We decided that we would buy new bicyles in Argen (see Kris’s entry for the reasons to replace them), as this is a large center with several bike/sports shops.

We had a late start for our 40km ride to Argen. The first part was the best as it was still hazy and we were on lovely quiet country roads. Later in the morning the heat began to build up. It was a busy road coming into Argen and bustling at the center of the city with lots of people sitting in cafes. Unfortunately by the time we got there the tourist office was closed (until 2pm) – Kris none the less got instructions to the local bike shop and Decathlon sports shop (from a local shop keeper). The bike shop was also closed for lunch, so off we went to Decathlon, which was a bit out of a ride out of town.

The Decathlon is a chain of sports super stores here- huge variety and everything very cheap compared to NZ. For example they even sell gear for horse riding – as well as camping, tramping, cycling, running, etc.

We found suitable bikes there and I also bought a new cycling shirt (later threw my old one away) and Kris bought a new helmet.

It took us hours to change everything over to our new bikes – we did this under some trees in the car park – by this time it was stinking hot, so not very pleasant. We changed the pedals, my saddle, pannier racks and water bottle holders.

My front pannier bag (called the snack box – as it was large enough to store a variety of fruit and muesli bars for emergency energy needs) was a casualty of the change over. The mounting was for a wider handle bar and we damaged it in the process of trying to improvise. I now have a smaller; cheaper version from Decathlon that mounts with velcro.

It was with great sadness that I left my bike in the Decathlon car park – it was my first bike as an adult, a Christmas present of some years back from Kris. It is still a good bike, just a little worn. Lately it has been called the Donkey, as I am like Sancho struggling to keep up with Don Quixote (me struggling to keep up with Kris on my bike). I hope that it is nabbed by a worthy thief and enjoyed.

We finished at around 7pm and headed back into town to find a hotel. Luckily we found an affordable 2 star hotel easily by just riding around the city. Once we had washed up we went off to find some food and for a drink (pastis for me, beer for Kris). The heat was incredible, according to a city thermometer display it was still 26 degrees at 10pm.