We left Ancenis (On-sen-ee) at 7:50am and were on the Loire route almost immediately. We had a mixture of surfaces today, from very smooth bitumen, to lumpy unsealed paths, to very lumpy sealed and unsealed paths. There were a few bumps in the profile today that got the blood flowing, but nothing we haven’t encountered before on our tours. The route chopped and changed from one side of the river to the other, and got a bit confusing in some places as the signs went AWOL. But in the main it’s a route you can ride without a map as it’s well sign-posted. We finally arrived at our hotel, Mercure Angers Centre Gare about 2pm. The young lady behind the check-in desk knew exactly who I was because I had said we would be arriving by bike and would need somewhere to secure them. Very switched on.
Due to the lengthy ride, we tried to stop every 15km or so just for a rest and a drink of water. Our only coffee stop was at Montjean-sur-Loire, where Wendy had a pretty ordinary coffee and a plain croissant for the exorbitant price of Euro1.50! The lady did not speak even one word of English, so Wendy did ok ordering with her school days French. We stopped again in the middle of nowhere and sat on a bench beside the path for ‘lunch’ that was an apple for Wendy, and a banana with dry muesli for Greg. While it wasn’t a long ride today, the constant headwind certainly sapped our appetite and energy. One of those days when we were glad to pull into the hotel.
After checking-in, we unpacked, had a wash, and an LLD. Dinner was had at Le Pub, about 270m away. Wendy had a delicious steak, and Greg had a Bengali chicken dish. We walked home the long way to settle the tummies.
Our home for the next two nights, room 319
Wendy’s steak
