Rouen to Le Mans

There's really not that much to say about the past 3 days. Not that it wasn't nice - very much to the contrary - it's just that it's hard to talk about it. I guess pictures will do better justice than text...

We found many very small roads, in good condition, and without traffic. The best possible riding conditions really! Riding right through the country, without aiming for the tourist destinations or following pre-set routes, often gives the best, unexpected pleasant results.

Lots and lots (and lots) of various wheat crops, often with big and beautiful old farms; France's bread basket, clearly

Happy cyclist along the route; meanwhile, the weather has become very nice and even super hot...

You never know what kind of campsite you will find at the end of the day, but usually they have been very pleasant - and there are few tourists in this area, making them less crowded than the ones we had on the coast

Grocery and cafe "Chez Bebert", no longer in operation unfortunately - it would have been a perfect coffee stop
Riding through this region gave us nice views, beautiful farms, lovely sleepy villages, fantastic shady forests, pleasant cycling roads and friendly people (if we saw any)

The small or the smaller road?

12th century chapel on the way, exactly at the right time for a good lunch (in the shade, meanwhile temperatures are well above 30C)

While there was a lot of agriculture with many different crops, there was also a lot of forest and wonderful nature

My lovely wife is stealing the chocolate

A couple of short but steep climbs, and high temperatures, make you appreciate these cool shady drives even more. Especially because there was a beautiful historic chateau right next to it - but that picture was no good at all