6th August 2008

Nontron to Saumur

We got up at 6.15am to make an early start but didn’t manage to leave until 10am by the time we’d finished all we had to do computerwise.  There was already a blazing hot sun in a cloudless sky.  I kissed mum and dad goodbye.  I was so relieved to have made it as far as their house, (I’ve been convinced all the way that I’d have a serious accident before getting there or even worse, that Tris would!). 

The heat made it heavy going as it made us feel drowsy.  We made more frequent stops to take on water and tried having our helmets open but a warm gush of air in your face does little to revive you.  The journey from the Dordogne to our destination in the Loire took us over 5 hours although it was only 230 miles away.  My eyes closed at one point and I wobbled on the bike so I made up a ‘Stay awake’ song which I sang until the next service station.  Tris was lucky the headsets weren’t working and he couldn’t hear me. 

The scenery was fantastic – it’s hay making time in France so there were fields full of golden wheat and hay bales under blue skies.  We saw seas of sunflowers too and stone houses with hanging baskets and window boxes overflowing with geraniums.  Occasionally pieces of straw flew past our helmets.  Tris seemed happy.  Our headsets had failed again so instead of our usual “slow down!” – “speed up!” war, he was listening to the radio.  Occasionally his head would sway from side to side and he’d stick his feet out from the foot pegs and waggle them up and down in time to the music lost in a world of his own which I named ‘Poyser Land‘.  Sometimes we’d push down on our foot pegs and stand up on the bikes to allow blood flow again and shift position.

Saumur was well worth the hot and sticky ride.  It’s a beautiful white stoned town along the banks of a wide river and it’s full of historic monuments and buildings.  The town itself is dominated by a fairy tale chateau which is all visible as you ride across a huge stone bridge into the centre.  We’d arrived during a week of festivals too so we were pleased we’d booked accommodation in the old town where we could leave our bikes and freely wander the streets.  We  have so little time at some of our destinations that we’ve found if we’re based out of town it’s a real effort to drag ourselves into the city centre and sight see especially in oppressive heat.  In fact we’d not even attempted a trip into town in Clermont Ferrand after we arrived late at our accommodation in the industrial outskirts.

We dumped our stuff at our old hotel in Saumur which was a beautiful listed building with a courtyard close to the river.  Our room was under the eaves and without air con although there was a fan.  We climbed out of the velux windows onto the roof to inspect the view and Tris locked me out.  Once I got back in I had a cool shower and immediately began sweating again.  We left the hotel and walked through the old stone streets to do some more people watching.  We sat in a square, had a beer and watched lots of older men in Tour de France type lycra gear riding by.  They must have gathered for the 70th Saumur cycle festival. 

Then we found a restaurant and I decided to treat us to a good meal.  We had Coquille de St Jacques and big pots of moules frites followed by crème brulee aux pommes.  Then we waddled back through the streets to find the source of the live music we could hear.  In front of the Mairie there were stalls and people gathering for an evening of music, wine tasting, freshly cooked bread, goats cheese and blueberry tart.  We exchanged some Euros for special vouchers which we then handed over in exchange for a couple of wine glasses and some bottled water for later.  We sampled some wine in our glasses whilst watching local characters meeting and greeting friends and Tris took some photos.  Later, he left to catch the last of the evening light with his camera from the hotel roof whilst I stayed on, sitting on some steps and watching the world pass by.  I walked up to the chateau to see panoramic views over the town below and beyond.  I am now sat in the courtyard of our hotel at the foot of the chateau where there is a huge cyprus tree and colourful flower beds.  The sun is sinking and there are delicious smells wafting across from a nearby restaurant.  It is cool down here but I am about to return to the sauna that our room has become.  Tomorrow we ride up to Brittany to stay with Tris’s mum for a couple of days before sailing home on Saturday from Cherbourg to Poole.