Once again, the day began with rain. For a change, we were dry and so was our gear. Thank you Pierre! We spent the morning taking advantage of the many amenties we have taken for granted all of our lives: hot showers, electricity, a gas stove that doesn't get soot everywhere when you light it, a washer and dryer, a kitchen sink, and most importantly: a dwelling that protects you from rain that you don't have to pack into a bag when you leave!

My favorite this morning was the shower. One thing I miss about 'normal' life that I hadn't expected to care about is having a big fluffy towel to dry off with. I will forever value this luxury after our trip and I made sure to appreciate it this morning. After taking a hot shower and putting on clean, blissfully dry clothing I connected my laptop to Pierre's network and managed to get quite a bit of work done before we set out.

Though it was pouring this morning while we prepared to leave we were luckily able to cycle away from the farm under a light drizzle that never really picked up steam again for our entire ride. We took back roads to a nearby town, Rohan, where we rejoined the canal for one of our fastest rides. We made short work of the day, covering almost 60 kilometers in less than 3 hours before stopping at a campsite just off the canal about 100 kilometers from Nantes.

We set up camp just in time to escape the rain that by all accounts seems like it will continue all night. I know it sounds melodramatic but I am beginning to forget what dry clothes and the sun feel like.

Here are a few photos I snapped of the canal today: