The previous evening we went to bed early (9.30pm) and the band playing next to the campground rocked us to sleep. It was like being at a festival and we both slept well. We had our tarp set up over the tent and it kept our tent dry from the rain during the night.

The campground had kids on a school camp but they didn’t make too much noise. It just concerned me a bit when i went to have my shower and one was having a covid test in the shower block. Nobody wears masks here and there seems to be a lot of people with bad coughs (or maybe I’m just noticing it more).

It was a nice day of cycling alongside the Loire river on cycle paths. Easy cycling, but my knee continues to give me grief on hills, especially walking up them. But we soon need to get our kms up if we are to make it back to Cherbourg before our 90 days in the EU are up.

In the afternoon, big black clouds appeared around us and I thought I heard thunder in the distance. Then big splots of rain came at us, so we stopped and waterproofed our bikes and got our rain coats handy. Then the big splots stopped barely before they started and it didn’t actually rain.

We made it to the city of Orleans and we are staying in a hotel so we can explore the town. But as soon as we got to our room, we passed out on the bed, exhausted. Not sure why we’re so tired, but we haven’t had a decent meal for almost a week.

<A little bit of history> Joan of Arc led an army to relieve Orleans from the siege it was under back in the 1400s which made her a heroine. She then continued to lead armies during the 100 year war against the Brits. She was captured by a mercenary and handed over to the English where she was tried for heresy and was burned at the stake. Some time after she was killed, the catholic church held an enquiry and pardoned her. Sorry about the sad story.</end>

At 7.30pm we walked the 15 mins into town for some dinner. We chose chicken, chips and salad and it was a huge plate for only 9 euros, and it was yumy. Just as we were finishing up, the rain finally came and it pelted it down. We had to walk back to our hotel in the torrential downpour and we got soaked. Thankfully we are in a hotel and not camping.

We did 41 kms today.

Just 36 kms again today as there is no other camping for another 43 kms.

We had another torrential downpour last night at 1.30am accompanied by more thunder and lightning directly overhead. We had our tent tarp over our tent and it stayed relatively dry and we managed to pack up a dry tent.

We have now run out of cereal. We had a little bit for breakfast but due to lack of shops we’ve been unable to replace it.

We left camp this morning a little hungry and with very little water. About an hour into our ride we were pleased to find a little patisserie which served coffee. We also ordered pastry each despite my pledge to give them up. Tomorrow.

It was an easy but hard day today. The riding was easy and cool, a light mist surrounded us for most of the day. I just seemed to be lacking energy, probably due to bad diet and lack of sleep.

We found a nice campground beside the river for only 13 euros. It’s the summer solstice here and there’s a good band playing next to the camp.

We found a shop but they had no cereal. So we bought bacon and zucchini and made a pasta. Tomorrow we go to Orleans.

We had spectacular thunder and lightning storms last night. We’d set up our tarp so we could sit under it if it rained and I was watching the storms when the tarp got full of water and collapsed over me.

I dried myself off and crawled into bed, the rain pelting down and flashes of lightning illuminating our tent.

Finally the storms moved away and I could hear them rumbling in the distance. Then the rain stopped and I finally got to sleep after midnight.

We had a slow start to the day. We had tea, followed by coffee, followed by muesli, followed by waiting for the sun to dry out tent.

We eventually got packed up and left camp around 11am. We cycled through the town of Amboise, then pushed our bikes up a very steep hill.

It was threatening to rain all day but it still hasn’t happened. We only rode 30 kms today as we found a nice campsite by the river for only 10 euros. It also has a shelter beside our tent which is good as dark clouds had appeared. So we decided to stop at 2.30pm and have a quiet afternoon. It was actually cool enough to crawl into the tent and have an afternoon nap.

I awoke to some French cycle tourists who had decided to join us at the shelter. They were very nice and even offered to share their wine with us! We politely declined.

As per usual, there is no shop here, so we had to rely on emergency rations. We had some dried salami that didn’t need refrigeration and fried it up with some rice. I also fried up some stale baguette in garlic oil and it was actually quite nice. Not a vegetable is sight though.

We also ran into a couple of English cycle tourers we ran into a few days ago. They are taking it slowly like us, not wanting to miss anything. They camped here last night as well and didn’t get the rain we got in Amboise.

A nice sunset tonight and still no rain as yet.

Today was a bit scary for me. We’d spent the morning sightseeing and vlogging around Tours, and the last stop was the train station.

Mike had gone off to film a vlog while I took some photos of the train station with my phone. As I was doing this, I sensed someone watching me and turned around and there was a lady eying me up.

She was like a cat, trying to corner me. I stepped to the left, she stepped to the left. I tried going to the right as she followed, maintaining eye contact like a cat stalking its prey. I tried stepping backwards and she followed. I thought about running but didn’t think that wouldn’t end well.

Then I saw Mike a distance behind her, oblivious to what was happening. Feeling trapped, I yelled out to him. Thankfully he saw what was happening straight away and came running over, yelling at the woman.

A horrible scowl crossed her face and she muttered something that must have been a curse word. It wasn’t until Mike was at my side that she finally backed off. We headed into the relative safety of the train station and waited a few minutes before heading out a different way, making sure she didn’t follow us.

In all my years of travelling alone, nothing like this has ever happened to me. She must have thought I was an easy target thinking I was distracted, but I always keep an eye out on what’s going on around me. I know it drives Mike nuts at time, but it’s important to follow your gut instinct. If something doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t. Think we were lucky this time.

Other than that, we’ve enjoyed touring around Tours, hiding away from the heat in our air-conditioned hotel.

We went out for dinner and had no idea what we were ordering. I ended up with raw fish in 38 degree heat, and Mike had a snail.

Back on the bikes tomorrow, and I think it’s gonna rain for the next few days.

We left our lovely little camp and were on the road by 8.30am. The reason we managed to get away so early in was because we skipped coffee.

The morning was cool but still about 25 degrees, but soon warmed up to mid-30s.

Most of the day was smooth flat cycle paths, a lot of it beside the river. We barely had to check we were going the right way!

We passed at lot of cyclists going the other way and they all called out ‘Bonjour’ so we were constantly Bonjouring people all day. The we came across the non-bonjouring crowd. No matter who we bonjoured they just ignored us. They were definitely not French!

Anyway, I wrote a song as we cycled along and it’s called Bonjour. I’ll sing it for you sometime, maybe on a vlog.

We stopped at a little town for espresso and had a little break. I’m finding I’m becoming less dependent on coffee so that is good.

As we continued our cycle I spotted a magnificent chateau on our right. We took a little detour down to it and it was impressive. Mike put his drone up and hopefully got us cycling towards it.

A river ran alongside the chateau and a lady was paddling with her dog on a SUP and I thought of Buddy. Then we stopped at the cafe there for an Orangina. I think my coffee addiction has been replaced with orangina, which is a lightly carbonated orange drink. Delicious.

We were going to stop at a campground just 30 kms away, but we got there at midday and decided to ride a further 20km to the next camp. It’s now only a 15 kms cycle ride to Tours where we will hunker down in an air conditioned hotel as it’s going to be 40 plus degrees over the next two days. Tours is supposed to be a nice city so it makes sense.

We stopped at our camp at 3.30pm and are waiting to see where the sun goes before we set up our tent as we got it completely wrong the night before.

It’s 9pm and it’s finally cooled down enough to write a blog, although it’s still about 28 degrees.

We got away from camp about 9am this morning, an early one for us. I’d checked my phone and it said it was a flat ride today and about 30 kms. I was feeling good about that, not wanting to ride in the heat of the day.

The signs guided us out of town and suddenly where cycling up a hill. But Google told me it would be flat. There was another cycle tourist so we knew we were going the right way.

Then there were more signs sending us up more hills. What the heck? After a while we got suspicious. The signs were sending us this way but where were all the other cycle tourers? Since we got on the Loire valley it’s been very popular with cyclists.

After some more ups and downs we made it back to the river. We had to stop to give way to all the cycle tourers taking the flat river route, smiles on their faces, not a care in the world.

Those damn signs are in cahoots with our gadgets me thinks. We were slightly annoyed we didn’t get to follow the flat route. Knee was probably more annoyed than anyone.

It was lovely cycling until we got the the town of Saumur. We stopped and had a drink at a cafe, just a brief respite from the heat. There were no sign posts telling us where to go so we just made up our own route. Saumur was a neat little town full of bars cafes and restaurants, all surrounded by old buildings and caves set into the hill.

After a look around the town, we found the signs again but they were sending us up a very steep hill to the chateau. We thought it looked better from the flat and followed our own route along the river.

Then the signs sent us back up a hill and this time we followed because the route was taking us through caves. The temperature dropped 15 degrees and it was so nice and cool.

The caves dated back to the 12 century where they were used as accommodation for chateau workers. They were then expanded in the 16th century. It was so cool wandering past peoples homes in the rocks, and I didn’t want to leave. We found a little spot with a table and chairs, toilet and even an electric charging point for bikes, and had our lunch.

Reluctantly we left the coolness of the caves and headed on, following signs. We were sent through wineries, grapes for as far as the eye could see. It just kept going and going, the temperature creeping up to 35 degrees and no shade in sight. It was brutal.

Eventually we made it back to the nice shaded paths beside the river. We stopped at a camping ground, but it was very busy and full of motor homes. And it was 23 euros to camp! So we headed 15 minutes further up the road and found a lovely campground right beside the river for only 14 euros.

We picked a nice shady spot next to a charging point and settled in. Not long after, the sun moved and we were transported to a nice sunny spot. It seemed that no matter where I moved to, the sun would follow me. So it was pretty hot there for a while, but after a cold shower we felt much better.

There is no shop here so we had to get creative with dinner. We made a satay sauce with dried peanut butter (thanks Ems) mixed it with some curry powder, water, and garlic oil. Fried it up and served it with some boiled rice. It was actually quite nice.

Almost cool enough to go to bed now.

We had two nice rest days in Angers, although walking 12 kms a day is hardly a rest. we visited the old town and did a tour around the chateau. The next day we visited Decathlon as we needed more stuff. Mike needed a new mirror as his broke when his bike fell over. I needed a foam roller for my legs. We also picked up some brake pads, chain oil, and a clothes line.

It was hard work getting back on the bikes today. To avoid Angers, Mike navigated backwards rather than forwards, and there seemed to be a lot of hills.

We were looking for the Eurovelo 6 route which runs through the loire valley, then the Danube all the way to the Black Sea. We are only going to follow the loire to Basel, the will follow the Rhine river up to Rotterdam.

There was a lot of mucking around trying to find this route today. When we finally found it, it was following yucky roads. I saw a bunch of cycle tourers following a nice path along the river. They seemed to know where they were going so I suggested we follow them.

It was fantastic, cruising along a flat cycle path beside the river, wind in my hair, not a care in the world. Then it dawned on us. We were going the wrong way! We were heading back towards Nantes and we didn’t want to go that way.

Eventually we found the route and all was good with the world. It was clearly marked and it was just a matter of following the signs. Before we came away, Mike had downloaded the route onto his Garmin. But now, his route is telling us different things to the signs. We decided to follow the signs.

After a while, the signs gave us two choices. We could follow the quiet country roads to the next town for 6.5kms. Or we could turn off and follow the river to the same town for only 6kms. It was a no brainer really, we would follow the river.

It turns out the river path was on loose gravel and in full sun. It was hard work and not even that picturesque. It was the longest 6kms I’d ever done. Probably because is was 30 degrees and the heat was getting to us. it seemed no matter how much water I drank, I couldn’t kill the thirst.

At the town we stopped and had a coke to refresh ourselves, then continued 14 kms to the next camp.

We crossed over the river and the path was much nicer on the other side. Firm path and pockets of shade from the trees. All was good with the world again.

We’re at a nice camping spot tonight. The have a marquee where campers can shelter and cook a meal. The have a gas burner, fridge and microwave. These are things we take for granted in Nz, but it’s very rare in France.

So far there are two other cycle tourers camping here and we saw two walkers come in, one with a donkey carrying all her stuff. It’s currently eeyoreing in the distance. Just hope it’s not near our tent!

44 kms today and we’re exhausted’