding. Staying with Chris Hall and her husband Dave who have a lovely place where they have semi-retired. After a nice hot bath they put a lovely meal on and then I was able to use their wifi to FaceTime home. Spoke to my granddaughter Lyla who was really funny and kept asking me to take her to the park on my bike! Been bitten all over my legs by mozzies and they're really itchy! This is my last scheduled night in a bed - from here it's all camping so I hope the weather improves.

Day 9

Beruges to Lessac. Stayed with my uncle Allen and his wife Monica (see pic). Monica bless her washed all my dirty kit and Allen drove me to the laundromat to dry them next morning.
Set off to Varaignes next morning after a good nights sleep.

Day 8

Communication is proving tricking. Can't always find a Wifi to use and when camping struggle to charge my phone. I bought a gadget from Lidl at home which was supposed to charge my iPhone by sunlight but it's useless - I reckon it takes about 7 days constant sunlight before it is fully charged - at this rate it's going to take until next year!
Stopped nr Poitiers tonight in a lovely chambres d'hote owned by madam Chantelle and her 2 children. They invited me to stay for tea with them which was lovely. Hoping for a good nights sleep and then a shorter trip tomorrow to stay with my uncle on a small village called Lessac.

Day 7

Seemed a long haul from Lion d'Angers to Chinon. Followed the mighty Loire river most of the way (in the rain ) but arrived in sunshine. Quickly put my tent up and went to the town where there was a festival taking place. One or two strange characters knocking about (see pic) but some lovely food and locl wine on offer.
Came across this bar in the centre of Saumur - those scousers get everywhere!

Day 6

After not sleeping much on the ferry I had another night of little sleep on a campsite in Rennes. Woke up at 6 so set off to Angers - 70 miles away. My legs and bottom are very sore but, thank God, my knee seems fine.
My satnav managed to direct me onto a motorway (only 2 lanes so it was hard to tell) but the French lorry drivers let me know!
Arrived in Lion d'Angers in a rainstorm so decided to try and book a B&B to get a good nights sleep and dry my gear off.
What a lovely town - set on a river with a beautiful huge church dominating the sky line and a lovely racecourse just across the river. Had a pleasant walk around the town before picking up a takeaway pizza as my room has a kitchenette.
Looking forward to tomorrows leg which follows a bike route through the Loire valley to Chinon where I've booked a campsite. Hope the sun shines.

Day 5

Arrived in st malo and caught the little water shuttle to Dinard across the estuary - it was lovely but no one warned me about the steep steps from the jetty to the road - nearly did myself a mischief 😳
Found the voie verte which is basically a cycle path which I followed for about 20 miles. It lead me to the banks of the river rance which I followed into Dinan. Dinan is a lovely walled riverside town - I stopped for lunch at a creperie and had their fixed price 'formule' lunch for 10 euros - it was delicious. You got 3 courses - a nice tuna salad to start followed by a 'galettes complete' which was delicious - it was a bit like a Staffordshire oatcake with ham and scrambled eggs inside bit better. The final course was a crepe with butter and sugar. As a fellow biker told me on the ferry, doesn't matter how much you eat, you cannot replace the calories that you are burning off cycling !
I decided to stick to the original plan and camp that night in Rennes. I erected my tent in the sunshine but then the rain started. There were one or two strange people knocking about the site - one youngish fella came over and asked if I wanted to share some of his bread. So consequently I slept with one eye open most of the night as I didn't want my bike to go missing.
Next morning I was up at six and on the road for 6.30 - decided that after 2 bad nights with little sleep, I would book myself in a B&B tonight!

Day 4

Had a lovely ride through the Hampshire countryside (in the rain of course). Spotted a pair of unusual birds as I passed down country lane - bright red heads with orange plumage - about size of pigeons - any twitchers out there? Thought it might be a hoopoe ?
The saga of the missing screw continued - it came out again somewhere on the way which meant my rear pannier rack was loose on one side. Planned to try and get to Portsmouth in time to find a bike repair shop. But I stopped for a drink of milk at a little village store and noticed that the hardware shop next door did bike repairs. When I explained the problem and what I was doing, he very kindly sorted my bike out, gave me some spare nuts and bolts, and gave me some money and sent me on my way 😄
I'm writing this sat on the ferry on my way to st. Malo - only 700 miles more to go!

Day 3

Day started with a bit of a kairos moment. When checking my bike before setting off I noticed a screw missing which attaches one side of my pannier rack - great a trip to a bike shop required. Then I remembered seeing a screw of sorts lying at the bottom of my bike bag - I nearly threw it away but for some reason didn't. I found it and lo and behold it was a perfect fit - crisis over.
I managed to have fall no 1 today, right in the middle of Oxford - a Japanese tourist decided to stop in the middle of the cycle lane - I jammed my brakes on but wasn't quick enough to clicks feet out of the toe clips - over I go!
The man was mortified and very apologetic - after several velly velly sollees he donated a million pound to. Shine like Stars ( I'm joking of course).
Made it to Wokingham so only 50 miles left to Portsmouth - this time tomorrow I should be on the ferry to la belle France!

Day 2

Arrived safely in leamington spa - bedraggled and like a drowned rat - rained all day! The scheduled 60 miles turned into 75 as I spent a good hour trying to find an alternative to the A38 kamikaze bypass in Birmingham - to no avail! I had to negotiate about 5 miles of dual carriageway with lorries whizzing past my ear! As mike Harding used to say "they should put red lamps and ropes around Birmingham with a sign 'beware - hole in the world' lol.

Day 1

What a great send off ! I'm so lucky to have such a great family and friends. I know I will be carried along on the prayers of them all. It was very special to be singing 'In Christ Alone' with both sisters and mum and Jenny - very emotional. God is good !
Have arrived at my first day destination Cheadle, Staffs. 40 miles in 4 hours. So far so good.

Grandkids

I will miss my Grandkids!

Only 2 days to go !

Getting very nervous and quite excited now. Looks like I might get quite a send-off on Sunday as the Lord Mayor is coming down to present me with an official letter for the Mayor of Beziers.

Only two weeks to go!

Getting a bit nervous with only two weeks to go. I did a trial run to Southport and back for CIST overnight Thursday - the weather was awful - hardly got a minutes sleep in my little tent but it was a good test run for the big event. I loaded up my bike with full rear panniers and managed to maintain a respectable 13 - 15 mph all the way there - took me six hours. Coming back was even worse and poor Andrew Phillips struggled a bit to keep up as it was his first bike ride for a long time - we managed to get to Lymm where Carolyn came and picked us up so it wasn't too bad.