Dannemois (near Milly-la-forêt) to Paris 62km

Yesterday afternoon neither Tom nor I knew whether we would head to Paris today or not. I think both of us had become so accustomed to being out in the countryside that the prospect of a major city such as Paris didn’t fill us with the sense of excitement that perhaps it should have. I think it might have been partly down to the fact that we hadn’t secured a place to stay in Paris which contributed to our uncertainty about arriving in the capital.

I sent out numerous couch requests but what it being Paris and a popular destination we weren’t able to find anyone to host us. We finally decided late on Sunday night to simply go ahead and book ourselves into a hostel for the duration of our stay. By hostels standards it’s a little on the expensive side but again, this is Paris!

Before we set out on our way we were once again treated to a lovely breakfast spread which interestingly enough also included chocolate brownies, not that we were b. The remaining brownies plus chocolate bar were stuffed into my handlebar bag by Monique with the words “You will need these!”

As we hadn’t got to see much of Milly the day before Monique offered to drive us into the village to have a quick look around a take some snaps. Both of us were eager to get out on the road especially as there was a break in the weather in the morning but it was a fitting way to end our ‘mini’ stay there.

We finally waved goodbye to our incredibly generous hosts Monique and Michel just after 10:30 and were on our way to Paris. Any apathy we might have felt the day before had totally disappeared and both Tom and I were totally pumped at the prospect of arriving in this most famous of cities.

Tom obviously has his very own reasons for being excited in that his wife Charlotte will arrive on Wednesday to celebrate their wedding anniversary; for me it really is the final landmark destination in my journey and just one step closer to completing what I set out to do 202 days ago.

It seems that the closer we get to home the worse the weather gets. The heavens certainly opened last night and perhaps it was the deafening clap of thunder that persuaded us to move to Paris today instead of doing some more wild camping in the countryside around it.

The sky looked pretty menacing as we set out from Monique and Michel’s house but we were thankful at long last for a slight tail/cross wind. It’s only about fifty kilometres from Milly to Paris but I knew only too well from past experiences that making your way through a large city on a bike and looking for a specific address can be both a time consuming and slightly stressful experience.

I was a little anxious about riding into Paris, the sheer volume of cars is enough to put you off but it turned out to be pretty straight forward. I’ve ridden for the most part extremely carefully over the last six months but if anything what with me being so close to home I’m taking more and more care as I ride now.

Despite the fact that we only covered a distance of just over sixty kilometres we arrived at our destination The Loft Hostel in Paris at just after four. It was a massive relief to get here and I’m really looking forward to the prospect of two days of rest. You might say we’ve been resting quite a lot recently but I’m now very much of the opinion that after 14, 744 kilometres I’ve earned the right to choose when it’s time to put my feet up.

The hostel turned out to be really nice and will be my home for the next three nights and Tom’s for two as he and Charlotte have booked a swankier place to celebrate their anniversary. I’m not sure bunk beds in a eight bedroom dorm is the sort of romantic place one would wish to see in such an special event.

I don’t have too much planned while I’m here, sure I’ll go out and do the sights of Paris but I’ve often found that sightseeing in itself is more tiring than riding a bike one hundred plus kilometres. The blog as per usual needs some attention and there is also the small matter of making sure we have our escape route from this mad city well planned out.

In addition, and this will certainly have to wait until I get back and sorted in the UK there are just so many people who I have to write to. The amount of support I’ve received in the form of emails, Facebook messages and Tweets has been unbelievable and without such support this journey would have been far harder. I very much hope to get the time to sit down and write to each and every person personally to thank them for keeping me going.