travel

All Bikes Charente aka Sharky's

Lessac, Poitou-Charentes, France
Sunday, June 17, 2012

Great night sleep on Ron and Christine's fold out lounge. A real pillow - a real treat!
The day dawned bright and sunny and we set out for Sharky's, about an hour's ride away. The roads wound through the gorgeous countryside but the surface in most parts, was crap. They had either just been repaired, in the middle of being repaired and had a loose gravel covering, or in desperate need of repair with cracks and potholes everywhere.

The towns were totally deserted which I found strange for a Sunday. Every single town and village in France has a church - usually a large church in the middle of town. But I have never seen anyone in them - even on a Sunday. It's the opposite in Australia where we live an outdoor life, especially on sunny days. But here you can ride through 10 villages and not see a soul.

After a fabulous ride, we arrived at Sharky's to a great welcome from about 10 of the BCF members including Dave and John. Julie cooked us bacon and egg rolls and we all stood around spinning bull about bikes.

We passed the time verbally pulling Dave's bike apart and suggesting improvements. Then they moved on to John's and then Geoff's. They stopped short of suggesting Henry needed an upgrade - he's just perfect the way he is.

After a while they all drifted home leaving me to pitch my (wet) tent in the yard.

Paul and Julie run All Bikes Charente, a biker B&B with bunkhouses and camping area.  It's a lovely converted farmhouse and the whole place is perfect for groups of riders passing through. Everything is laid on including an area to sit out of the weather, hot shower and use of the fridge and drinks. Julie even put on a load of washing for me.

I spent the afternoon relaxing and chilling out in the gorgeous sunshine and then Julie cooked Cottage Pie for dinner. We yakked and yakked until late and I had an excellent night sleep in the total peace and quiet of the forest camp.

Some of the crowd at Sharky's
Some of the crowd at Sharky's
Henry meets the bikes
Henry meets the bikes
Bacon and Egg roll
Bacon and Egg roll
Ron's alternate GPS
Ron's alternate GPS
The crowd discuss bikes
The crowd discuss bikes
The crowd discuss Dave's bike
The crowd discuss Dave's bike
Discussing the rear of Dave's bike
Discussing the rear of Dave's bike
Remodelling Geoff's bike
Remodelling Geoff's bike
Gwyn making a quick getaway
Gwyn making a quick getaway
followed by John
followed by John
and then Dave leaving with Tel's key
and then Dave leaving with Tel's key
All quiet again
All quiet again
Sharky's farmhouse
Sharky's farmhouse
My patch - with clean washing
My patch - with clean washing
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