Saturday September 29th - slow day

It was one of those cold mornings when I really didn't want to get out of the sleeping bag. I left just after nine, the tent was covered in dew and I tried to dry off as much as possible but it was still wet and heavy when I rolled it up. I was a bit disheartened about the phone and distracted by trying to get a decent signal and battery charge. I bought some more string with which to tie the solar panel to the front of my handlebar. Fortunately it was quite a sunny day so I was able to get some charge, but still couldn't get a signal.

My legs felt quite slow - there are always bad days, and this was one. I followed the cycle path from Luche-Pringe to Le Lude. Fortunately, this one was paved and I was able to make good progress, although it was impeded by annoying barriers which were unnavigable by a fully loaded bike, and had to push it through.

I found a "cybercentre" at le Lude, it was closed for lunch so and waited for it to open. In the meantime, I went to the local Lidl and stocked up for the weekend, knowing that fewer shops would be open on Sunday. I felt quite well prepared. Slightly more worrying was the impending arrival of October, which would mean more closed campsites.

The cybercentre opened and I sent dgym an e-mail to let him know I was still alive and well. While on the web, I checked for open campsites nearby - the only ones I could find were in le Lude and 30 miles away at Azay-le-Rideau, so I decided to call it a day and stay nearby.

I rode into town in the evening to have a look around. I bought a French science magazine, my previous reading material having become a bit damp, and a carte cabine with which to call home from phone boxes.

Saturday had taken me from the Sarth to the Loir (no e) rivers, both of which are tributaries of the Loire (with an e), which I aimed to reach the next day.