A perfect day if that is possible
30th July First day not subject to the tyranny of motorways. Forty nine miles to lunch at Chalonnes a Loire. Nice small d roads. Today has gone really well.
All in all I enjoyed the last campsite. I opted in for pizza mainly to join the crowd along the long table. I supposed I had to be the oldest guest, the others were all couples with young children, intelligent, funny, nice company and I was so glad not to be camping myself with small children any more, one couple with two small girls, twins maybe who screamed and shouted at every opportunity. There is no privacy camping. Imagine washing two naked screaming unhappy toddlers with a strange man brushing his teeth a couple of feet away.
I think the success of these trips, finally, is in the detail. Yesterday evening before it got too late I plotted a route along small roads close to the Loire from where I stayed to where I am now, Camping L'etournerie. But where that is I am not sure exactly.
This site is sunny! And tucked away down a grass track with maybe six pitches on it and a small swimming pool. I think this is one of the adults only sites that I booked (actually planning this trip is rather hazy as it got mixed up with my medical tests when I was convinced I'd spend the summer in hospital having parts removed). It makes a difference - the planning not the surgery. The place really is quiet, just the conversation and splashing of three Dutch people in the pool just down there, the buzzing of bees and the crunching of eucalyptus leaves under my feet. The place is simple. So different from the theme park places I have stayed at or nearly stayed at. This is a nice recipe.
So today my mostly GPS-less route planning worked perfectly. I had a list of road numbers and turnings written on a sheet of paper in the tank bag and managed to get most of the way here like that. I stopped at Chalonnes a Loire at a large supermarket, the brand of which is new to me and had a salmon and prawn salad in its cafe - so much nicer than a supermarket cafe could ever be in england - and bought some provisions (when there is an opportunity to get food I have realised you should always take it). I spent a good hour there. Eventually my written trail ran dry and I opted to turn on the GPS and obey its suggestion for a blast down the motorway then back down some very much smaller roads where I always wonder if the GPS really knows what it is doing. Eventually down a grassy track I found the place. Belinda did not like the uneven grassy ground, or rather I didn't and sadly we can't keep vehicles on site so she is just behind me out of site on the track.
Now, I shall be complaining to Touratech because the handle on my brand new Zega Pro 2 pannier broke while I was lifting it off the bike. It was hugely heavy I admit, but I expected a bit more from this hard core brand. I was too late (4.30 is too late) to order dinner. The site owners make three course meals and serve them at the campers' tents. So I have ordered for tomorrow evening. I have also ordered pain au chocolate and croissants for breakfast. This morning breakfast was two beautiful moist pain au raisins but my attempt at tea was not good. Dried milk definitely does go off. I will return to coffee so at the U-shop supermarket I searched for a device to make coffee and only managed to get a tea strainer and some ground coffee so I will improvise. It will be better than tea with globules.
Today's ride I think was 144 miles. My average throttle position since I've had the bike is 11 percent and I've made 5 and a half thousand gear changes.