13 August 2005

A misty early morning outside the car park at the hotel near Bolougne-sur-Mer which was the location of our first stay. Located in the middle of an industrial estate close to the A16 motorway running from Calais to Amiens, this hotel boasts almost no amenities other than a bed and television in each room. The working commual shower is available to all guests on a first come first served basis and we undersand that it is hoped that at some point in the New Year the cleaning supplies and towels will be taken out of the communal toilet and that it will be available once again to all guests. Leaving the hotel early in the morning we promptly got split up and separated trying to ge back to the motorway (the industrial estate was a tricky place to get out of). Reunited some two hours later, Tom had spent his time trapped on a motorway heading away from me while I was engaged in searching a section of motorway looking for the oil cap of my bike which had somehow come off and wiping the oil off my trousers, jacket and motorbike. Once united we headed south for St Nazaire.