September 4, 2024
Day 2 - Les Ormes to Saché
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After another very quiet night, we awoke to a misty, moisty morning. It didn’t look like it was going to be a great day for bike riding.
We descended back downstairs for a pretty standard French breakfast (croissants, bread, yoghurt, coffee) that was of better quality than usual. While we were eating, the fog lifted and the day looked cloudy, but promising. After talking with Benoit, we were on the road about 0930.
Our route today was really one of 3 parts. First, we continued along the Vienne river for about the first 20 km. The riding was much like yesterday, but the traffic was even lighter than it was yesterday afternoon.
We crossed the river and took our first break in a nice park in the sleepy village of Maillé. From here, we started into the second part of today’s route, which was a gradual climb out of the Vienne watershed and descent into the watershed of the Indre river.
We rode into Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine as the noon bells were ringing. We weren’t ready for food, so we found a bar and sat outside with some drinks for our second break.
The route continued through a set of gradual rises, followed by long segments across flat fields. Sunflowers and maize seem to be the dominant crops, with houses and fortified farms fairly far apart from each other.
The weather to the northwest looked ominous, with some big black clouds. But our weather app (Windy) reassured us that no rain was falling. We skirted the edge of the clouds and felt a few drops, but never really got wet.
The roads were generally of good quality, with some bumpy farm roads thrown in to keep us honest. Traffic was low, which made for great riding conditions. We flew across the fields at a fast 24-25kph rate, which is really fast for us when we’re on Schnooks with all the bags loaded up.
We stopped in Sorigny and snatched a French Taco from a shop just as it was closing. Today is Robin’s birthday. Not the fanciest birthday lunch, but she seemed ok with it!
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1 week ago
1 week ago
In Veigné, we hung a big left turn to the west and started on the last section of the ride - along the Indre river. By this time, we were starting to worry a bit about the weather. So we didn’t stop in Montbazon as we had planned. We put the pedal(s) down and high-tailed it to our destination, stopping only for a quick rest alongside the old church in Artannes-sur-Indre.
We rolled up to the gate of the “Moulin de la Chevrière” at about 1530. After some buzzing around at the gate, one of the owners spied us and came out to help us get situated. It’s a beautiful place, and the birthday girl was well pleased. :)
As the name indicates, this place is an old mill that sits astride the Indre river. The accommodations are in the old mill building, along with a small restaurant area where they serve dinner.
We took our time cleaning up, while admiring the views out of our windows. A beautiful place. And we had beat the rain!!
We strolled the grounds and sat on the terrace below our room, enjoying the view and the sound of rushing water.
Before we knew it, it was 1930 and time for dinner!
Dinner was great! 3 courses with wine, with beautiful views and water all around us. We stumbled back upstairs to our room, very happy.
Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 130 km (81 miles)
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