Yes it is French fogs, not frogs!

The brass monkeys made an appearance again this morning as we departed. Bare legs made me regret not getting the merino leg warmers out. We did not get out of the car park on first attempt as Tony rode around doing laps testing his bike post yesterday’s crash. Something did not feel right and quickly his concerns were proven correct and there was a loud “clunk” as his rear derailleur dropped. Dang it, his derailleur hanger had fractured.

Fortunately we travel with 2 spare hangers otherwise he would more than likely have been off the road for days as the hangers are specific to brands and it would be highly unlikely that we could have sourced one until Friday in Basel (Switzerland being the home of BMC).  So Steve kindly fitted it for Tony and we were soon on the road.

Leaving Provins we skirted past the medieval cite and descended quickly into the middle of town.

At Novent-Sur-Seine (22.7 km) we caught what is perhaps our last glimpse of La Seine.

At Marigny (44.6 km) we thought about stopping for a coffee but decided to push on  into Troyes as we knew that was a large town.

The morning was incredibly foggy and very still.  As we traversed through open farm land there was little we could see due to the fog. Passing wind turbines we could not see the  blades.

We arrived at Troyes at 11.45 am (75.5 km) and pulled in at the first boulangerie. By the time we ordered the queue was out onto the footpath. What I find amazing about France is that you can take your food from the boulangerie and head to the brasserie to eat it ( on the basis that you buy a drink). So I ordered two coffees and we sat outside. It was the best salmon baguette ever!

Troyes is a nice looking old city as can be even from these photos. It is the capital of the Aube and featured many half timbered homes.

We we then rode along a bike path for quite some time adjacent to a canal.  We skirted the Foret d’Orient natural park.

Once the fog lifted the wind arrived and for the rest of the day we had a fairly strong headwind. We did two lengthy sections on busy roads with semi trailers rushing past causing significant air displacement pushing us around somewhat. We later learned this freaked out a couple of the other riders.

We were really pleased to pull off the highway at the 120 km mark and descend a few km to Dolancourt, a quiet and sleepy village with the exception of a totally out of place theme park featuring a Ferris wheel and tower of terror.

We are staying at a great hotel and had an amazing meal but have only just finished at 10.30 pm so feeling quite tired now. The picture be.ow shows the view from the restaurant where we are our evening meal.