Day 1 - Ouistreham to Bagnoles de l'Orne

And so it begins...me hunting caffeine down like a madwoman before I can even think about the bike.  After two double espressos I started to come to life.  The bike was ready, water and Garmin attached.  After the obligatory first group photo we set off.  The initial section of the route was lovely, smooth, flat cycling along the disused railway line beside the River Orne, this was giving everyone a chance to get to know each other through chit chat and cycling with different people.  The hills and the navigation started to kick in after a coffee stop, this is when I properly realised that my Garmin wasn't directing me as it should have so I had to revert to paper route notes or cling on to a group to ensure I took no wrong turns.  Latching on to Bob and Dan seemed to work and we made it to the lunch stop as a threesome.
After a very nice lunch the three of us headed off again into much more hilly territory than the morning offered...this is much more like the cycling I like and seemed to get stronger and stronger as the day went on.  I was only put off my stride when we passed a dead cat on the road which always upsets me.  After putting in a bit of speed play on smooth undulating roads, and reaching our first col (albeit a small one) we reached Bagnoles de l'Orne and to the Hotel Du  Beryl which is our home for the night.  A beautiful spa town in beautiful sunshine...I took a walk around the lake and sat in the sun relaxing for a while, this was a good day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/358784691

Miles - 68
Ascent - 1,100m
Rode with - everybody in the morning, Bob and Dan in the afternoon
Weather - sunny with one or two clouds, 25ish degrees