Category: Bicycling

Yeah, it’s another slow news day on the tour. Yesterday we experienced the Sisyphus myth as we sprinted down each hill with glee, only to have to climb up the next one.

Today our route was wonderfully flat. We started on a rail-trail, then cycled the rest of the day next to a canal. We again rejected our GPS route when it got sidetracked into the hills.

What’s so Sisyphus about that? Well, every day we work hard to get the numbers on our odometer to go as high as possible. But the next morning they always go back to zero, and we have to start all over again.
Actually we did have a couple really nice things happen today, besides the smooth ride. Our path was strewn with flowers, and we actually had some tailwinds part of the day!

Perhaps the tour is getting us ready for the approach to Switzerland. Today was our hilliest day yet.

Yesterday’s Gypsy Caravan was delightful, but very accidental. First, we got the EV6 route from a GPS track on their website – but it is wrong. We ended up going 20k out of our way, up the wrong river. Then, the Caravan was another 5k off of that route.

We knew this within a few kilometers after leaving the Loire a’Velo, when the route signs continued up the Loire, but our route did not. This also confirmed what we saw on a map we got on the placemat in St Brevin. But by this time we already had reservations, so we were committed to the detour.

So, this meant that this morning we went 24k over several hills, getting back over to the Loire valley. But along the way we did come across another Chateau. It was (very) rundown, but the cows let us see it for free. (Sorry, better photos will come later.)

Now that we knew not to trust our GPS route, we kept watch all the remaining day for any EV6 signs. So far we have found none. The GPS route deviated up another wrong river and then across more hills. This time, since it was Sunday, and large trucks and semis don’t run on Sundays in France – we took advantage of this, threw away the route, and just took the main highway to Bourbon-Lancy.

Unfortunately, while the main road was straight, and shortened our distance, it also did something else, that anyone who has ridden across Iowa knows only too well. The roads go up and down straight over the hills. You end up with short, but steep grades and a lot of climbing.

Along this stretch, on top of the hills we would see these large mansions overlooking the valley.

But evidence we are much stronger now, we still completed our ride by 3:00 and had time to walk through old town Bourbon-Lancy.

We also tried to get some time in the thermal baths, but found the spas were either closed for the day, or are more like museums of another era.

From beginning to end we have now completed the Loire a Velo bike route. The beginning point (our end point) is in a tiny town at the confluence of the Loire and the Allier. There is a commemorative brass plaque set in a concrete drawing of the Loire.

Today’s final leg took us along unexpectedly smooth dedicated bike paths through classic farmland and along a canal.

We are overnighting in a gypsy caravan whose interior is as up-to-date as any RV.

Dinner, provided by our hostess, included a 2009 Pinot Noir from Bourgogne, a region we had unwittingly missed.

We just had to throw in this extra blog entry. It’s a little project we started several days ago, ever since the first time it happened – as we looked ahead down the bike path.

After all, now that we’ve run out of Chateaus, we have to find something else to amuse ourselves.

As frequently as we’ve been coming across them, it’s almost like nuclear power plants are the new Chateaus.

FYI, the above 4 pictures are of 3 different plants. But we particularly liked the following, that makes the reactor look like it’s blowing up. 🙂

We did not realize when planning this tour, that we would be covering every major wine growing region in France except one, and then we started with that one when we went wine tasting with Don and Bob. So we have now visited all of them!

We have had Bordeaux in Bordeaux, Muscodet in Nantes, Chenon in Chinon, Vouvray in Vouvray, Cheverny in Cheverny, Touraine in Chenonceaux, and today we are in the final region where we had Sancerre in Sancerre!

Once again we find ourselves in a not-so-great hotel, but above a gourmet restaurant. That’s a cauliflower concoction in the glass.

Guess it goes along with our theme from earlier, when we crossed a canal bridge and ended up having lunch at an artisan chocolatiers where even the cup was edible.

Oh, and did we mention that it’s really getting hot now, and the cycling is really difficult! 😉

We actually did put in an 84k day. After all, we’ve got to burn up all those gourmet calories.

We started the day passing through Orleans old town, including it’s Cathedral.

We then passed by the quay on our way out of town, and up the Loire river. This spot was our first view of the Loire in 2005. So today it is the end of section 3, the Loire we knew, and beginning of the final section of our tour – eastern France back to Switzerland.

Now we are trying not to be pessimistic, BUT … when we were fighting headwinds going west on the canal, we looked forward to the Atlantic coast when we would turn north, and we would only have cross winds. Instead, the day we turned north, so did the winds – for the rest of the coast.

Only on our last coastal day did we not have northerly winds. Instead they were now coming out of the east, so we had a good morning, until we turned east, up the river and into the wind. Not all, but most of the Loire section was moderate headwinds out of the northeast.

So, today was our first day heading south and southeast. And yes, also for the first day, the wind has now shifted to the southeast!

The only good thing it has also finally brought, is warm weather. It actually got into the high 70s today, and we had ice cream for the first time, in our afternoon break.

Today was also our final Chateau, in Sully sur Loire.

In it’s grand hall are some paintings of men in arms. They are holding shields with the Sully coat of arms. Apparently this was an attempt to pretend royalty where it did not in fact exist. We realized this was like what we do today, with Photoshop.

And then there’s the hotel … which asked if we wanted breakfast, and dinner. That’s a sure sign of something gourmet coming along. MC thought we should take this shot, of Jon’s exquisite soufflé, to make her sister envious.

… didn’t keep the doctor away, but the doc Jon saw this morning did prescribe seeing more Chateaus. Speaking of which, have we told you about the French medical system? Our first visit several weeks ago cost $0, with a $3 visit to the Pharmacy. This time it was much more expensive … $23 for the Doctor, and $5 at the Pharmacy. You can pretty much just walk in without an appointment. They don’t have receptionists, and two bookkeepers to handle all the insurance payments. Why do we want to go back to the US?

Today was our fourth and final Ch Chateau. We’ve had quite a time the last four days, talking about our itinerary. You just try saying this 3 times really fast: Chenonceau, Chaumont, Cheverny, Chambord.

Chambord is the largest of the Chateaus in France, and we realized today that it’s really too big.

It’s ceilings are way too high. It has dozens of fireplaces in the rooms and halls. And it turns out that it was never really completed or used. The only one who stayed for any length of time, was grateful to leave after 8 years of mosquitoes in the summer, and cold drafty rooms in the winter.

We did enjoy the double staircase, which may have been designed by DaVince.

After Chambord, we have returned to our daily cycling pattern and rode the rest of the way to Orleans. This was our first city on the Loire in 2005, so we have now covered the section of the river which we have bicycled before. But it’s interesting to note that we only repeated the same route about 10% of the distance, Angers and Orleans were the only repeated cities that we stated in, and Villandry, Chenonceau, and Chambord were the only Chateaus we saw again. It was almost like an entirely new trip, and there are still many other places we could visit on the next tour.

Now from here to Basel will be entirely new for us.

It’s been a very busy spring day here in France. Within a few meters of the start of our day’s ride we caught an unusual sight and sound in the Loire. Unfortunately the really explicit photos, and the sound track that goes with it, will have to wait until we get on a computer.

In the water was spawning salmon and in the grasses were so many frogs going at it, that it sounded like one continuous croak! And just downstream was an island of nesting seagulls.

Then as we came near our destination Chateau, we saw what surely were the shorn sheep of Cheverny.

Whilst inside we watched the 101 Chateau hounds waiting for their dinner.

Of course we saw the Chateau as well.

And ended the day by going native. First, our Chambre d’Hote was too far away to walk, so we unloaded the bike and rode it empty into town. Riding a bike without bags around here makes you look like a local.

Then we went grocery shopping for dinner, and rode back to the countryside carrying a bag of groceries.

And finally, we topped it off by eating out on the lawn in the sunset.

Today was to be an easy ride from Chenonceau to Chaumont, but it started with 7k of climbing to the top of the hills, where we were then battered by 35k headwinds the rest of the day.

Our goal was to spend most of the day at the Chaumont Chateau’s International Garden Festival.

Various landscapers and artists from around the world created all kinds of garden art, art in gardens, or artistically done gardens. Some of it was interactive, with the added sensations of touch.

Some were unusual, like this cloud “garden”.

Others were literally reflective.

After the gardens we toured the Chateau. One interesting thing they did was put some art into rooms that have not been restored. It gives one a great appreciation of the amount of work needed to keep up, and restore these centuries old buildings.

We got a great view of the river ahead, from the Chateau grounds.

And from this view, which is out our Chambre d’Hote window, you can see that the Loire is still flooded. Cyclists must stay up on the road, but you can see in the area this side of the grass in the water, that the path is still very submerged.

Fortunately, because we are zigzagging between Chateaus, we are not currently following the river, so the flooding is not affecting us like it did a few days ago.

We’re not sure if that means “the next Chateau”, or perhaps the Chateau on the water – which of course fits the nature of our tour perfectly.

When we were here in 2005 it was September, so it was interesting to see it with the gardens only beginning to take shape.

Jon was also able to verify that the portrait of his mother is still here. We found out it is by a Dutch artist, Miervelt, and is called, “Lady in a Collar”. We were hoping the woman might be identified.

And, by the way, if you ever hear MC say that, “we had lunch at the Chateau” , just thought you should see what she really means …

All in all a very beautiful day, and we are finally able to camp again. And if you are wondering about our spelling, we were too. As far as we can tell, the Chateau is called Chenonceau, but it is located in the town of Chenonceaux.