2023 - La Loire à Vélo: Day 26: Sun 18 Jun - Orleans to Sully-sur-Loire, 52km: total: 548.5km

18-29degC, overcast to start with and a few drops of rain as we rode away from the hotel, to sunny in the afternoon with a very hefty headwind

Walk: 2km; total: 208km

We rode away from the hotel at 8:40am under ominous looking skies and a few drops of rain every now and then. The skies cleared to being overcast, so we were not too worried and did not stop to don the raincoats. 3.5km later we were through the city and over the bridge looking for the Loire cycle path. Due to a couple of missing signs, we became a tad geographically embarrassed just after crossing the bridge at Orleans. However it wasn’t long before we managed to get back on the Loire Velo. Luckily for the navigator’s health and safety, no extra km were added to the ride. Most of the ride today was on a smooth bitumen cycle path on top of the Loire levee, but the surfaces did change occasionally from smooth bitumen, to semi smooth concrete, to rough concrete, to loose gravel with potholes. This didn’t stop the km rolling by and we were soon at Sully-sur-Loire, arriving at our accommodation a few minutes after the check-in time of 2pm.

Our first stop for the day was for mornos near Sandillon at a purpose built Loire cycle path picnic spot. Being a Sunday it was a very busy, with all ages out and about on every conceivable mode of transportation. They certainly put the great cycling infrastructure to good use that’s for sure. Further along we decided to visit Jargeau a little village a bit off the route. We’re glad we did as we happened to run across a memorial service outside the Town Hall. The 18 June commemorates General Charles de Gaulle’s first speech during exile in London when he encouraged his people to fight the German occupation in 1940. On parade were the gendarmes and the firefighters/first responders, with an impressive marching band to accompany them. The band played the French National Anthem at the beginning, with salutes done by the appropriate people. Before the ceremony though, the bells of the church rang out for about five minutes as a show of respect for the fallen. They all marched off to a traditional French fete, but we had km to ride so didn’t follow.

We moved on to Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, just another quaint little village on the Loire. Here we had lunch overlooking the Loire and their very impressive 1841 bridge. It was very relaxing, however, we were only able to get a seat without shade. When the sun started to come out it got a tad warm, so we moved on.

We rode through the village of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and just had to stop a few times to take photos. The most interesting thing was the Abbaye de Fleury. We only had another 8km or so to our destination, so we didn’t spare the horses until we arrived at our home for the next two nights, Logis Hostellerie du Grand Sully, a lovely old school hotel decked out with all the mod cons, including aircon.

After a rest, we hit the streets of Sully-sur-Loire, mainly to find some where to eat tonight. That task complete, we did a little tour just to see what there will be to do tomorrow; not much as it seems, but one just never knows. We will pay our normal visit to the info centre tomorrow to get the low down.

Back to the hotel for a shower and a pre-dinner drink before walking across the road to the Chinese restaurant. The way the food is presented here is more akin to that found in our food courts of shopping centres - precooked and in a display cabinet. Each dish is priced by 100g and you can choose as many dishes as you like (and can afford to pay for). Once your dishes are chosen, they are heated up in the trusty microwave and then presented quite nicely on a plate. All in all, it wasn’t a bad dinner, just not the best Chinese we’ve had. Being a Sunday night, apart from Chinese there wasn’t much else; we didn’t fancy something totally inappropriate from the boulangerie or a kebab.

Our post-dinner stroll was cut short by a fast approaching storm, the one we had been expecting all day. We arrived home with about five minutes to spare before the heavens opened and everything outside got a wash. There was even thunder and lightning! We have been very lucky with the weather thus far, however, rain is predicted again tomorrow.