Days 8-12

Some days when you sit, you're bits seem to fit,
Some days they sit just to the side.
On the days that they fit, you can comfortably sit,
On the others you get a raw hide.

 

Amboise to Sancerre - 236kms

(And remember, I'm giving you the official distance on our map. We've obviously cycled A LOT more what with detouring, searching for food and campsites, and losing the trail!)

The route continues to be stunning, with lilac and wisteria still scenting the air, and scenery so idyllic you could almost be fooled into believing that the world is a perfect place, and the motor-car has yet to be invented. Only the weather is letting it down, and you can imagine the swirling dandelion seeds really are snowflakes!
We've been quite lucky so far in avoiding actually getting soaked, but sheltering in bus stops and under trees is not much fun, especially not with an icy wind.

We arrived in the town of Blois, and stopped for lunch in the square where there were some big trees, (just in case), and bought some homemade cakes of theses lads who were raising money to enter the Muguet 4L Trophy. Its a race from here to Morocco in a Renault 4 (or similar old banger) and taking needed equipment for schools down there.

(The one in the fancy top is Moroccan, the others dressed like Frenchmen, were French.)
As we ate our cakes the trees came in handy because it hailed, yes HAILED on us! The boys made a hasty retreat in their car.

Our eurovelo 6 guide says that the city of Orleans is uninspiring, I beg to differ. The immense cathedral, built to commemorate the victory of Joan of Arc here in 1429 during the 100 Years War between England and France - is absolutely breathtaking. Did people in the middle ages do anything other than dedicate their lives to building numerous incredible cathedrals and châteaux?

Later, Steve decided to take us on a shortcut. It started out like a great idea...

...but the path got narrower, the camber got steeper, and as we went further off-piste my bike went off-path, and I went off-bike, and we both landed in a bed of thick brambles and stinging nettles!

Don't worry, nothing that my faithful salt water and calendula cream hasn't sorted!

Now, here is something pretty incredible (not just because it was our first hot, sunny day) - the canal bridge at Briare. Yes, that's right, a bridge built in 1894 to carry the canal over the river Loire! Quite a feat of engineering, by none other than that famous architect/engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.

Today we are holed up again, waiting for the rain to pass. We did manage to cycle the 5kms uphill to the ancient town of Sancerre, the centre of the Sauvignon blanc wine growing region, and got to sample some very tasty regional wines.

Fingers crossed for some dry weather tomorrow.