I’d planned an easy day today, mainly because I’ve been going for a week with 80-100km days but also to allow time for some essential shopping (meths and toilet roll) before the shops are shut tomorrow (Sunday). I had a really easy morning and didn’t get away from the campsite until 10:30, despite not having enough meths for porridge (just scraped a single cup of coffee). I cycled out through Amboise, which was just filling with tourists and dawdling cyclists. I headed towards Blois on the south bank, a really nice ride up into the vinyards with good roads and nice views. Many more cyclists out today, and the weekend guys are much more cheerful and boisterous than us full time seven days a week hardcore touring cyclists. It’s standard to say “bonjour” to every cyclist you pass in the opposite direction, and these vary from a bright greeting to an intelligible groan. I’ve mastered a middle ground of “….jour”. These weekend guys, especially the early ones, seemed to want a full personal greeting from everyone coming the other way. I expect Sunday will be worse!

When the route opened up to the river, or went high the headwind was pretty punishing. I don’t want to keep going on about it, but on the St Malo ferry one of the guys said I must love headwinds cycling it in this direction. I ignored him as it’s what people said about cycling south from John O’Groats (with the exception of the Somerset levels). However, I’m beginning to think there is a truth in it as it seems I have had a headwind everyday. The weather vane on Blois bridge was firmly fixed facing up the river. The route went through some interesting forests that seemed alive with butterfly’s.  It was also closer to the river, and at one point I got my binoculars out to watch a white heron fishing. White Herons are rare, but may have been an egret, which are not rare, but it looked too big to be a baby heron. It did have a long plume off the back of the head if that helps. It was quite amazing, the herons neck sort of forms a Z shape, and the head, with really sharp beak just shoots into the water. If it notices something the head turns suddenly like a robot, and any kind of trouble it extends it’s neck to double height. I was well worth a 30 minute sit down. There was a fisherman wading in the channel behind and he didn’t get any bites.

I bought a traditional lunch of baguette sandwich, cake (in this case an almond biscuit) and a tin of coke, and headed on until the headwind and heat made further progress impossible. I parked up under a tree and my first discovery was the coke was infact a Kronenburg 1664, which has changed colour – presumably to attract the kids, and inattentive cyclists distracted in cake shops. Anyway it fitted in with my long lunch plan – but I would have preferred a Coke. I wasn’t short of water as every cemetery had delivered a tap, including one that I gave up on, until I turn around and the tap was pretty much 2m from the entrance. The clue is to look for 2 or 4 litre milk container (they show up quite well amongst the marble).

I pushed on to Blois, a city who I think I have only ever seen sign posted. The majority of grand churches and buildings are on the north bank. My main task was to buy meths for my trangia stove – I have seen it in the really big stores, but not the “metro” type supermarkets. I’d googled a list of shops, and ranked them from the least likely, but local, to a big Intermarche at the top of a big hill. The ritual of locking the bike up, perusing the relevant shelves and leaving empty handed was performed twice, before I bit the bullet to climb the hill. I had to climb it twice due to a particularly cyclist unfriendly one way system. It was worth it though as the Intermarche had everything I needed – including four more toilet rolls than I could possibly carry. Together with food for tonight and Sunday.

It was hard going with the headwind, the beer, the heat and the shopping but I made it to Muides-sur-Loire where I knew there was a camp site. One was signposted, but decided to head to the one I’d spotted online which was nearer. It was more of a holiday park with a swimming pool complex, restaurant and bars etc. It was €19 but the pools were open until 9:00, which was just what I needed after a hot day.