Lazy Sunday in France, feeling a little sad

Ed ready for the off #RideLondon46

Welcome to another #LazySundayinFrance and I’m certainly feeling lazy today, but I’m also a little sad.

July has been a great month; the weather has been hot and sunny, Ed got a fantastic result in his BAC exams, the courgettes are being harvested aplenty, the Tour de France (and especially the commentary from Ned Boulting, David Millar, Gary Imlach and Chris Boardman) has been keeping me entertained for the last three weeks, and even though I had to stay up later than normal, I got to see the blood moon/eclipse on Friday night, but as the month (and the TDF) comes to an end, so does my four months at the library and this makes me sad. I have had such a great experience, learned a lot and it’s given me tons of confidence, but sadly I’m missing out on family moments too.

Today Paris will see the final stage of the Tour de France where Geraint Thomas will be wearing a well-deserved yellow jersey and sadly I won’t be there in person, like we were in 2015 (see here for my top tips). I’d love to be there again, one year, although I would prefer the weather to be warmer and dryer than we experienced last time. However, much as I love my French village life and Paris, I’d actually rather be in London this weekend. 

 

Brompton World Championships

Yesterday evening Adrian was racing with the other woman in his life, his Brompton bike, called Delilah. The Brompton World Championship race is part of the Prudential RideLondon cycling fest that has taken over London this weekend. Dressed in a shirt, bowtie and jacket (there are strict rules of no sports clothing), Adrian performed a running, Le Mans style start, unfolded Delilah and set off on a 16km circuit around London. It looked great fun to watch, thanks to Ed (who had a VIP ticket) for keeping me informed with text and photo updates.

 

Ed's JustGiving page

Today will be even more difficult for me in France. Ed is taking part in the Prudential RideLondon 46; a 46 mile/80km sportive around London and the first time he has taken part in an event like this as well as his first experience of cycling in the UK. He has chosen to ride for Mind, The Mental Health Charity and has already raised £240, but I’m hoping he can break the £300 mark by the end of today. Having been stuck in a heatwave for weeks, the weather in London is forecast to be cold, wet and windy today, so please send him your best wishes and if you would like to add to his sponsorship total you can find his JustGiving page here. Ed, I won’t be there to watch you come over the finish line, sorry, but I am so proud of you and all you have achieved this year xxxx

Adrian is also cycling again today, this time on his big bike, and tackling the Prudential RideLondon 100, for the third year running. I’m usually at the finish line along The Mall, but not this year. With work at the library yesterday morning and tomorrow afternoon, getting to London, and back again, sadly wasn’t an option. Thanks to an app on my iPhone I will be able to virtually follow their progress throughout the day, but it’s not going to be quite the same experience as the last two years. I hope you both have fun and please stay safe!

Thankfully I’ll not be alone as I’m spending this afternoon with friends from the village; eating, drinking and dancing as only a French village can. To be honest, any distraction is a good distraction as sad doesn’t even come close to how upsetting it is to read that the UK is free-falling towards a No Deal exit from the EU. Articles like this and this show a bleak future for those of us in the EU.