Day 7 Villandry – Chaumont sur Loire. 72 km

Another hot day pedalling through vineyards, and along wooded trails.

We’re getting good at loading the bikes with their paniers on the pavement.

We started by following the River Cher until we reached Tours, then a hairy transit of the city to join the Loire again.

A tranquil approach to Tours

Although the main cycle route through the city is reasonably clear, it’s hard to have to deal with the crossings of roads. Traffic lights for cars are often different from ones for cycles, and zebra crossings are often ignored by drivers!

The map I was following didn’t agree with the cycle trail signs, so we had to integrate with a main road until we found access onto the riverside trail once more

Fancy Hôtel de Ville in the centre: stressful time.

By the time we left the town, Sue was having a meltdown, from which she took a while to recover. Luckily we soon found a bar which sold some local fizz that helped with the recovery process.

Navigating through towns and large villages can be tricky as the route kindly takes you through the least amount of road traffic. This means it ducks and dives around churches, up small alleys and through parks. The app for my phone which I’ve found that works really well is “BikeMap.” Unfortunately, like all these navigation apps, it sucks up the phone battery. This time I’ve bought a light weight solar powered charger pack which seems to be working well, and now the phone lasts all day; however so far we haven’t had a cloudy day to test it.

Loire vineyards, make some great white wine.
Someone with enough jugs to decorate her garden wall. Even more than Sue has! A bit presumptuous I know, but I can’t imagine a bloke would do that.
Chaumont sur Loire, our picturesque destination for the night, right on the cycle trail.
Bikes again are well looked after in a secure garage with the fishing nets.
Room with a view
On route to the local restaurant called Fou d’Loire, where I had local Boudin Noir (black pudding) on toast, covered in melted cheese and washed down with a very nice local white wine.
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Published by Robkeene

Sue and I are both over 60 and looking to explore the cycle routes in France

1 Comment

  1. Manfred W Schropp's avatar Manfred W Schropp says:
    September 8, 2023 at 9:46 am

    I am with Sue here regarding the meltdown and traffic. Much emotional support from me! I hate cycling on busy roads. City streets are almost the worst. High speed highways squeezed between a lake or river and a mountain ARE the worst.

    The (fishing?) sailboats on the Loire are amazing given the low water levels. My guess is that you are right wrt the jugs belonging to a woman. A guy would probably put empty beer bottles out of all the different beers he has had in his life.

    Have a great and cooler day.

    Best Regards – Manfred

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