Vouvray to Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire
Today was an “easy” day — no detours to off-track châteaux. I went as straight as possible. Quick sprint to Tours, quick tour of Tours. Then on to Saumur.
A few kilometres before Saumur, I stopped at a winery that had been on my list, conveniently right off the road. The owner was off-putting, as if he wanted me gone as soon as possible. I wouldn’t have appreciated it under normal circumstances, but with a few dozen kilometres still ahead of me, I didn’t care much — neither about his manner nor the quantity of wine. Just enough for one sip.
Saumur is a pretty white-stone town. Not really my taste though — too manicured for a small town. The surrounding area is full of troglodyte dwellings; in some places people still live in them. Even the winery was tucked into one of those caves.
By the time I reached the campsite, the temperature had hit 41°C and I was pretty much on the verge of heatstroke. I put the bike on its kickstand and lay down next to it in the shade. I had barely closed my eyes when the bike fell and hit me square in the face. Now I look like those guys in the movies — the ones who, when asked about their black eye, say “I fell from…”
Still having trouble charging my phone, though today it was a slightly different problem: it got so hot it simply stopped charging. I found a workaround — put the phone in the freezer for a few minutes, charge it a little, repeat. Fortunately, this campsite has a fridge.
Tomorrow I’ll need to figure out my approach: push through to Nantes, or be sensible and split the distance in two — especially given the heat.
Today in numbers:
115 — distance cycled
377 — years it took to build the cathedral. Construction began around 1170 and the facade was completed in 1547
880 — number of armoured vehicles in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, making it the world’s largest collection of armoured fighting vehicles