Tom's Big Ride 2013 - France -- St Malo to Nice: Day 6 - Parthenay- L’Isle Jourdain 64 Miles / 104 Kms

Just the stats: 64 miles, 15.8 MPH average. Four hours riding time. Sunny, 64 to 85 degrees. Elevation 693 feet. We climbed 3,532 feet and descended 3056 feet.

Calories burned on the ride - 3,532. My average heart rate during this ride was 140 bpm. I choose to ride a little harder today, especially the first 25 miles.

We had moderate hills today riding in endless countryside. I did not know that France was so rural. There are endless fields of corn, sunflowers and hay. We are still heading mostly south and south east. The winds seem to be coming from the south so for the last few days we have had light headwinds, no tail winds on this trip yet.

We are still riding on quiet roads. Today we passed through the small villages of Lusignan, Vivone and Gencay. As we approached L’Isle Jourdain (our end point) we rode through forest areas that were cool and clean. Our hotel is located just south of L’Isle Jourdain in the countryside, very remote and is right on the banks of the river Vienne.

Enjoy the pictures:

Hannah, our group leader gives us an overview of our route. We do this route-rap every morning

Two Garmins

Morning pace line

On the left is the Garmin GPS for direction, it shows we have forty miles to go.

As long as we follow the purple line, all is well. We don't read maps, just follow that purple line as we ride. My Garmin is on the right, it gives lots of information like my average speed of 16.7 mph, I have traveled 23 miles, my heart rate in 116 bpm and more info.

Coffee break time.