Yesterday was a bit like le départ fictif, because although we started our tour, it was a bit fake in that we didn’t have our bikes loaded with all our gear. Today then is le départ réal. It’s the real deal, panniers and all.

Without the panniers the bikes are swift(ish), nimble and generally easy to ride. With the panniers they handle more like barges: slow moving and hard to manoeuvre, and let’s not forget to mention heavy! Many bike tourers camp. That means hauling along extra gear like tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment and food. My bike is plenty heavy with the basics; I’ll take a credit card, travel light and sleep easy.

Our way out of Nantes is easy and quick and we are soon rolling along with the first 20km or so an easy ride with La Loire at our right. We’re riding upstream, so that means we are travelling on the right bank.

At Mauves-sur-Loire, about 20km from Nantes there’s a kind of rest stop where locals (I assume) are selling drinks and food. A cold can of coke is very welcome! At this stop we meet and chat with a Kiwi couple who are doing pretty much the same ride as us, through to Budapest. We swap numbers with Sally and Jeremy and hope we’ll catch up with them along the way.

Mauves-sur-Loire is our first decision point: cross the bridge (like everybody else is doing) or keep going on the right bank? We are following Eurovelo 6 signs, and don’t see one pointing across the bridge, so keep going on the right bank.

Big mistake. Our lovely path turns into a barely navigable goat track, rocky and so narrow in parts we have to back up and make space for oncoming riders. If I had my way again I would follow the crowd. Our new Kiwi friends seem to be the only other ones who went this way. We leap frog each other all the way to Ancenis where Neil and I deviate and ride up a hill to get to what is effectively a home-maker centre. I need a Decathlon store to buy new water bottles as mine have failed to show up.

Off the route, we’re just in the suburbs of a French city; we could be almost anywhere. People are going about their Saturday business, shopping, taking kids to sport and buying bread for dinner.

It’s a bit of a slog then from Ancenis to Montjean where I’ve booked us a cabin at a place that’s located in a vineyard. Our original plan was to go all the way to Angers but we pulled that back by some 30km or so, and I am so glad we did when we reach the 50km mark and see it would be another 50 to Angers. We don’t need that kind of distance so early on in the trip.

We cross the river just after Ancenis and ride along fairly quiet, but unsealed and dusty roads all the way to Montjean, where we leave the river behind to head into and uphill to the vines.

I have a bad habit of choosing accommodation at the top of a hill. I need to be banned from doing this. It’s not pleasant to haul up a steep (up near 10%) at the end of the day. I think I’ll put Neil in charge of finding places to stay.

We stay at Les Jardins de Anjou, a funny little village of cabins and a hotel, which has a restaurant (hurrah) so we don’t have to seek out food. We have a little cabin, so there’s plenty of space for us to explode into. We’re both tired and dusty from a long day in the saddle. That beer is awesome, as is the shower.

The restaurant has a fixed menu which has to be recited by the waiter. Neil and I can both read our way through menus fairly well, but listening to a menu being read out loud is a bit beyond us. The two waiters don’t speak much English and I think they are a bit scared of us and try to avoid having much to do with us. Unfortunately the fixed menu is an all meat affair, but a “je suis végétarian” sends the waiter scurrying to the kitchen. The chef very kindly makes me a vegetarian meal. The waiters continue to avoid us leaving Neil waiting a very, very, very long time for his coffee.

Stats for today:

• Distance: 73.25km
• Climb: 137m
• Average speed: 16.1km/h
• Average temperature: 27C
• Moving time: 4:32:56
• See our ride on Strava

The beer picture

At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. Today’s beer picture was taken at the outdoor bar area of our accommodation.

Along the way today: