I nearly had the ‘party’ problem again last night (see Rhine Day 11) with very loud talking, laughing and singing from the owners downstairs until I dropped off instantly @11:40, out like the proverbial light for the next 6 hours. I should add that writing this blog gives me the perfect mental workout and often leaves my eyelids drooping.

Luckily I had a Boulangerie across the road,  so got breakfast, and a reward for @15 miles down the road. I left @ 7:25am.

After a long climb out of EU, it flattened out with spectacular views over the Nationale Nature Reserve de la Somme extending out to the sea. Leaving Eu didn’t seem to be the right thing to do, but I really had no choice…..

I had started early(ish) as the weather forecast showed a 50-80% chance of rain in the afternoon and already the clouds looked threatening behind.

After descending to the nature reserve, the route followed both tarmac’d and gravel tracks out to Cayeux–sur-Mer. The trouble with gravel tracks is that you just don’t know how long they will last and whether they they will get any worse. I’ll name it ‘surface anxiety’.

While stopping briefly in a bus stop, I noticed that it was Part 2 of the French election today and then promptly forgot all about it as I didn’t see any evidence of it happening.

I recalled that at the same time last Sunday I had been waiting for Intermarche to open for a new charger. Tempus fugit.

Cayeux-sur-Mer is that sort of place you need to drive out to, rather than pass through. It had a nice feeling about it especially as there was a checkpoint being set up for a local trail run (if only I’d known) and some quirky wooden bikes.

Benefitting from another tailwind, albeit less strong, the next stop was La Crotoy 15 miles round the nature reserve. This was a pleasant little town not only reached by road but also a 1km curved causeway, leading to the port.

It was in La Crotoy while buying lunch that I came across, automated payment machines, which are good from both an efficiency and health perspective, but possibly outdated given the increasing number of transactions by card.

It was shortly afterwards that painted EV4 signs started to appear on the road, all the way to Boulonge-sur-Mer. I suspect that this must be by arrangement with the local Department.

And on the route to Etaples, there was more street art to hide unsightly sub-stations.

After 81 miles I arrived at Boulonge-sur-Mer Youth hostel at 6pm greeted by one of the biggest dogs I have seen in along time. A Great Dane. Calling it Scooby would be too obvious.

After getting cleaned up, I headed into Boulogne for some food, forgetting that it was Sunday, which explained why most places were closed. However I managed to find some pasta in a local bar watching the election results. What a week in UK & French politics.