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#Tuesday
06:50: I slept like a log, snug and warm in the extra layers. I kept my socks on and I had a t-shirt and long-sleeved top on in the sleeping bag. I don’t feel chilly at all. Oh, but the thermometer on my bag registers 8°C.
Yesterday it was 1°C. It’s overcast and due to be showery. No washing facilities here so a smear of deodorant, make breakfast and I’ll be on my way after breaking camp. I do need to do some shopping — I need bread for lunch and I need something for dinner.
08:34: ready to move! Rain has arrived.
09:07: Close to the town centre. Stopping for a coffee — there’s a Netto discount shop across the road.
09:55: Shopping done. €10.82. Bread, cheese and rocket for lunch, lentils, parsley and couscous for dinner. Got directions to the post office and I’m dropping rubbish in a bin at the supermarket.
10:22: OK, Notebook 2 posted. Finding the route to Magenta, which is my next waypoint on the way to Châllons-en-Champagne. Épernay is a lovely town, I’d like to linger.
10:41: Going well. Stopped in a patisserie to take my last chance for a snack. Pain-au-raisins for €1.25.
10:55 Foam earplugs in. Watery sun appears behind cloud. Overcast is rising in altitude, but it’s still 100% featureless.
11:14: Feeling awesome. Ay village.
13:16: Stopping for lunch. I’m on the canal. It’s overcast and cool, but the rain has held off. I’m one kilometre east of Bisseul. It’s 12°C. There’s not a soul around.
14:23: Moving again. Charging my phone from the battery pack. 22 minutes to go.
14:37: 4km to Condé-sur-Marne.
15:40: Condé-sur-Marne.
15:55: Since rejoining the canal, I’ve been back in flat terrain. No more vineyards to be seen.
15:58: Pause for water and to take trouser legs off.
18:18: Industrial outskirts.
18:58: Kettle on after the tour of Rokhaya’s place. She’s a dote.
19:37: Sitting in the kebab shop around the corner. I could have made dinner but I thought a sit down feed would go down well. I’m having the assiete kofte which is a plate of chips, salad and koftas.
20:04: Delish. My ankles are a little stiff! 36kms today.
20:15: At Rokhaya’s laptop, booted into Linux. She left her laptop behind specifically so I could use it! I’ll have a Skype with Aisling later too.
