Category: Bike Tour

We would be riding through rain today, something we almost always avoid. But knowing that we were taking a few days off in Nantes made it easier to accept; life is easier if we don’t have to get ourselves and all of our gear dried out to ride again the next day. It meant that… Read more…

Late September is the time of year when day-length shrinks the fastest, so even though 8am is far from an “early” start for us historically, it was a surprise that we nearly beat the sun up and out of bed. We were due for one of our longest distances in Europe so far, and knew… Read more…

Our final Loire Valley castle visit, Château de Villandry, was right across the quiet road from our glamping site. Unfortunately, the gate there was the back service entrance, with the public entrance all the way down the hill and on the opposite side of town. So that meant packing up and taking our bikes down… Read more…

Three nights in Amboise left us with one thing on Rett’s list remaining to see: Château de Chenonceau. But it’s only “in Amboise” from a driver’s perspective; it’s actually 9 miles southeast of the town, on a whole other river (the Cher). So rather than the original idea of burning an “off day” by riding… Read more…

Another short-distance day, but we were out early so that we could make it to a winery before their lunchtime closure. We were too early to take much advantage of today’s even-stronger tailwind, but the 55°F temperature and the shade of the south side of the river bank kept us operating efficiently in the coolness.… Read more…