Was a mission of a day cycling thru the heart of this ancient city . Was a long day before we finally headed out of the city to find a camp site at a place called Port Saintry .

The sounds and aroma of Paris is distinctive , a cacophony of clamorous noise , frequent emergency vehicles going God knows where . The septic smell hints of ancient sewers that can’t cope with this huge population . One big surprise was the sheers numbers of black French peoples , a heritage of France’s colonial past . As our day progressed we cycles past neighbourhoods that seems mostly black .

I decided to tackle this formidable uncontrolled intersection with a full circuit which was pretty scary but managed it . Unfortunately I lost Barbs somehow . Fortunately we carrying VHF radios for just such scenarios and Comms were established and eventually we got back together again . Shortly after that cock-up I managed to add a bunch of kms to our day with a navigation mistake . My friend Jeff tells me that car insurance companies offer zero cover for accidents on this crazy intersection.

We stopped for a lazy lunch at an outside cafe that allowed us to keep a weather eye on the bikes . The afternoon stretched on as we made our way out of the city hugging the Seine river trails . We suffered hydration distress again as the day got hotter and hotter .

Was a long day before we finally found a campsite at a place called Port Saintry on the banks of the Seine . We set up the camp shortly before rains started giving our camping setup a great test . Came thru with flying colours .

I was feeling pretty happy as I managed to purchase a bag of ice that we used to chill a nice bottle of Rose that was enjoyed as a well earned reward for a big day . In actual fact Paris has made big efforts to embrace cycling and in consequence its a much batter cycling friendly culture than it used to be .

Our day 10 ended at a nice Municipal campsite at the town of Samoreau right on the banks of the Seine . Another 2 days will have us on the Loire river .