Gien to Muides-sur-Loire
Just a few days ago I was sleeping fully clothed because of the chill at night; last night it was 23°C and I was sweating in my tent in just my underwear. I left the campsite at 5am to beat the heat and because the next campsite in Orléans had awkward opening hours — arrive before 10am or after 3:30pm. Waiting around for hours in that temperature held no appeal, so I chose to arrive early. It was still dark when I started pedalling.
I cut some corners — alternating between the official La Loire à Vélo route and one of my own plotting — and shaved 10 kilometres off the ride. I arrived before 9am, way too early. After a quick tour of the city I decided to keep moving, even though I’d already paid for the campsite.
The next possible stop was Beaugency, a pleasant village with a small château and an impressively large tower. It wasn’t even noon yet when I got there. The temperature had already climbed to 35°C, but the road followed the river through a reasonably shaded corridor, so I pressed on. By the end I was struggling with the heat, stopping periodically wherever I could find shade. At 2pm I finally rolled into the campground in Muides-sur-Loire. The temperature was 39°C.
Today turned out to be a more eventful day than yesterday: beyond the quick tour of Orléans, I passed Château de Sully-sur-Loire, rode through Beaugency, and stopped at Château de Meung-sur-Loire.
Tomorrow brings what are probably the two biggest draws on this tour — Château de Chambord and Château de Chenonceau.
Today in numbers:
115 km — distance cycled
594 — consecutive years of Joan of Arc celebration
1716 & 1719 — Voltaire was exiled to Sully-sur-Loire during these years
36 m — height of the Tour César in Beaugency
861 — year of the treaty signed at Meung-sur-Loire between Robert the Strong and Charles the Bald, marking the start of the Capetian dynasty