We are making steady progress west to east along the Loire. Completed a 50k fully loaded ride yesterday from other side of Nantes to Ancenis. This blog was dictated in a speeding ambulance to Pierre.....

Key points from the last dew days:

• Stopped off in a place called Paimbeouf - were befriended by a lovely french couple who insisted that we stay with them for a couple of days when if we get to their bit of the Loire. As they had two beautiful dogs it looks likely that we will take them up on the offer.
• Got chased by a farm dog - the owner of the farm rushed to open a gate to effect our escape: although we ended up cross country and felt lost it ended up giving us a shortcut however.....
• This took us to one of the oddest camping experiences... the next site we used was like a Shanty Town and the residents - who to be fair were charming if not pissed - suggested we set up next to a cesspit (literally); in the seconds it took us to say 'NON' we sustained no more than 20 mozzie bites. We preferred a pitch nearer the pot bellied pigs....we moved on quickly the next morning and will forever remember the site for its 'mankey pigs'
• We moved on to a suburb of Nantes called Indre: where a charming couple took pity on our lumpy skins and offered a bargain hotel deal. We stayed a couple days and shared the facilities with a group of young submariners ( we knew something interesting was afoot when they all started running around at the sound of our bicycle bell)
• We visited Nantes Cathedral which took 500 years to complete but was burned down in the 70's) WE lit candles for loved ones present and past.
• Another big cycle yesterday - the paths are brilliant; quiet, flat and well signed. We will have a crack at another big  mileage day tomorrow. Love to one and all - lovely to think of people tuning in. xxxC and M

Landing in the Loire via Paris

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments and interest they are hugely valued. Our first stop was Amiens, which is very close to the Somme battlefields - there are reminders everywhere - very moving. We stayed at the Best Western there, highly recommended, We visited the huge gothic Cathedral which dominates the centre of the town. We then got the train to a place called Creil. The plan was to get off somewhere even nearer to Paris but would allow us to do a big ride to it. With help from the hotel in Amiens (and a big up for Carolines French) and the trourist info place in Creil we located a camp site in Nesles de Vallee. It was advertised as a 4 star site. It was our biggest ride so far fully loaded, not helped by a  8k diversion toward the end. As light faded and rattiness set in we realised what the de Vallee bit means ie we had to tackle a really steep hill to get over into the valley. We pushed the bikes up most of this because we were cream crackered; this must have showed to the campsite owner who got it into his head that we had cycled from Calais! The campsite was in a beautiful setting and there was hardly anyone on it;, but the french campsite rating system now fills us with dread because if that was four star god help us on two star. Still there were some very noisy fat geese to keep us entertained and dog that stole Mark's pate. We cycled around the area which is dominated by the Oise river.including a delightful visit to a place called Auvers  where Van Gogh lived for a stage and is buried with his brother: Having visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam this created a interesting linkfor our trip: We had a go at cycling in Paris( rush hour on a Friday possibly wasnt the best time) Pretty hairraising but an experience to remember! Yesterday we left our 4 star residence and came to St Nazaire; the start of our Loire valley trip. And that is as far as we have gone so far. Lots of Love to you all,we will keep you posted C and M xx

Learning how to blog and survive Amsterdam's cyclists and camping in the rain!

Big thankyou to peeps who have posted on our blog - its really nice to be in contact. Thanks to anyone else who has tuned in but not yet posted...its taken us a while to find a place where we can sit in peace and figure out how to get our blogging going. We had a great send off from the docks at North Shields - thanks JM, Big Al and the Debster. The ferry was pretty good. We met a couple of seasoned geordie touring cyclists who rocked up with a couple of tinnies and a load of invaluable advice. We made it to Amsterdam - via Haarlem - thanks to them. We have survived 3 nights in a tent in Zeeburg; we must be the oldest couple in a tent; we chose a spot near the goats and the chickens and next to a friendly wizard (don't ask). Even the goats are stoned but everyone is friendly.  The weather is a bit wet so we have decided to head south, stopping at Paris on the way to somewhere warmer. We are going by train via Amiens and may stop there. We have cycled everyday and have developed some confidence riding with bikes that are fully loaded and having to deal with really busy roads. Cycling in Amsterdam is a mixed blessing; swarms of cool urban amsterdammers wizzing by..but the preference for cycling over cars is really refreshing - cycle lanes everywhere. This week we will mostly be trying to master the art of posting with photo's. Bigger cycling trips are planned. Love to all our well wishers. C&M xxx