D7 Saturday July 14
Vernon to Sagy

After the nights excitement over the bike i settled down in my little tent and a chap.out walking his dog leaned over admired the tent and said if I needed anything I should knock at no 6. So I dropped off to sleep.with my faith in human nature restored after my encounter with the mad woman!

I went back into the centre to size up the situation and decide where to watch the Tour ride a bit of the course and got the inevitable cracks 'you're winning!'. Found bar tabac in a promising location close to short climb and turn into the bridge across the second and settled in to await events.
I'd chosen well as the Vernon cycle club were also there on the vin rose and suggesting this was the panacea for cyclists! I explained it was a bit early (09.00) for me!!

The tour guys started at 11.30 and passed through Vernon at around 1pm - first a breakaway group of 3 followed a couple of minutes later by the peloton who fly past in a flurry of noise and excitement. To add to the spectacle the accompanying caravan includes in order the out riders, the merchandise sponsors on floats throwing freebies to the crowds the cyclists with accompanying motor bike camera crews then the team cars carrying all the back up (you've never seen so many bikes mounted on cars) all accompanied in the sky by a fleet of helicopters quite a thing to experience!
So after all the excitement I set off to put some miles in and promptly got myself lost. As I am learning France is big with big geography - I climbed up out of the valley of the seine 3 times as my wayward navigation led me round the houses. It was all very pretty but having resorted to my Garmin GPS  trek it directed me up a field trAck which led to a very hot traverse of the uplands of the Vexin natural park high above the Seine and I was too hot and tired to capture it in a picture. Suffice to say the expedition worthiness of my Thorn bike came into its own and got me eventually back on track for a final spin down once again signposted country lanes until I rounded a corner to be greeted with a beery cheer.

I'd been expecting more of such charity ride groups en route but I must say it rather boosted flagging spirits and by the time they had pushed on to their pre-booked accommodation in nearby Cergy I had been made most welcome by the locals who recommended I stick around for the evening as it was the annual veterans of course I could put up my tent in the garden of the local mayor to whom I was introduced! A Lovely evening ensued with light music provided by the village orchestra, a mass meal on presale tables fulfilling all my fantasies of what a proper French fete would be like a fireworks.display and a  ritual burning of a tree branch  to be replaced with a new one signifying the new year...all fascinating for  the anthropologist with in me! Of course after all.this it  was 01am and Monsieur me Mayor wouldn't hear of me camping so I had a comfortable night in his spare room and a relaxed breakfast hearing about his forthcoming trip to England in his America  keep to a second world war vehicle convention in kent. I think we agreed that each other's interests were different but the entent cordiale was reinforced by my visit!