Day 12 Orleans to Sully-Sur-Loire 52kms

 A day cycling through farmlands along the Loire river.

This morning heavy rain delayed my start and so I enjoyed lazing for a bit before heading off about 10ish as the rain had mostly gone.  Orleans is a beautiful city and I would highly recommend a visit.

The route took me across the bridge and then there was no signage and 3 different route options.  About 10 cyclists all standing together wondering which way to go and a French woman walking her dog assisted everyone.   The route turned southwards today after riding west to east so far   I followed a German couple Albie and Ute.  They have a niece who lives in Coffs Harbour and have visited Australia 4 times.  We ended up chatting and riding all day together.

The wildflowers are beautiful beside the paths and made me wonder if someone comes along with packets of wild flower seed just to make it look so beautiful.  Lots of canoeists out on the river with barrels of camping gear, making the most of the long weekend.

Today we rode through many showers in strong winds and I had originally  planned to view the local chateaux and press on for another 26kms to the next campground but was pretty wet and cool and rain forecast through to 7pm so pulled into the campground with my German friends.  It's strange to say that I feel cool tonight after 11 days with temps between 30-32 degrees A fairly cruisy day as very few villages and straight riding through fields. 

Sully-Sur-Loire is the final town along the Loire river that is UNESCO listed.