Blissful cycling in the beautiful Dordogne

Simon hooks up with his regular crew for a week cycling in the stunningly beautiful Dordogne region of France.
The team got lucky with accommodation – staying in a mind-blowingly large and lavish house in the village of Domme. It looks it, but it wasn’t crazy expensive.
The riding wasn’t too bad either!
For Simon, it was a big physical challenge, riding with a group on much longer rides than usual . . . but with some rest days, he got the job done.
PS: Despite the lack of love for French coffee, Simon may have changed his mind as he did find at least a couple of cups of a drinkable brew 🙂

now then YouTube Well we’re going off on a bike adventure How exciting E Uh we are crossing the border from Spain into Label France Now here we are in France on the A9 motorway heading for the Dodo For those who are not fantastically certain of their French geography is kind of halfway up France on the western side but not on the coast Uh and if I had to describe it I’d say for UK viewers it’s it’s kind of like a Cotsworld I guess Lots of pretty picture postcard villages with lots of lovely stone buildings We are on our way I just stopped for a coffee Why for a nation of gourmans who care deeply about food and drink why do the French serve such terrible coffee uh and that partly explains why my car is packed to the absolute gumls to the high amusement of my mates I have packed my big coffee machine Got to be that way Well that’s the schle of the French auto route done Uh pretty much without incident actually Uh I love the French auto routes The motorway nirvana compared to driving in the UK Now take my word for it I wouldn’t normally bore you with pictures of my Airbnb but god you’ve got to see inside this place It is incredible Heat Heat [Music] You know I think this trip partly explains my uh previous impatience which you will have come across if you’ve seen my other videos I was desperate to get fit for this trip Absolutely desperate because or in some kind of shape anyway because we’ve been doing this trip with the same bunch of lads for the best part of 20 years really And it’s a trip that means a lot to me And that’s why I wanted to get in shape But probably in reality it’s come a bit early for me really It’s early June now and it’s only just under 4 months since I finished chemo So to expect to have got back in great shape for that is was maybe unrealistic Anyway we’re going to find out aren’t we because we’ll be going out on the bike soon Just a 60 kilometer loop today with a long lunch stop planned You know we’re in France after all My mate Dave seemed to find it highly amusing I’d be riding with three cameras lashed to my bike including a 360 camera I have never seen anything So so it’s shooting 360 Yeah So front and back controls down here is moving Now you got to do shooting in 360 [Music] It felt great to be out riding with a group again And despite my pless physical condition this is where the ebike really kicks in cuz I could keep up no problem Early [Music] impressions the DOIA is fantastically and lusciously green He wants cry out to me [Music] After a long late and most enjoyable lunch it was an easy cruise back and a chance to test out the fake drone capabilities of the 360 cam Not a bad result actually Through the castle gates into our ancient Bastid town And that’s ride one dumb Well home and host now I felt fine after that ride Actually it was extremely enjoyable ride That much is sure Uh this uh place is a really lovely spot to ride a bike Uh with an abundance of caution I’m going to take a day off tomorrow Uh weather’s not looking great anyway and that’ll give me a little bit of rest and then onto ride two [Music] Fantastic Beautiful field full of poppies Attack attack attack Not the DOA but a very beautiful clear running river [Music] All good boys Absolutely top over Very pleasant cycling around here Rolling hills not too hot Uh low 20 centrade today Very very green very lush Lots of these walnut trees Walnuts are big around here Go 2 km to the top right oh my god Ran dropped in Have fun boys Have fun How’s the legs been oh smashing Thanks Couldn’t be better It’s 20 Yeah it’s 20 to two So they fed golf food Potential lunch stop here I think Uh could this be any more French i don’t think so [Music] Michael absolutely bloody beautiful slightly tired now because I got into a rather ill advised paceel line uh going faster than my motor limit which meant it was all my legs and uh it was pretty uh tasty Yeah missed the break there Yeah I may have burnt more matches than I actually possess but hey ho All good Well I have to say that the organizers of this trip have done a fantastic job Absolute letter You are looking very strong at David Lean strong and fast That’s me We got it in a in a nutshell I’m trying hard Yeah And and taking a lot of wind for your for your friends which is always appreciated You have to look after they are another one By how’s your day been well I’m older and slower but I loved it Sorry about that Uh three rides in and the inevitable extreme fatigue has hit I expected it I don’t welcome it All the other lads have gone out on a ride So I feel a bit like Billy Nomade stuck here on my own There is no alternative I have to rest which is what I’m doing But a big dinner at the Putin size table put me right back on track Well for pretty much the first time on this trip we have a beautiful blue sky sunshine day Oh look at a very nice relaxed 60 kilometers today Absolutely gorgeous day As I said earlier great to be back out Looking forward to it [Music] It was rebelling It’s given up now Seven blog garments Thinks I’m uh unable to follow rules Lord knows how much rootting Shambles Absolutely Yeah And uh Yeah It’s no wonder France is the most visited country in the world by tourists It’s just such a beautiful place Another [Music] thing I’ve noticed here actually is very few cyclists on the road You’d expect so many more It’s uh perfect cycling but road cyclists are few and far between [Music] Well that’s been a great day out Probably enjoyable Uh rolling terrain Those little bombs can take it out of you actually Uh just the last few K to go now including the final climb up to our Citadel village on the top of a hill It’s about 150 m ascent over about 3 or 4K Bit of a beast actually to finish on France 2025 Dom some admirable postride stretching and some old man groaning And that was that Okay back in Spain now after a absolutely fantastic trip You know someone once said to me “You really ought to make some new friends.” To which I responded “Why there’s now wrong with the old ones.” And I think that this trip has uh definitely proved that Absolutely brilliant Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it Now physically there’s no doubt it was a bit of a stretch I did more in a week than I’ve probably done in the last two months But you know what they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger See you next time YouTube