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It being Sunday, I picked up pain au chocolats and lunch baguette at the first opportunity, and headed out of town.
The landscapes started to change. I saw very few cows, lots more dead sunflowers, and the first grape vines. Men with guns and dogs were out in the fields hunting down rabbits for Sunday lunch. A scared-looking bunny rushed past me at the side of the road. One of the hunters flagged me down for a chat. It was windy, we were separated by a roadside ditch, and my ears weren't very well tuned into the French language at that point, so I couldn't understand much of what he said, but he seemed rather surprised that I was going all the way to Marseille, and asked me if it was hard travelling alone. I said not really.
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Crossing the vast Loire river felt like something of a milestone in my journey. Being quite close to Azay-le-Rideau, where I intended to stay, I took the long and scenic route down cycle route along the river, via another impressive chateau, Usse. I passed numerous fellow cyclists out for a leisurely pedal on hired bikes and laden only with handlebar bags.
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I eventually reached Azay-le-Rideau and stayed upon the campsite there, which was due to close for winter the next day.
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