Let’s go cycling

A week on the beautiful Loire…
Sandy river beaches, heat and no swimming allowed! Banned since 1969 on the Loire apparently- it’s a fast flowing, braided river with dangerous whirlpools, undercurrents and collapsing sandbanks. Looked tempting but…

10th August, A work and rest day in Nantes, with more culinary delights including a “single menu” meal with exquisite sardines.

11th August, Nantes to Montjean, 64km, flat along the river  and very  very hot. 37 degrees today.

The Loire from Nantes seemed turbulent and muddy.  Must be tidal? How brilliant is it to ride out of a large city without ever having to tackle the traffic.  Superb cycle paths all the way.

We did have a sudden stop just behind a family (Dad and his two kids) when one of them came a cropper just in front of us and took out his Dad big time.  The kid’s fall was a doozy but he got up unhurt…while the Dad looked like he may be going straight home to nurse his bruises.  Ouchy.

T’was pretty warm by the time we called it a day today- our campsite had a pool so we made use of that and cooled down a little 🙂

12th August, Montjean to Gennes, 66km, 36 degrees

Another lovely flat day along the Loire. A variety of terrains and a campsite that we were pleased to see after a very few hours on the bikes.  Neil jumped back on the bike to scout for some food and a cold beer while I did a bit of work.  Win win!

France is suffering from an unprecedented dry, hot summer. We’ve really noticed just how dry it is, with many failing agricultural crops, deciduous trees already brown so early in the season. And hot. hot. hot.

13th August, Gennes to Candes-St-Martin, 35km and muggy

A short but slow day,  we stopped at the Decathlon store in Saumur to find some repair tape for our ailing camp mats.  Note to the wary- SeatoSummit camping mats are not all they’re cracked up to be.  Multiple weld failure points make for very uncomfortable sleeping.  We somehow manage to have a swag of Sea-to-Summit gear, including our tent which is also suffering failure of the seam sealant…

Stopped for lunch at a charming little village after riding through a series of buildings built into the cliff edge.  It was such a glorious spot that we abandoned our plan to ride 80km today and stopped here to explore the surrounds for the night. 

Dinner wasn’t so fantastic,  the first big fail in France- somehow they managed to forget our order not once, but twice! And for those who know me… I possibly get a bit grumpy when hungry…so an hour and a half of waiting for a very ordinary meal  was time used to learn a couple of choice French phrases to express  my dissatisfaction 🙂

14th August, 70km to Tour’s, more Loire and something like 38 degrees!

After another night of sleeping on flat camping mats we took a big detour to Tours city and bought ourselves a couple of hardy looking camping mats that hopefully will last a bit longer than the last ones. Also hoping we might get some joy from Sea to Summit with replacement of the existing ones as they are supposed to have a lifetime guarantee…we’ll see.

Booked a super cheap hotel in Tours and spent at least an hour riding around in circles trying to find it…when we did it was a bit “industrial ” but it fit the purpose.

15th August, Tours to Saint-Martin, 62km and even hotter!

Well, today was one of those days where you ask, ” why am I doing this?”
Thought we’d get an early start with a forecast of 36 degrees.  So, on the road before 8am, sans breakfast, thinking we’d find a handy boulangerie down the road.

But…a bit of disagreement about my Koomoot route that wound through the city streets towards the EV route, so after a change of navigator we somehow ended up on a random walking path with uncyclable steps and tree roots on a cliff edge, then busy roads that weren’t at all cycle friendly.  Are you sensing the marital tension here?

We finally found a Cafe about 25km in, enquired ravenously re the extensive menu only to be told they’d sold out of food at 10am. They had a cookie. And coffee.  It’ll do.

You’d think that would be enough frustration on a very hot day, but the next town proved to be unnavigable- that or neither of us can actually read a map.  So we ended up on the wrong side of the river, again on a road where cyclists weren’t welcome. Not the most fun ride. 

Anyhow we managed to avoid killing each other, found a perfect, cheap and quiet municipal campsite on the edge of the Loire, with a lovely little village adjacent.  Plus a Friday night outdoor concert and a great little French restaurant with the “second best” meal in France so far!

18th August, Chateauneuf to Gien, 55 km maybe a tiny hint of cooling but not much!

16th August, St Martin to Beaugency, 60km, 35 degrees…

17th August, Beaugency to ChateauNeuf-sur-loir, 63km, still hot

19th August, Gien to Beffes, 88km and not so hot!

It’s all been much of the same, except we’ve managed to stay on the route! Yay for us…the Loire has really provided quite a lovely and picturesque way to traverse the country. Chateaux and charming Unesco listed villages all providing a pretty backdrop on brilliant cycle trails!