Day 24 of cycling, its the 14th of May.
I am glad to be on the road again, having left Nantes, but don’t completely enjoy myself today. I hope that this detour pays off, travelling at least 150km from Nantes to Vannes to get my camera fixed directly from the regional Canon Licensed repair facility. After finding out that it would take 6 weeks of sending and waiting to repair otherwise it seemed the only thing to do.
But its going in the wrong direction to my next goal, Bourdeux, and then the red envelope that Caroline has sent to a post office on the coast. Today its contents worry me. Today I feel fragile, and unprepared for the truths that it probably holds.
I can’t think of what happened today to write down. My thoughts were grim, and now with some kind of contentment after a good meal in a safe field I am reluctant to put the down. Partly too, because they sound like a series of cliches on being homeless and alone. I draw the cracked and rotting tooth in my mouth. 
Today was 119km of being too determined to complete a chore, so that when a man offered to let me camp in his garden, I turned him down, as it wasn’t far enough along my way. The highlight of my day had been careening down the huge bridge that spans the Loire at Saint Nazaire, reaching 52km per hour, to the cheers of some other cycle tourists making the slow ascent in the other direction.
My stay in Nantes wasn’t as refreshing as I had hoped, I was tense because of the repairs that needed to be made to Rose, and the issue of my camera. But my hosts Gwen and Arthur were very helpful and kind, and it would have been a disaster without them and their flatmates company. I did get to see the machines of the isle of Nantes workshop which is a huge hangar by the waterfront filled with superfluous mechanical creations in the style of Jules Verne. They were incredible.
I also had the pleasure of going rock climbing with my ex-flatmate Rodolphe’s sister and her Boyfriend. We had a great evening climbing then undid our hardwork with beer and pizza. Its a shame that we didn’t meet earlier.
