Thoughts on our bike tour route

Over the past few hours I have given some thought to this year's motorcycle tour, and I don't want to be in the same position as last year, when it seemed that Charlie dictated the route.

For many, many years I have been fascinated by the Palaeolithic cave paintings in France and Spain, and, if at all possible, I really fancied including some of these sites in our tour.  Hence, this morning I Googled the locations of these caves, and found that there were several sites in the Vézère Valley.* 

Now this region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is about a day's ride due East of the French Alps.  A quick look at the map suggests that we could take in some of the Massif Central en route to Vézère.

I have posted this route suggestion in our WhatsApp group chat to see how the others felt about it. So far, TP seems very keen, but I've not yet had a response from Rob** or Charlie.

The rest of the day wasn't particularly busy. I took the Hobson and TB out for a walk and we met and chatted to a couple of friendly dog walker. Hobson also found a dead squirrel and was absolutely delighted  with it. He promptly picked it up and carried it for about half an hour mile, before abandoning it by the roadside.

The dogs were washed on our return, and I then grabbed the clippers to trim Hobson's face. It is almost two months, to the day, since he was last clipped, and he is starting to look a little shaggy. He now looks much smarter, and, hopefully, it won't be too long before his topknot is restored.

The only other thing to report is that my back was twinging quite badly this afternoon. I'm not sure what I have done, but I may have pulled a muscle when I was cleaning my shotgun yesterday. I took a selection of painkillers in the hope that it will clear up over the next day or two.***

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* In the Dordogne

** This is not particularly surprising, as Rob openly admits that he is "happy to go with the flow."

*** Having suffered from a slipped disk and foraminal stenosis back in 2023, I am now paranoid every time I have back ache.