76.4km
280m elevation gain
Everything pretty much worked out today. I'd decided to detour to see the Abbaye Royale in Fontevraud and was worried it would add a lot to the journey, but as it happened most of the riding after that detour was dead easy - flat and with a tailwind - so the extra few kilometres didn't matter.
Before Fontevraud the route took me past some troglodyte villages, which were interesting to see. After, it was through attractive countryside and the last bit was along the levée by the Loire, which was a great bit of path.
Fontevraud was interesting. It was an abbey for many years, before becoming a prison in the 19th century until the 1960s when they started restoring it to former glory. It's kind of modern in some ways, accentuated by there being a modern art trail going on with random art in random places. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. Fontevraud is also the last resting place of Eleanor of Aquitaine, all-round badass medieval queen and a many many great grandmother on my dad's side. So it was cool to see her tomb.
I then rolled along for 50km with a break for lunch before stopping again at the Chateau de Villandry, very close to my campsite for the evening. This is another castle dating from the medieval era before they added bits later on; these days it's largely known for its amazing gardens. They're stupendous. They have ornamental kitchen gardens where they plant vegetables by colour to create patterns best seen from the chateau itself. It rained, but mostly when I was inside, and anyway the rain is needed.
I then zipped along the last little bit to the campsite, set up, and after a wander am having more pancakes for tea by the bank of the river at a great little outside bar, where there was also a decent piano recital. Life could be much worse.
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