D 6 Forges_les_Eaux to Vernon
 great excitement as the lady at the camping informed me the Tour will swing past near giverny monet,s home and gardens. So decided to push on with a pre breakfast 25 km in the d road (straight with lengthy gentl(ish) inclined as several driven across normandy ....works out a bit quicker than picking your way in the dodgy signposted narrow lanes. Breakfast stop took me into my first market poulet roti with potatoes surprisingly just the ticket at 9am after a 5 am start!

Tour due here at Gournay-en-Bray tomorrow but I need to get closer to Paris and catch it earlier in the day. Lovely riding over some very rural upland lanes before dropping back into the valley of the Epte which waters the famous lillies. Past the fabulous Gisors with medieval castle guarding the western marches of Normandy. It was here that Rollo signed the treaty granting the Vikings this land and directly led to Willy the Conq and those Normans under whose yoke we still struggle !

(Ref chat day 3 riders!).

Passed Lorenzo en route london rome.....encouraging and said we would bump into each other again !

And then giverny just before closing when it was a bit quieter.last here with my mum 50 yearsago!

Then onto Vernon an old Bourbon stronghold wherethetourcomes shortly - vite vite!

A bit of a crazy night of fireworks bands playing djs etc no camping and no rooms so I sneaked the bike with panniers along the river in what looked like an abandoned houseboat securely locked to the metal gangway. Came back after dark to wild camp and it had gone!

Blind panic - I decidedtheriverside security boats all prepping the area for the Tour had confiscated it but rang one last time a bell for the 'abandoned houseboat to finally get an irate response to the effect in French that I had a nerve and she had removed it and indeed I found it testing against a wall 100metres away! Just my luck to pick a Madonna house she had dawn though the steel bars! Miss me your arrive!