Week 2

01-05-08  Thursday

Bagneau to Orleans
7 hrs 45 min 13.9 Av. 108kms Total 669kms

Woke up at 07:10 and on the road by 08:40. The day started out nice with just the head winds, even the sun came out once in a while, which gave us some hope. The ride today was through open fields again which didn’t help with the wind but it was nice ridding. We generally tried to go as straight as possible towards Orleans following a mixture of District and rural roads.
It was all going good until around midday a new cold front came in and heavy clouds appeared the temperature dropped and it started to rain again.
We missed the first couple showers but as we were getting into Orleans it was getting late, we were tired and when we saw the next shower coming we decided to ride through it. It was a bad idea because it was the worst one of the day with torrential rain. The streets started to flood and Monique fell when she hit a pothole that was covered with water. We took shelter in a bus stop and seeing that the cars were passing at speed were throwing all this water up we stood on top of the bench. But still even when the drivers saw that we were  getting wet from the spray they did not bother to slow down. Even when there was a stop light up the road and they had to stop there.
Maybe it was just this part of town which didn’t look like the nicest, still the rudeness of these people was something else.
Only when we decided to continue this lady stopped her car and allowed us to get on the street and ride, while she rode patiently behind us. Like that old saying, there is an asshole in every crowd, this was the opposite, a nice person between all the assholes. Tip, avoid going into Orleans from the East on the D960. 
Naturally by the time we found the camping the rain stopped and the sun even came out, what luck, we seem to be getting it by the bucket full lately.
The camping in Orleans is difficult to find, it is located in Parc Floral in Olivet, (south side of the city). Cheap clean but when we were there it was really soggy from all that rain.
We met this couple from Holland (also touring) but they go to an area by car find a place to park it load the bikes and take a week or three to tour the area, but the weather has gotten to them so they cut it short and were heading back to their car.

        
Left to Right:
1- This is a picture of my alarm system :-)It's just a purse alarm with a paper clip at the end connected with fishing line. There is also a separate loop made with the fishing line so as not to loose the pin from the alarm.
2- Another one of those middle of nowhere France pictures.
3- On the D43 heading to Beaumont-du-Gatinais.
4- And that's looking back towards Mondreville. Just a couple of pictures to show how open this area is.

        
5- An old structure in Geaumont-du-Gatinais.
6- Yours truly again posing on the rough D151 heading to St. Luip-des-Vignes. We were both dressed warm from the strong and cold winds.
7- Taking a break on the D9, just before Combreux. The sign says the rest.
8- Looking back on the D9, this area was very nice to cycle through. But as you can see the rain has returned.

02-05-08  Friday

Orleans to Cande-Sur-Beufron
6 hrs 30 min 14.1 Av. 91kms Total 760kms

Woke up at 07:45 and on the road by 09:30. We took our time this morning as it was supposed to be an easy day riding along the river Loire and it seemed at first, but the kms ended up being a bit more than what we wanted so at the end we were very tired.
We got out of Orleans following the D14 and at one of its suburbs we saw this tourist office were we stopped and asked for the best way to go down river and were shown this cycling path that follows the Loire.
We have to say that this cycling path is great, mostly well paved with some unpaved sections.
It crosses the river at Meung-sur-Loire and continues on the West side all the way to Blois.
On the way we met this Dutch school teacher Joke (pronounced Yoke), that was traveling from Paris to Tours on a borrowed bike. She seems very interested in touring by bicycle but the bike she was riding was not really set up for long distance touring and was giving her some problems so we gave her one of our cards so she could check out our site and get some tips.
At Blois we crossed the river and doubled back about 4kms in search of this campsite but it was still closed, so we headed back to Blois when Monique got a flat tire. Yes she got a flat on the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, so apparently they can be punctured. The culprit was a razor sharp stone/crystal that looked like a tiny sharks tooth, that’s about as good as I can describe it.
Anyway while replacing the inner tube this young French couple rode by and we asked them if they knew of a camping nearby and well to cut a long story short they used my mobile phone to call the tourist office in Blois and get some information for us, great couple. They too were touring the Loire, going down river but without camping equipment.
The **** star camping at Cande-sur Beufron was nice but expensive and noisy with all the kids around, give us a municipal camping any day.
Overall the day was very nice, sunny, warm, quiet cycling paths and no hills.
All ready we have decided to do a tour along the whole length of the Loire in the future.

              
1- The morning after the storms at the camping in Orleans.
2- A picture of the beautiful stream that runs next to the camping.
3- We were glad to see this sign of the cycling path along the Loire.
4- Some sections were shared with motorists, so they had these signs up.
5- Taking a break after the town of Beung-sur-Loire.
6- Old bridge over the Loire at Beaugency.

              
7- The sweet smell from these fields of rapeseed plants was very nice indeed.
8- Mushroom cloud coming from the nuclear power plant near Avaray.
9- Yours truly again, this time in front of a large field of rapeseed plants.
10- A panorama of a quiet section of the Loire. We had stopped on this spot for a break.
11- The old bridge at Blois.
12- Blois taken from the southern bank of the river. We are now doubling back after finding out the camping was closed.

03-05-08 Saturday

Cande-sur Beuvron to La Ville-aux-Dames
2 hrs 30 min 16.3 Av. 41kms Total 801kms

Woke up at 07:00 and were on the road by 08:30. This morning we had the camera break down on us.
At first I thought the batteries were dead but after replacing them with our rechargeables it still would not do anything, which made me really upset.
So we continued on the D751 to Chaumont-sur-Loire were we visited the tourist office for some information on campsites than went to the tourist shop to get some alkaline batteries which made the camera work again. Apparently the battery charger is only partially charging the batteries.
The day was nice and warm and there were many people out, the roads were quite busy and when we tried to visit a couple chateau’s there were lines to get in so we only got some views from the road.
The D751 is a nice road (without a shoulder) but all the drivers were courteous and gave us enough room.
The camping here is OK for half a rest day, clean, quiet, fairly priced and a large super market nearby.
We set up tent next to three caravans full of Germans and had the usual where are we from, where are we going, how heavy are the bikes, how many kms per day, etc… Nice people, they treated us to some coffee and also charged our phones, great.
When everything was done and we had dinner we chilled out and watched the sunset with a couple six packs of Kronnenburg while listening to Oasis, The Verve, Pink Floyd and a few others.
A nice and easy short day.
Tomorrow it’s going to be a long day, we plan to cycle over 100kms to reach Poiters. From there it would only be two more days to reach the Atlantic Ocean :-)

              
1- Early morning on the D751 right after Cande-sur-Beuvron.
2- Just entering another province of France, still on the D751 just before Mosnes.
3- Our best picture of the chateau in Amboise.
4- Hmmmmmm we always love to visit the boulangerie's in France. You need to click on zoom for full effect ;-)
5- Camping at La Ville-aux-Dames, actually a horse paddock surrounded by campers and tents. We were glad the wind was blowing the right direction. You can also see the first batch of cold ones hanging from my bike ;-)
6- Dinner was light this evening. You can now see our kitchen in the plastic container. Coffee, tea, vitamins C and B, sugar, salt, pepper, strainer, small cutting board and a few other items.

04-05-08 Sunday

La Ville-au-Dames to St. Georges-les-Geillargeaux
7 hrs 50 min 14.6 Av. 115kms Total 918kms

We got up early this morning 06:15 and were on the road by 08:00, it took a bit longer for me after all those beers :-)
It was a good idea leaving early because riding through Tours was really nice there was hardly any traffic. It was also nice to finally get in and out of a city without any hassles.
We followed the D86 out of Tours than followed the roads D17/08/57/58/18 along the Vienne river and we continued on the D1 were we found out it was the wrong way and had to cycle West for 10kms over this very tough hill to get on the next valley and the river Clain, OOPS, not very nice in the afternoon heat.
Anyway it was a nice ride the weather a bit warm, the warmest we’ve ridden so far and the scenery was beautiful, I think that was the main reason we took the wrong turn. Just cycling along small country roads on a nice day and forgetting to look at the map :-)
The camping here is clean but way too many rules, here’s a couple, everything but the toilets close at 21:30, no Bermudas in the pool, only swim shorts ?!? and a bunch others.
With all the rules t looked more like a camp for teenagers, and we thought it a bit much at 15€.
We also met this very nice Dutch couple who have traveled extensively through Africa, Asia and the USA. It was their first day of a six week holiday through Europe.
We had a nice chat over some drinks before crashing in our tent.
It was a long day and after a few beers in the evening it didn’t take long for us to fall asleep.

           
1- Early morning in Tours.
2- The cathedral in Tours.
3- A pretty fountain :-)
4- And off coarse I had to take a picture of the old bridge in Tours.
5- Panorama taken at Pont-de-Ruan, about 10kms south of Tours on the D86. Again very nice area to cycle.
6- Taking a break in the village of Thilouze.
7- On the D8 heading for St. Epain.

           
8- Monique checking out a small lake on the D1 after Vaux-sur-Vienne.
9- Now you know why we stopped to check it out, this area was full of these little lakes. Most were fenced off and marked private property.
10- We found another sign of the St. Jacobs route while going through the city of Chatellerault.
11- We stopped at this park in Chezelle, 1kms outside of Chatellerault for a break and to call ahead to make sure the camping at St. Georges was open.
12- The big climb on the D15 right after the village of Bouneuil-s-Vienne, were we found out we were following the wrong river, oops.
13- An old chateau at Le Fou still taken from the D15.
14- The castle at Dissay.

05-05-08   Monday

St. Georges to Couhe
5 hrs. 15 min. 12.3 Av. 65kms Total 983kms

Woke up around 07:30 and were on the road by 09:30. We were very tired and weren’t too keen on getting up early this morning.
Last night just before we went to sleep this heavy thunderstorm blew in with a lot of rain. We had hoped it would clear up by morning but the day ended up being gray with a steady light rain the whole day.
After the initial couple wrong turns this morning we finally got on the D4 heading towards Poitiers.
Not the best city to get around in on a rainy Monday morning. A lot of traffic and a nasty hill to climb trying to find the tourist office. When we did we got all the information we needed to get out of this city and the best way to find the camping at Couhe.
Today’s ride was very nice even with the gray weather. We were heading South on the D4 riding through the villages of Liguge, Vivonne, Voulon and finally Couhe, with very little traffic. The country side around here is very nice and we even saw a deer running across a field.  All in all it was a very nice day.
I am noticing that Monique is getting a bit tired now, we’ve been on the road since the start of the tour 12 days now. I am hoping to get to the coast and a much needed rest day for the both of us. We talked about stopping already but we really like to reach the Atlantic coast (and maybe better weather) to stop.
The camping here is ok I guess it’s located on the river Dive, next to the very busy (dual carriageway) D10, down a 1km long hill. It had just opened but had a some canned food for dinner.
Anyway tomorrow is off to St. Jean d’Angly, it’s going to be a longer ride and the same weather is expected.
Because of the steady rainfall we only took a handful of pictures today

     
1- City hall in Poitiers.
2- The smile on Monique's face say it all, its a gray, cold, rainy and windy day. Being such a crappy day we only took a handful of pictures.
3- Monique loved this small chateau tucked away in a small wood on the D4 just before Vivonne. It reminded me of Dracula's castle.

06-05-08  Tuesday

Couhe to St. Jean d’Angely
6 hrs. 35 min. 14.1 Av. 93kms Total 1077kms

Woke up at 07:00 and the road by 09:00. It was a bit tough getting out of Couhe this morning, meaning we had to climb as soon as we left the camping, but we managed it and got on the D14 heading west along quiet country roads. It was a clear day and it promised to get warm (finally).
We passed Rom and at Lezay we turned heading SW on an even more rural road the D105 heading for Chef-Boutonne. From there we continued on the D110 to Aubigne and on to Aulnay.
Now I must add that so far this has been one of the most enjoyable rides of the tour. Very scenic rural roads through very beautiful country side and the weather was perfect, just a great ride.
At Aulnay we saw again the sign for the Camino de Santiago but it looked like a dirt track so we decided to continue on, on the D107 to Nuaille-sur-Boutonne than just followed small rural roads to St Jean d’Angely.
Now this last bit was a bit tiring as the afternoon sun got very hot +/-35c with a couple long climbs to get there.
This city looks to be a very beautiful place and we would have liked to hang around and check it out, but time presses and we need to continue on to the coast for the very awaited Atlantic ocean and a rest day on the beach. In the future we would have to plan a tour so we'll have a bit more extra time
Tomorrow I’m expecting a very confusing day as I do not see an easy way into Rowan. On the map there’s only dual carriage way “N” roads heading in.
But that’s for tomorrow, that’s it for me tonight I’m going to sleep, Monique is already out.

           
1- Breaking camp in Couhe. This camping was OK with the small river Dive running through it but, would have been better it the very busy N10 did not pass overhead. It was bloody noisy at night.
2- Were are we? LOL looks that way, but we are just taking a breather on the D14 heading to Lezay.
3- A very nice market we came across in Lezay. We stoped and got re-supplied before continuing.
4- We have made a note of coming back in this area and checking out this cheese route that we saw on the rural D105 before St. Vincent-la-Chatre.
5- Found this nice place to rest and have a cup of tea, in Chef-Boutonne.

           
6- Finally found the D110, did I mentioned that this was one of the nicest days to cycle. This part of France is very nice very small hills and it's really out of the way. By the looks of the locals not many touring cyclists come through here.
7- As the day progressed it also got very hot, we're just taking a breather on this longish hill before Aulnay. By the way we're on the D129 now.
8- Well the sign says it all :-)
9- Funny we were just thinking of having a cup of tea and a sweet roll when Walla, the perfect spot to stop and cool off for a while. It just works right sometimes.
10- A panoramic view of the area we rode through on the way to Aulnay.

           
11- Going through yet another wooded area.
12- We know we were on the right track again after seeing this sign in Aulnay.
13- Instead of following the dirt track of St. Jacobs route we opted to ride along this very nice D107 heading for Nuaille-s-Boutonne.
14- Getting some information from the local Office de Tourisme in St. Jean-d'Angely.
15- The very nice camping at St. Jean. But warning do not buy any alcohol here it was bloody expensive.

07-05-08  Wednesday

St. Jean d’Angely to Montalivet les-Bains
7 hrs. 30 min. 14.1 Av. 107kms. Total 1183

Woke up at 07:00 and were on the road by 08:45. Getting out of St. Jean was easy enough we just took the D18 which was heading SW towards St. Savinian.
Just before the town we were flagged down by this French man that had toured for 2 years and 7 months around the world with his wife. He had a photo album with him and showed us pictures of his travels. The only problem was that his English was very poor and our French is really nonexistent so the chat was very short. We were invited to spend the night at his place about 15kms back but we had to decline.
We exchanged cards so we could send him the photos we took.
His home page is at http://www.accordeonosvelos.free.fr/indexaccueill.htm but it’s in French. 
A couple kms after St. Savinian, we turned off this main road and got on the rural D119 still heading SW. We rode past the villages of Les Essards, Corme Royal and Saint Romain-de-Benet were we ran into problems with road works. We tried to avoid getting on the N150, and at first we succeeded by going through some back roads, but it was taking way too long and eventually we had to get on this very busy N150 to get into Rowan.
In the end it was the right thing to do as we only had to wait an hour for the ferry to Port Bloc.
Now for me it was a great achievement to reach the Atlantic ocean as it had been 30 years since I last saw it when in the USMC in South Carolina.
The ferry ride was short and uneventful, and when we got off at Port Bloc we immediately found one of the most beautiful cycling paths. It wound through pine woods and sand dunes. It was flat and only a few other walkers and cyclists.
We eventually reached Soulac-sur-Mer and after checking out all the campsites it was really not what we were looking for so we continued South to Montalivet, but  even there the camping's were not good so we ended up at the municipal camping.
We did go into town and had a very nice steak for dinner and watched our first sunset over the Atlantic.
This camping was very basic to say the least, and after we returned from dinner hoping to take a shower we couldn’t because there were no lights in the buildings lol.
Tomorrow we will continue looking for a better place to camp so we can take the long awaited rest day.

           
1- Having a chat with Gerard (the man who cycled around the world) on the D18 just before St. Savinien. Great guy, shame about the language barrier.
2- St. Savinien, looking North on the river Charente.
3- And looking south.
4- Riding along the river Charente on the very rural D119, just a couple kms out of St. Savinien.
5- Finally made it to the Atlantic Ocean at Royan. We were both very happy to have made it so far all ready.
6- Small beach right next to the ferry dock at Royan.
7- Waiting for our ride.

         
8- Looking across the small bay at St. Georges-de-Didonne.
9- The very nice cycling path before Soulac-sur-Mer.
10- Even more nice cycling right after Soulac-sur-Mer.
11- The small beach in Montalivet-les-Bains.
12- The happy couple after a very tough tour to reach the Atlantic.
13- Our first Sunset over the Atlantic.