The helpful micro-climate which had followed me for the last four days finally got a better offer and today I had to put up with a fairly persistent drizzle. If things are as bad tomorrow as the forecast suggests I may have to take evasive action.
Despite the weather I made great progress and the good surfaces nearly all the way managed the 150km which got me to Blois without too much trouble.
As you have probably noticed I'm not doing a lot of sightseeing (roaming around buildings in full Lycra is not a good look) but I am enjoying the scenery. The villages are stunning, very French, and anyone trying to find locations for the three musketeers would be spoilt for choice. As well as the sightseeing I'm also missing out on the wine tasting, some of the most famous French wines come from around here, and even went past a bottle and glass sitting on a barrel with an invitation aimed specifically at cyclists.
The number of cyclists continues to impress and today in all their waterproof finery they looked more conspicuous than ever. Why do people wear those poncho things, flapping about in the wind they seem ridiculous to me. I've got this clingy jacket thingy and flap free it worked well.
There were quite a few splendid towns today but the highlight was definitely Amboise, a small perfectly preserved market town, main street full of half timbered houses but dominated by a huge château. Blois, where I'm staying tonight is larger and also has a château but in the rain, I haven't yet worked out where it is. I was less impressed with Tours which I passed through in the middle of the day. I'm sure I'm being unfair, but the combination of cobbled stones, tram lines and the wheat was just a bit intimidating.
I like the freedom of making my plans on the hoof and cycling for as long as I want. The only downside is missing out on some of better food and accommodation options. I'm spending about twice as much on food and accommodation in France than I've got used to in Spain and to be honest it's not as good. If I had sacrificed my freedom and planned my stops I may have got better places.
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