25 May, 2015

For the first time for a long time we wake up to a dry tent – no dew.  However, just as we’re packing up it starts to rain.  You’ve never seen us move so fast, trying to get the tent down before it got wet.  This sort of sets the tempo for the day.

We have decided that we would like a stay in a hotel tonight, it has been a week since our last night indoors.  We plan to have a short day by cycling to Orleans, only 30 kilometres away, and finding a hotel so we can charge everything up, wash essential kit and update the blog, email and suchlike on reasonable WiFi.

The morning is constantly interrupted by heavy rain.  We keep stopping and trying to wait out the worst of it under trees, so our 30 kilometres takes quite a time.  Orleans is a big city with the Loire running through it; the main city-centre is on the north bank.  We decide to look for a hotel on the quieter south bank.

We spend 7 kilometres riding round in circles following various signs until we finally track down a hotel.  However, the door is locked with a sign informing us that the opening hours are from 4pm onwards.  We would need to wait more than 3 hours just to find out whether they have a room available.  So we cycle onwards, in the rain.

In the next small town we do a couple of circuits hoping to spot a hotel.  We have already seen the campsite and we suspect that we will end up there, but no, in the centre of the town is a traditional looking hotel.  A sign on the door says it is cycle friendly.  So it is.  Room in the garage for the bikes, a heater in the bathroom to dry stuff on, loads of electrical sockets and even a kettle!  It definitely will not win any awards for decor – we are a bit mystified by the skirting in the room which is made of paving you use in gardens.