We’ve enjoyed a rest day in Orléans. It is a beautiful city. Joan of Arc or the Maid of Orléans is much celebrated here for rallying the troops against the English to lift the seige of the city in 1492. She is a national hero as she turned the tide for the French monarchy when all seemed lost.
The cathedral has been heavily restored after bombing damage by the American Air Force. It is peaceful inside with a further memorial to Jeanne d’Arc which is also a war memorial to the allied dead of the first and second world wars.
There are many half timbered buildings which give the city a delightful ambience.
We wandered down to the Loire in the afternoon. The scene is typical of this river which is full of shoals and islands.
We didn’t use our bicycles today. This was an opportunity to check them over for our final 130 km. It’s just as well I did as I found my rear wheel had a broken spoke. Fortunately there was first class service from a bike shop less than five minutes away which had the spoke replaced in 30 minutes. I have in the meantime also ordered an emergency spoke replacement kit for next journey.
I suspect I should replace the wheels on my Dawes Super Galaxy in any case. With a necessary change to front rings, it will only leave frame, forks, handlebars and front / rear changers as original but there’s life in them yet.
Julian and Beryl's camino 