nbjtours

Day Six

Vibraye to Pithiviers

95 Miles 2467 ft climbed

We may only be 50 miles south of Paris but based on the weather we have had we could be by the Mediterranean. Not only has the sun shone but as we approached our lunch stop there were more and more fields of deep purple Lavender.

Nigel and Monica had therefore decided to park up overlooking one of these fields and took the opportunity to hang out the washing alongside the farm track.

Whilst we were having our lunch the farmer drove up to check us out. We explained we were just lunching and he was fine. On asking about the lavender he said that it had only started in the last 5 years and that he produced essential oil which went to the perfume and washing producers. We also asked about the bees which were buzzing so loudly you could hear them on the lavender. He advised that he had 70 hives just around the corner but don’t get too close as he was stung last week. Leaving he gave us permission to take a small bouquet of lavender each and wished us ‘bonne appétit’.

This morning, once we had left the campsite and the busy town of Vibraye we didn’t see a car for almost ten miles as we worked our way along a pretty river valley which was not to be typical of the terrain we were to cycle through today as it was green and wooded with small hedged fields, filled with many cows.

After a short steepish climb we got onto that flat plain full of endless fields for which this part of France is known. Home to the sprint stages of the Tour de France and for us lovely smooth tarmac helping us increase our speed.

We saw many Buzzards, Kestrels and almost certainly a Goshawk. They were all hovering or soaring above the fields looking for prey- Potentially some of the hares we saw bounding about earlier in the day. Don’t tell Nick but Nigel and I heard a cuckoo today.

We had an early coffee stop in the small town of Courtalain which had a large Chateau and its grounds surrounding half of the town. It was here by chance we decided to have lunch in the Lavender region.

Nick continued to pace us across the fields of wheat until we came to the largest town of the day, Chateaudun. As the lady in the tourist office explained its situation is because it’s on the only hill and overlooks the river. The ascent to the castle was short but very steep. As we reached the top breathing hard a nice old gent congratulated us and agreed it was a tough climb.

Our lavender lunch stop was not much further after Chateaudun and having properly refuelled we would only have 40 odd miles to go in the day. As the temperature had begun to climb into the 30’s we did programme in an extra water/ ice cream stop. In addition to the bees there were also these two very colourful dragonfly species keeping us company.

Cycling across the plain it was very evident that my basic geography lessons were not wrong with smaller villages 5-7 km apart and larger villages or towns 20 km apart. This was very helpful as it was then easy to measure our progress by settlements ridden through.

As we kept trying to get our passports stamped at each Mairie it was interesting that their opening times appeared totally random, so we were not always successful, presumably this was down to the local mayor to sort depending on his other job. All were manned (or womanned) by middle aged ladies no doubt in need of a part time job. Without exception they were all very pleasant, stamped our passports and were surprised to see these mad Englishmen. Perhaps we had made their day by being something a bit out of the ordinary.

The last stop was by the end station of the experimental Aérotrain track north of Orleans. Set up in the 1960’s and running tests until the mid 1970’s this invention actually surpassed 430kph, but was doomed to failure because of the petrol crisis and the death of its inventor. However the track remains and is a tribute to the fastest ever land based passenger transport. If you are interested in more detail check out. https://www.railtarget.eu/technologies-and-infrastructure/jean-bertins-aerotrain-the-story-of-a-french-genius-and-his-failure-5840.html

The last leg saw us push hard for a rapid finish only stopping at one point in the shade to have a drink and cool down. We managed a tour of Pithiviers and visited the tourist office for a stamp but sadly didn’t get one of Pithiviers eponymous pies.

The campsite tonight was simple but once again clean and serviceable. It was almost expensive at 30 euros including a concession. The owner seeing Nick said to Monica I’ll only charge for a child for him but don’t tell !

Dinner tonight of various French sausages with potato salad and coleslaw was rapidly devoured before Monica was looking to beat the lads at shed again!

Incredibly the temperature is set to increase again tomorrow as we continue to cross the centre of France. However there is a small chance of storms to end the day.