2023 - La Loire à Vélo: Day 12: Sun 4 Jun - Angers to Saumur, 54km; total: 204.5km

13-28 degC, another perfect day for cycle touring, with only a slight wind that was sometimes a headwind and sometimes (rarely) a tailwind.

After another hearty breakfast, we set off from Angers at 8:20am. We did not rush, as we knew we could not check-in until 2pm. We had three rest stops and and a few photo opportunity stops. Despite not rushing, we arrived at Saumur at 1pm, and thought we may get lucky and be able to check-in early. Alas, there was no-one at the check-in desk; that’s one way to ensure your guests can’t check-in early! Never mind, we found a park close to the hotel and had our lunch under a shady tree. Whilst Greg had a nap, Wendy read her book. We checked-in just after two at Best Western Adagio Saumur, room 212, unpacked and had a real rest.

Getting out of Angers was easy enough. We had a variety of paths today, mostly on-road. At one stage we had the option of riding on the road instead of the gravel bike path. We thought that being a Sunday, the D952 (minor road) would be a bit quieter than a weekday. Hmmm….. NOT! Because it was such a great day, the traffic was fairly busy. However, because they deal with bicycle riders everyday, there was never an issue with being too close to us or passing before it was entirely safe to do so. Wendy was however a tad concerned at one stage, so we rode on the Loire designated route for a while until we got closer to Saumur. We travelled through farmlands, both grain and livestock, with some very smelly compost from the winter barns. The number of cyclists out and about was staggering. All types too, from the Lycra clad extremely fast bunch rides to the grandpas/mas going to church, and everything in between. Fellow cycle tourists were in abundance. Most greeted us with a bonjour. It’s funny how we can pick all the different categories of our “mob”.

Finding our hotel in Saumur was very easy; it is on an island in the Loire and on a corner, with the name well emblazoned on the outside. Being a Best Western, it is a nice hotel with solid flooring and walls, and an air conditioner that makes the room feel like a freezer even when set on 24 degC. We are here for three nights.

After our compulsory post-ride rest, we walked to the other part of the city of Saumur, the one with the HUGE chateau. The elevation profile only shows the descent, (forgot to initiate map my walk when we started) but we had to get there to start with! All the good things are built on top of hills. A 5km walk around town showed us enough that we will go back on Tuesday. Tomorrow we will visit the Troglodyte area SW of Saumur.

Being a Sunday, there are not a lot of options available for dining. We chose the Chinese restaurant, La Muraille de Chine, and the meals were so good we have promised to go back tomorrow night. A short stroll ended the evening.