Bromptomaniac

Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire to Oudon

The last few days have followed the same routine — wake up at 5am, leave by 6am, cycle a hundred kilometres or so with a few stops for sightseeing, arrive between noon and 2pm, pitch the tent, have lunch, and try to cool off by any means possible. Today was no exception.
I stopped in Angers for a quick tour of the old town.

Then the long ride to Ancenis, my presumptive pit stop, on surfaces that were less than ideal. Yesterday, deciding not to push my luck in these temperatures all the way to Nantes, I’d split the distance in half — Ancenis being the midpoint. But when I got there, I couldn’t resist, and cycled another 10 kilometres to the next campground in a village whose name sounds like udon but spelled the French way — more letters: Oudon.

The campsite is right on the Loire. However, as in many places I’ve passed, swimming is prohibited. So I didn’t swim — I just stood neck-deep in the water for a while to cool down. Today was cooler by a whole 2°C, just 39°C. What a relief.
Tomorrow is the final push to the Loire’s estuary.

Today in numbers:

97 km — distance cycled
140 m — length of the Apocalypse Tapestry, the largest medieval tapestry ensemble in the world, on display in Angers
3 — rivers meeting at Angers: the Mayenne, Sarthe, and Loir, forming the Maine, which in turn flows into the Loire
17 — towers in the Château d’Angers
3 — ingredients in udon: wheat flour, water, and salt
4 — times the tower at Oudon was besieged — by Henry II Plantagenet, King John of England, and twice by Saint Louis — and never taken