Loire a Velo

After breakfast we cycled a 14 mile section of the Loire a Velo. Leaving the car in the hotel car park and and heading in an easterly direction alongside the Loire. The route was one of the prettiest we have done. It followed the banks of the Loire out of Saumur then climbed up through the vineyards and even the middle of a troglodyte street. We stopped at a local market to buy provisions for lunch: ham, yellow tomatoes and bread which we ate on the banks of the Loire before heading back to Saumur. We arrived back at 2.40pm with just enough time to drive to the Caves Bouvet Ladubay to taste the sparkling wine made by the "méthode traditionnelle" . We did not have time for a tour but managed to sample 2 whites, one rose and a sparkling red. It was now 3.55pm and time to set off to Le Neubourg. The French motorway system had been expanded since our 2 maps were published so we were pleased to find it was motorway almost all the way. We arrived in Le Neubourg in around 3 hours with a stop. The only downside being the 24 euro toll.
On arriving in the town we realised we had cycled though it last year on a Velo Verte.
The hotel turned out to be a modern construction with a pleasant well furnished large room. We ate in a nearby Creperie, the only resturant in the town that was open.