Loire et La Vienne.

Would have been nice to have seen a bit more of Saumur, especially in the sunshine 😕, but Kevin has clearly fallen out with the Gods. 

All were impressed with the hotel. Secure bike storage, comfortable rooms (several reported having their best sleep so far - nothing to do with the quantity of booze consumed) and a fantastic  breakfast selection. So it was, that we set off well fueled in cool & bright conditions. The sun shone briefly, until it realised we were down there, whereupon it disappeared for the duration - well almost. 

We cuised down the Loire valley to its confluence with the Vienne. Easy going, which was great as it gave our sore legs some chance of recovery.  

An early stop (20 miles) at The Bar de L'Esperance (desperate!) whilst the weather remained half decent:

 

7 points. Needed to stop, but sat by a busy road & the coffee was awful. 

Quickly away & we were soon into the scenic tourist route in the Vienne valley. Beautiful area I thought & one of the best sections of the trip so far. 

We'd decided to push on for 30 miles & get lunch in Chatellerault. I was questioning the wisdom of that when the rain started with about 15 miles to go, but the thought of stopping when soaked & freezing soon dispelled thoughts if anything other than getting to a cafe for sommat to eat. So the last few miles turned into a race, on a roller coaster of a road, in heavy rain & spray from passing lorries. 

Still had time for a bit of fun though:

Another wet day -Nott2Barca 2016

We found a nice little place in Chatellerault and, once again, indulged in Galettes & Crepes, whilst making some attempt to drip dry. A hospitable place & good food earned it 41 points. 

 

We'd taken our time over lunch, so it was approaching 4pm when we set off on the final leg down the Vienne to Lussac. 

A 30 + mile stint again and on generally quiet roads. Imagine our surprise when the storms started to develop with about 20 miles to go. 😩

 

 Not wishing to arrive at the digs like drowned rats, a la Saumur, we rather prudently sought shelter to allow the worst of the weather to blow over. It was another chuffing partial success 😛. 

And so it was that we arrived at L' Hotel Montespan (careworn but clean) in Lussac rather late & slightly damp. 

A short walk into town and some good food soon had our spirits up after another tough day. Tired legs all round, but otherwise in fine fettle.