Jour trois – Le camping n’est pas joli!
Ok so first thing to say is that I am afraid this is going to be shorter than usual….time and technology have not been our friends today.
We know we have a long day ahead of us so it’s an early start and after a cup of tea and packing up we are up and off before 8am. I am evidently still not a camping convert I’m afraid …sleep is fitful and not at all refreshing. I understand it is a necessary evil if we are to get to Monte Carlo but really, what is the point?
The Sat Nav seems to like to warm us up by taking us round in pointless circles before actually taking us where we need to go so it is 15 minutes before we actually head out of Vitre just as the sun comes up.
Despite agreeing yesterday that we will stop every ten miles we instantly ignore that and cycle for far more than that and it’s a stupid mistake…we do stop once or twice for a quick refuel and a bike service…
……but by the time we roll into Craon around 40 miles down we are already really tired.
As anyone who has been to rural Northern France probably knows the roads are very long and very straight and just cut across the countryside. Great if you are in a car but the endless ups and downs combined with a stiff headwind make it very heavy going. It is physically and mentally exhausting and energy sapping.
There is supposed to be a picture here but tech has defeated us….maybe update it later(ok…here it is!)
There seems to always be a church spire or a water tower on the horizon to aim for but it takes forever to actually arrive and then the next one, miles in the distance hove’s into view.
We pull over for lunch around the 50 mile mark ….…
….which is the scene of the funniest thing of the day (although I very much suspect that you had to be there!) As we sit under the oak trees Dan rhythmically lobs acorns at Marc’s head until he is advised (in quite strong terms by the way) to stop. With absolute perfect timing an acorn falls from the tree and hits Marc square on the head. The difference is that it has come from 30ft up so it gives Marc a proper crack . He instinctively lashes out at Dan who is already rolling around in hysterics!
It’s around this time I point out to Dan that his wheel has a small buckle in it.
We finally arrive at the Loire valley proper……
...and almost as soon as we do we turn due east which means the wind is for he first time at our backs…and OMG what a difference it makes!
For the first 10 or 15 miles along the valley the pace is good but as we get more and more tired we get slower and slower even with our now regular stops. We do manage to keep our spirits up….…
...but it has been a brutally hard and long day.
We eventually roll in to Saumur around 1830 after 118 miles of cycling…it has been massive.
When see a big cycle store we decide it would be prudent to see if we can get Dan’s wobbly wheel sorted which is when we realise for the first time that it isn’t just buckled, somehow one of spokes has pulled right through the rim smashing a hole clean through it.
He is incredibly lucky the wheel hasn’t failed on him completely, it has to be replaced. Fortunately they have the right size wheel but not with a disc brake fitting. Dan now has a round wheel (as opposed to square!) but he has no rear brake…..very much less than ideal!
We eventually find the campsite and get settled around 2000 and then scoot back into town to hoover up some food and then sleep.
What a day!