i am blessed

day 7 begins today.

it begins very very very well.

after my previous day of experiencing of what im very sure was sun stroke and/or heat exhaustion (no doubt, for when i saw a sign at 5:30pm it was 45oC) and being disappointed to only make my 30km quota for the day, i knew i had some very hard yards to be done the next day to be able to make it to tours - my next big town and where i promised i would be, to sarah and franck.

sometimes its best to just not know the exact distance one must journey to get to a destination - or at least, for me that is. id much rather look at the map and have a general gist and then a general notion of whether i am capable or not. usually if i determine in my mind that i am capable of something, i have a great determination (some call it stubborness), that i am indeed capable, and not much can stop me. if i have a figure in my head, then all i think about is that figure and i lose my way in the moment and in the process. i stop enjoying. it all just becomes about getting that figure down. ive had this problem with my weight as well through the years. its always been a very very healthy thing to not own a pair of scales for me. very damaging things they are.

that being said when i started in blois yesterday morning, determined to get to tours, i had no idea of 2 major factors (probably for the better!) . 1 - that it was a good 60km away. double my average daily quota and to be honest i dont think ive ever biked such a distance in one go, in one day. 2 - that the ENTIRE day, it would pelt rain and hail, with thunder that sounded like military planes breaking the g-force and lightening that changed the colour of the landscape.

it was entirely and fantastically ironic. the day before i could hardly move with absolute exhaustion, hoping, praying for a little cool. and here i was, shivering my bones, wet through to every seam of my baggage and clothing and blood vessels. tis true dear folk - be careful what you wish for. but to be honest, i prefered the rain. apart from the fact that it killed all of my luggage and im a little worried about the state of my passport as well, it was cool and refreshing and made me laugh. every now and then i would just burst out laughing. and i found that i had my energy and appetite back. i also figured - when youre wet, you just cant get any wetter, so it really wasnt all that bad. at one stage i stopped for lunch under a bridge (a tin of crab meat. surprisingly NOT appetising or as tasty as id imagined it to be in the supermarket!), a car hooned by, beeping its horn and all passengers turned my way, thumping their hearts twice and proceeding to give me the peace sign. it was most appreciated and very comical.

luckily, the road was incredibly flat, along the loire river again, and full of castles and super old villages. very very picturesque. if anyone were to travel to france, i would recommend blois and tours. magical villages. and throughout the pelting rain, the water splashing up at me from passing cars and darkening skies, i tried really really hard to be present, to be in now, to be in the moment. to feel each raindrop on my skin and what it felt like, to pedal one stroke at a time, to not think about my destination or how long it would take or if i could even arrive.

i made it to tours in pretty good time i reckon. around 3pmish, upon which i rang harold (my paris guardian angel) s cousin franck, who lives here. sarah and harold are really perhaps some of the most generous people ive ever met, and have introduced me to 2 family members who live along the route of my journey. first family member franck picked me up after work with a big smile and kiss on each cheek - despite my putrid, non-showered smell - grabbed my super heavy bag with ease, popped dear sofie into the car and drove me to his lovely apartment near the loire river. upon which i showered (BLISS), attempted to dry off my belongings, and laughed and conversed with him and his adorable girlfriend benedicte most of the evening long. they prepared a delicious dinner for me, a bed - a real, warm bed, and left me keys to leave at my leisure in the morning with an adorable note as i slept, wishing me a great trip. i could cry.

in fact i did. not now, but yesterday. it was unusual of me, but as i waited for franck i decided i would visit the ginormous cathedral the village boasts to get a little solace and peace. as soon as i walked in i started to tear up, i sat down and i just started to sob. i couldnt really explain it. it didnt feel like anything. i just put my head down in my hands and cried for as long as i needed to. then i walked out and felt a little different. the world was a little different.

and here i am on the morning of day 7. im going to take my time this morning and not rush off. i am proud of myself for what i did yesterday, i think also after 6 days of on the go, i can take the morning off, and also, i do need to look into some serious hair dryer work on my belongings. i saw this show called border security in australia where they look suspiciously on people with previously wet passports as its a well known way of covering up dodgy handmade jobs. hee hee hee. might be interesting trying to get back into the country. especially as i look like an entirely different person in my picture, 9 years down the track!

i have been taking photos and documenting every single part of my journey in what is now my water laden diary. i have decided that there is just too much detail and so much to say about each and every single day, that with the limited internet access i do have during this process, it would be just too much for me. so if you can all wait until this is over, i would like to start doing a day by day detailed log when i can sit down at a computer, rested, not worrying about time or money or how bad i smell or the next route to map, and really really do it justice. so i will pop in every now and then with a brief run down, but please wait a little for the details. thank you for your patience, and thank you thank you for all of your support and energy. it really has such a big effect on me and gives me such strength. keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

next, i am heading down south to bordeaux, via cognac hopefully (just really want to visit a place called cognac!), where sarahs grandparents are kindly expecting me. joy joy joy. by that time no doubt they will smell me coming. im a little worried about communicating with them in french, but i am very excited to meet them, and then after bordeaux is the last leg of my journey again along the river to toulouse - of course, via a town called condom, because one could not pass up an extraordinary photo opportunity with the daikon in a town such as that.

for all of the 6 days that it took to get to tours, the sun stroke, the nausea, the lightening and thunder, being wet and frozen to my bones, having to be creative with my tent location and toilet attempts - every single moment was worth it to meet beautiful beautiful franck and benedicte. i really dont have any words to thank them for their deep kindness and generosity in welcoming in with such gusto and warmness, a complete and cooky stranger from the other side of the world, with an odd idea and strong sense of stubborness.

there are such good good good human beings on this planet, and they live right next door to you. they are you. thank you universe for sending me david, harold, sarah, loise, franck and benedicte.

and so the journey continues...