Brittany – Less Car, More Life

Mood Swings in Finistère

Getting sick while traveling. It’s inevitable, especially when eating and staying in so many different places. And when you are sick bike touring, it can feel particularly dark.

Just one of the risks of bike touring. Big wind, tides, and storms are part of life in Finistère, the westernmost department in France.

Taking a walk along the bluff south of the hotel. Feeling a bit better after 24 hours…

Leaving the lovely Les Sables Blanches Hotel where I spent the better part of 36 hours in bed with a lovely ocean view as my body recovered from a stomach bug. It could have been worse-:)

The coast around Concarneau is part of the famous
GR34 long distance walking route, which covers an incredible 2000km along the coast of Brittany. Much of our coastal bike route ( V45) covers the same zones, but not always as close to the sea.

You generally don’t know where you caught a specific ick, but this time we definitely have our suspicions. The lovely Chambre D’hôte we stayed at in Josselin had two visiting grandchildren, both of whom served us multiple courses by hand at breakfast. It was very cute, (and I guess France has more lax labor laws allowing 3 and 5 years olds to work!) but as we left, we were told the younger one had a stomach bug so was staying home from school…oh? It will be fine, since we’re tough.

First meal after a stomach ick is always the exciting and a bit daunting.

Well, luckily it’s 36 hour incubation period got me perfectly through our final two pleasant days of cycling as we headed to the coast. But then I got hit hard by a stomach flu type illness and I missed 4 meals, with a day of rest, saltines, hydration tablets and watered down apple juice. It always amazes me how strong our bodies are, until they aren’t.

Cheryl loving the unique designs of every cidre “coupée” in Brittany, and the fact we were eating together again.

Cheryl’s pick with spring white asparagus and even some greens!

My choice of classic emmental, egg, and a touch of andouille sausage went down ok (and stayed down, yea!).

But luckily the worst resolved fast and we were able to enjoy a lot more of our second day in Concarneau. But it would linger in my system for a few days more, making everything a bit tougher. And I suspect Cheryl also had a milder case, but she will never admit it. But ha, as we’ve been travelling together for almost 5 years straight, I know -;) She was slower too for a number of days. I know.

Cheryl ready to explore the walled city of Concarneau

So one expat somewhere recently commented to me about Concarneau with “Well, the French seem to like it”. Now I kind of get it. It’s pretty from above and famous in France, but super touristy and honestly, a little Disneyland like with a crammed single street of tourist shops inside the walled city. And the adjacent town itself is also fairly plain and lacking in character, with a frustrating layout of unimproved streets with narrow sidewalks. Not really much charm, but the coast and area surrounding Concarneau are beautiful. If you travel about Brittany, you will experience 100 more scenic and authentic places, maybe in a single day.

I’m ready to walk after a day in bed, and the lunchtime crowds are thin.

You can walk the ramparts for free now as there used to be a fee, but I suspect too many people complained, as it’s a bit overrated, even when you explore at peak French lunchtime (12:30-1:30), a great travel hack anywhere in France.

The ramparts take you behind the Main Street and restaurants, complete with Medieval plastic skylights and vents and exhausting fried food smell….

Ok, I’m a bit crazy as my second meal recovering was a fairly spicy Thai curry. But it tasted so good. That look from Cheryl is “Are you sure about this?”

Meeting this friendly cycle tourist Lukas leaving our second hotel in Concarneau cheered me up. He is Czech but lives in Italy and is currently circumnavigating the European Coasts to raise awareness for organ donorship. @ Wild.lukaas . The owner of our hotel had comped him a room and we gave him a little dinner money too -:)

So to facilitate another rest day and allow us to explore the walled city, we moved just 800m down the road, as unfortunately our lovely sea view room hotel at Les Sables Blanches was booked up for Friday night. But the other hotel was just fine and actually had a decent view, kind staff, and nice covered pool that had just opened for the season (most are covered here as it’s never that warm!). So we walked quite a bit, took a refreshing swim, and I even managed two meals successfully. So I was really looking forward to getting back on the bikes.

Swerving a bit to get up a 15-20% slope. I would pay for this early effort.

Cheryl more sensibly hiking her bike up the same long grade out of Concarneau.

But despite being only a mere 35k from Concarneau to Benodet, and starting out feeling pretty good, my body started to revolt at about km20, as I realized that I still wasn’t really recovered and my body was not producing normal energy. I could eat, but it would take a few more days to get back fully to normal.

I was still on the mend, but the Boulangerie stop is still essential.

The route swerved and weaved from dirt to pavement through a beautiful stretch of the Finistère coast.

Every turn was a new view and perspective on this jagged coast.

A lovely stretch of coast near Near Cap Coz. Here they did exactly the street treatment that Concarneau needed. Turn the two lane road road one way, and make a wide bike and walking space.

Then through marshy backwaters with a ton of birdlife. (Cheryl’s intense look BTW)

My intense look as the face actually matches how I felt… crampy and weak…but it was beautiful.

It went from sun to wind to rain to all at once every 10 minutes or so. The weather can be crazy here at the ends of the continent.

So as we approached Benodet, we decided it was now or never for lunch at 2:30p, so of course it was crepes, as they are everywhere here and a staple. Also, it’s pretty hard to get a bad crepe in Brittany, sort of like pizza in Naples.

The lighthouse at Benodet. A very tidy town with lots of nice vacation homes and beautiful coastline.

Benodet was a fancy coastal town that didn’t really grab us, and we had to force two pizzas down quickly as the one Italian restaurant was booked (my fragile stomach really wanted pasta) but we agreed to take an early table, only order pizza and finish fast. You have to eat, but sometimes it’s tough in France given the rigid schedule and reservation culture. We often do make reservations, but the town didn’t feel busy on this slow Saturday night.

The next day to Audierne promised some winds and a surprisingly varied route. It proved to be challenging but very rewarding with historic sights and an overload of scenery.

The smiles were authentic the next day as I paced myself better and felt stronger.

The somewhat forgotten Pont L’Abbé, a once strategic control point for commerce and defense, including a stone bridge first built by a monk in the 14th century, complete with buildings atop.

Our route included a gravel section on the old “Carrot Train” route, a small railway that brought goods to sale to and from Pont L’Abbé but was abandoned in 1935 with the rise of truck transport.

A perfect lunch spot at the Church ruins along the Route Du Vent Solaire. The “Solar Wind Route” is named after the work of Pierre Jakez Hélias, a writer born in the Pays Bigouden region, the Solar Wind Route is like the wind: it often changes direction.

Lots of 15th century ruins to explore all to ourselves

The next day was a hilly 55k from Benodet to Audierne. It was absolutely brilliant as I was filled with that post sickness euphoria that heightens the senses and makes you appreciate every mile, or kilometer. The weather also cooperated to keep the rain at bay and the strong winds only from the side.

A few free range chickens crossing the road. We don’t know why.

The ruins, sky, and sound of the crashing ocean in the distance is inspiring, and reminded us of Ireland…really not too far away and another Celtic culture.

Breton flags and language are ubiquitous. Many kids now attend bilingual schools in this area, keeping the language alive.

Breton flag and typical ceremonial dress, which often varies even from village to village.

Blue is the color of the region and buildings take a beating along the windswept coast.

Spring marks the start of festival season and small local events. The Sunday Microbrasserie event was tempting as we passed within a km but a break is tough to get restarted from and my stomach probably didn’t need an afternoon beer!?

The Bay’of Audierne is vast and exposed.

Rows of breakers from strong west winds. We quickly realized why the more popular swimming beaches are in less exposed areas of Finistère.

Neolithic sites are dotted throughout the region, including a cave indicating habitation over 400,000 years BP. Yes, you read that correctly. See the amazing Menez Drégan

This dolmen is new compared to the cave site below on the coast and only dates back 2,000 to 4,500 years BP.

These Neolithic burial sites still feel awe inspiring, and put today’s troubles in a bit of perspective. Time will pass and it will all be ok. Or it won’t. But time will pass.

Up and down relentlessly as we approached Audierne.

Destination reached! Another spectacular corner room over the beach at the friendly and nicely renovated TY YS Hotel in Audierne. Swing season is great.

The light of Brittany is both soft and ephemeral.

Rolling out of Audierne for the interior on another beautiful day.

Audierne is built on a major inlet for protection and reminded us of Scandinavian ports such as Bergen.

So psyched to be riding and digesting again!

These small hearts on the road signs were unique

We arrived to the city of Audierne, which feels like an outpost near the ends of the continent, because it is. No one passes through here on a whim, and the people seemed extra hearty, even for the Bretons. We loved our small modest coastal hotel, and another night of ocean waves breaking to lull us through a solid night of bike touring sleep. We headed out the next day on an route that arced to the northeast and then back into Quimper, the cultural heart of Finistère.

Heading up Le Goyen from Audierne. A spectacular morning.

The tidal reach up the river is extensive.

Finally heading upland towards Douarnenez.

The architectural church style here is the “Pont Croix” and sure enough, you can walk all the way to Santiago de Compestela from here if you have a few months and good shoes.

The beautiful Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Kérinec, literally in the middle of nowhere. Why?

Water was definitely a reason for this Chapels Location.

Calvary cross and outdoor pulpit. Oh, and an access point to get up there….

Apparently in the 1700s, the occasional Sunday Pardons (religious festivals) required an outdoor venue as crowds gathered from the countryside.

Perhaps the spring was a draw here and motivation to build a church. It may also have been the drive to override the pagan Neolithic sites of the area.

And onto the Menhir with my spring camouflaged panniers!

This day of riding summed up bike touring perfectly as we started out blissfully into the morning sunshine and a beautiful interior trail along the Goyen River. We then explored empty chapels and Neolithic sites as we crested the hills toward Douarnenez. But the afternoon was a drag a Cheryl had a somewhat unexpected hangry meltdown after we bought groceries at a crowded supermarket, and then couldn’t find a place to eat for miles…it still stuns us how moody bike touring can be. But what always helps is a bit of patience and understanding as we’ve all been there and we have to remind each other, it will all get better. And it’s all worth it.

And after a brief afternoon meltdown (Cheryl’s turn) on a somewhat dull gravel rail trail, the happy bike travelers make it to charming Quimper.

Bike touring bingo, part two. Nantes Brest canal.

Château de Josselin in the flattering sunset light.

An Irish ex-pat couple we chatted with along the canal path told us that we would love Josselin. Very very pretty town, they said. Rich does a lot of research about distances, what we can reasonably ride in a day, places to stay which are bike friendly- and that generally means an enclosed space where we can lock the bikes – and grocery stores and bakeries to fuel us up for the ride. That means he, or we (I’m not super involved in that part of planning), don’t look at a lot of online photos of the actual towns and villages. Which means we get to be surprised! And that’s often a total treat.

Our lovely room in Josselin at 14 st-michel chambre d’hôte. A super well run place.

Josselin has 54 half timbered buildings. Some date back to the 1530s.

And the super helpful and informative history plaques add to our enjoyment.

A small cafe run out of one of the historic buildings.

So well maintained. And some work going on right nearby.

Cat shaped bell. Doorbell or bell to call the cat home?

Rolling out of Josselin. It’s a warm day and we’ll be shedding our jackets after the downhill.

What a fantastic bike route. Complete with comfort stops.

It’s going to be another warm day so we’re happy to refill our bottles and use a toilet (instead of a nature break.).

Warm weather and sunshine means another helmet cover comes out, the hat! Perfect for the sun phobic cyclist.

We’re crossing a ride we did in Brittany in 2023, we visited L’orient and Pontivy on that ride.

How many cute lock keeper houses did I photograph? A lot.

Bingo. Juice with Jesus. We love the small roadside shrines to Mary and Jesus because they frequently have shade and a bench. Outskirts of Pontivy. A town we stayed in and I cannot remember. Rich remembers it.

Guémené-sur-Scorff, our next stay. Aux Sabots Rouges, a hôtel and restaurant in a stunning old building.

It’s now Tuesday and a lot of the restaurants in town are closed. After taking a walk around to make sure we’d get food somewhere- we sat for an aperitif while we waited for the crêpe restaurant to open. Hopefully.

The town had recently lost its
Petites Cités de Caractère status, which was upsetting for the owner of our BnB. It sounded as if it was an administrative lapse on the part of the mayor. We found Guémené to be loaded with character.

Delicious goat cheese, mushroom, walnut and greens crêpe.

Another stunningly old house of character.

And the best addition to any town, a cat of character.

Rich named him Gravlax. After his slightly salmon tinged color. Murder mittens of character.

We have a long ride ahead of us, so a grocery store stop is the first order of business. Tonight, we sleep at the coast!

Back to the land of cartons of Gazpacho! Yum.

And making bike touring nachos. Laughing cow cheese (kind of sacrilegious in a country with so much good cheese, but it goes down easy and travels well), tortilla chips and guacamole.

Eat early and often. That’s a bike touring rule. Especially on a hot day. And a long day. We had 85 kilometers to do which is a long day this early in a bike trip and half on dirt and gravel. So, lots of snacks, electrolytes in our water bottles, and pod casts and music in our ears.

Meslan. The color of the stone houses and blue shutters. Adorable.

Another food break in Le Faouët. The 16th-century timber market hall behind Rich is still used. It’s a rare surviving example of a large timber structure from that period, per Wikipedia.

We left the canal and were on small roads, complete with farm vehicles.

Uh oh. Rich flagged down a passing car to ask the driver if they thought we could get through. Yes. So on we went. We always say to each other “they don’t mean bikes”. Bingo.

We’re on a rail trail for the last 30 kms or so. Which is nice. It’s hot and we’re getting tired.

When it’s hot and you need energy? Ice cream bars.

Magnum Mini scene of destruction. Yes, we did feel a bit ill a few miles later.

I had just enough mental and physical energy to stop and snap a picture of this leopard Appaloosa horse. I had to check with my sister that it was an actual type of horse, not a genetic accident. It’s rare, she said. And beautiful.

We made it to the North Atlantic Ocean. The Bay of Biscay, actually.

Our nice big room for two nights at Les Sables Blancs.

Our trip so far. The far right hearts are our friends near Geneva, and Lyon. The long gap was the 6 hr train from Lyon to Angers.

And a closer view from Angers to Concarneau, where we are now.

Unfortunately, since this nice sunset photo on the beach was taken, Rich has been felled by a stomach bug.

There were other Bike Touring Bingo moments, the well dressed gentleman strolling the canal path while reading a book, the small river otter darting out across the path and then changing their mind when they saw us and darting back to the canal bank. A farmer in a beret leading his draft horse along the Loire River path. And this is also a form of bike touring bingo; who will get sick? This time it’s Rich. Usually he has a stomach of iron and it’s me who gets an upset digestive system. In the midst of his illness he is still travel planning, trying to figure out where we go next as this hotel is full for the Friday night.

Concarneau on a sunny day. What will we do now?

Bike touring bingo, Nantes Brest canal.

A sunny day with a tailwind on Nantes Brest canal. One of the many écluse buildings. Lock keeper houses.

The Nantes Brest canal, conceived by Napoleon as a strategic inland connection of two important ports to avoid the British controlled ocean, is 390 kms long. That’s a good distance for a nice long game of Bike Touring Bingo.

Leaving Nantes. The canal starts a bit outside of Nantes proper, and the leaving of cities is frequently a bit of a jumble.

Pastry break! At 17 kms. That’s a chocolate babka from marguerite Boulangerie du coin in Nantes.

Bike Touring Bingo is an adaptation to the office game BS Bingo, where you and your co-workers would have made up Bingo cards on the xerox machine of all your boss’s favorite and overused phrases, to be checked off during interminable conference calls.

Babka ready for its close up. Hazelnut and chocolate.

Bike touring bingo is much more free form. It’s any bike touring eventuality – such as having to open all four panniers to find the thing you’re searching for. Or getting stung by nettles. It can also be any French cliche, for example an elegant French woman bicycling by with a baguette in her basket.

Canal this way! Oddly named snail restaurant also this way? That sign deserves a bingo square.

It’s steadily getting warmer and the day is calm but with a nice tailwind.

The travel planner stops to admire a helpful map.

Lunch break in Nort-sur-Erdre. We’re appreciating how well benched and picnic tabled this route is.

We’re on a Camino de Santiago trail. We chatted with one pilgrim and saw two others. They had 1,200 kilometers to walk to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

We’re headed the opposite direction from the pilgrims so merrily we roll along.

Bike touring bingo square! French gentleman in striped shirt smoking a ciggy while piloting a boat. I got bonus points the next day when I saw the same guy (I think) having a wee by the side of a marina.

Our first night on the canal in Blain at a lovely Chambre d’hôte, Le Nid d’Omer. We’re trying to remember to take photos of our rooms before we dump our panniers and make an ugly mess.

Bingo! Well behaved chambre d’hôte cat observing breakfast.

The canal links up four rivers, so it’s fascinating to see the change from canal to river. It was quite a clever engineering feat as only 20% of the route had to be made from scratch.

Here’s a tiny Rich riding past a boat in a canal section.

And here he is waiting for me to catch up in Fégréac on a section of L’Isac River. So many birds!

Between those two photos was a coffee/tea/Easter chocolate break.

And a lunch break. Although the path was busy this Easter Sunday, we always found places to stop and sit.

In our travels around the world we’ve always felt welcome as Americans, or at least not disliked. We always say people are good at distinguishing between a person and the country’s politics. But these are different times. Awful things are happening and the USA is responsible. We questioned if we wanted our American flags on our bikes at all. But we are American, we have to own it. Rich has a French flag to show our affection for France, and my No Kings flag hopefully conveys our lack of support for the current administration. We’ve had quite a few conversations so far and no French person has been anything but kind and understanding and as upset as we are about the war.

“I’m a little potato and I believe in you.” Thank you little potato at the crêpe restaurant in Redon.

Crêpes and cider. The Breton stand by for dinner. Delicious.

Dessert crêpe with
caramel beurre salé. Salted caramel sauce. Yum.

No photo of the hotel room in Redon. It was adequate. And small. We thought Redon would be a bit of a nothing town, and quite empty on Easter Sunday evening, but it turned out to have a lot of half timbered buildings and some fascinating historical plaques to help tourists understand the history of the buildings.

Half timbered building from the 1600s, now with shops on the ground floor, as many were originally both businesses and dwellings it’s fitting.

Nettles. Rich won that bingo square with a “shortcut” suggested by Komoot. Thankfully it was a small nettling.

Person traveling with a donkey? Is that on my Bingo card? It is now.

I forgot his name, but he had just bought the donkey and he was headed out for a ten year ramble! With his cat too, who is wearing a GPS collar and was not happy about the crazy cat lady wanting to get her hands on him.

Lunch. Smoked salmon for Rich and peanut butter and dried cranberries for me.

Crossing through Malestroit. This is perhaps one of the most interesting and beautiful canals we’ve ridden.

The riding surface of the path is mostly really smooth fine gravel.

My ongoing love affair with French bike route signage.

Château de Josselin. On the Oust River. Still the residence of the 14th Duke of Rohan.

Part two of our canal ride up in our next post.

Linking up sections of La Loire á Vélo.

Picnic spots of the world. Relaxing along the Loire River.

We got a bit spoiled with the bike infrastructure riding out of La Boule – Escoublac, Brittany. As we continue to happily notice, France is really stepping up their bicycle and pedestrian game. It’s so nice to feel welcomed and cared for while bike touring. And it sure looks as if it’s having an impact on local trips made by bicycle in towns we went through.

The newly redone section of La Boule – Escoublac promenade. Even more bike and ped space.

A new section of off street cycle path in Pornichet.

Saint-Nazaire continues the bicycle love. The port in the distance.

We were headed to Saint-Nazaire to cross the bridge over the mouth of the Loire River and hang a left up the river path. We’ve ridden other sections of the Loire in years past, and had been impressed with how wild and wide sections of the river are. Our last ride on the Loire was downriver towards the Bay of Biscay and the North Atlantic Sea, but we ran out of time before we could reach the end. This time we would start at the mouth, or delta, and head up river. But first, we had to get to and cross the Pont de Saint-Nazaire. A big bridge accessible through the working port.

Into the port area, bike lanes still apparent.

Oh. New signage. Watch out for workers walking.

Let’s talk about how difficult it can be to get info on cycling conditions. We’ve faced challenging bridges before, and even been shuttled over bridges. We knew this one would be tough, but Rich couldn’t find many photos or info online about the actual lanes or shoulders, other than to see it was not great, and we hadn’t seen any other bike tourists for a while so no asking for first hand experiences. As we got to the approach of the bridge there was a bus stop with information on the shuttle bus with bike trailer that ran from May through September 24, all week, and then on weekends only. It was Friday, September 29. Yup. We’d have to ride. I have no photos of our ride across the bridge. As I was concentrating on staying as far right in the 2 foot shoulder as I could, without bashing my panniers into the guardrail, I briefly considered snapping a photo but decided I would rather live. It was pretty nasty. French drivers are good, but the lane configuration was one lane in our direction, two lanes in the other, and a closed lane on the far side.

If we had been riding the other direction we would have had an empty lane next to us, but in our direction we were next to a lane of car and truck traffic. I could see that the drivers were passing Rich as carefully as they could, and pulling into the oncoming lane when they could, but Rich, ahead of me, couldn’t see how I was getting along.

Once we got across and looked back I had two thoughts: damn, that sucked, and oh, that’s why the red stripes on the cute worker emblems on the path. It’s the paint job of the bridge.

We met two French cycle tourists heading towards the bridge later that day who said they had booked a shuttle, with a taxi company, we finally figured out. So that would be my recommendation to anyone interested in crossing the Saint-Nazaire Bridge by bike when the shuttle bus is off season, especially if is windy (which thankfully it was not on our crossing).

That bridge is on our list: Do not ride.

Recovering with a pastry and juice break.

Historic and still active fishing shacks, with crane nets, in the delta of the river.

Modern port activities across the river, historic shacks on our side.

With the bridge behind us we headed up the Loire, enjoying the wide open grassy marshlands and plenty of bird life. Our destination for that night was Nantes.

Hunting season starts in France in September, which is when we are usually bike touring. We had seen boar hunts in the past and got out of the area as quickly as we could. This trip we saw even more hunting going on since we were right at the beginning of the season opening.

Look out for cyclists, tractors, and hunters.

It was a bit nerve wracking to ride a stretch between Mt. St. Michel and St. Malo and have hunters shooting in the fields on either side of us. That’s when we got out our fluorescent accessories, which are always a good thing to have with you when cycling.

Along the Loire it was boar hunting. Complete with baying hound dogs and signs along the road.

Some recent hunting tragedies mean the rules have tightened up a bit, this boar hunt looked to be very organized.

Free ferry across the river at Le Pellerin to get to Nantes.

Drat. Too short a ferry ride to even get my book out.

Not every stretch of road is picturesque. Coming in to Nantes along the train tracks, still a nice bike lane though.

If you are ever looking for a lovely city in France that is less crowded, and a bit more off the tourist radar, we highly recommend Nantes. We spent two nights there and were very impressed with work that’s been done in the past few decades to make the city greener and give it a really pleasant ambiance. I think it’s another of those places to visit that the French are well aware of but maybe no one tells the tourists? Well, we’re telling you – it’s lovely. So many beautiful streets in the old town and lovely plazas where people gather, bike lanes, trams, and even with a World Cup Rugby match on it was super enjoyable.

One of the streets of Feydeau, previously an island in the river until the arms of the river around it were filled in between 1926 and 1946.

Another street in Feydeau, looking north towards Centre-Ville.

A rest day means we get to visit sights, like Les Machines de l’Île , on an actual river in the Loire. A steampunks dream. Here, a spider to give you nightmares.

An old industrial site houses loads of mechanized wood and metal animals, which the workers load up with visitors and operate. Ever wanted to ride a giant ant?

This heron raised up on a gantry crane and “flew” with passengers on the back and in the two baskets.

Château des ducs de Bretagne. I do love a moat.

Off to the train station. We need a boost to get us back to our home base near Geneva. Enough lallygagging.

Bikes loaded on the hooks (our least favorite train set up – notice how far Rich’s handlebars stick out into the aisle.).

90 kms later and off at Angers. Three cheers for a ramp off the platform. So much easier then elevators.

The high water mark from an 1856 flood. We stopped for the water tap but I appreciate a good flood information board.

“It was after the big flood of the Loire in 1150 that Henri II Plantagenêt, Count of Anjou and King of England, ordered the construction of a dyke all along the Northern part of the riverside.” Riding on the levee was fascinating.

Once a delicate San Franciscan always a delicate San Franciscan. The weather was lovely, if a bit warm for us. 82f/26c as we rode along, and a bit hotter in the afternoon. Thankfully as we rode up river we entered the Tuffeau stone region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuffeau_stone Where there is tuffeau there are caves created by the mining of tuffeau stones. Where there are caves there are streams of cold air coming out of the caves to cool hot cyclists.

People have been living in the caves since quarrying or mining of the stone began in the 11th century.

Riding along and getting a blast of cold air, sometimes from a cave you couldn’t even see through the undergrowth, or from one set up as storage for nearby cave house dwellers, called les troglodytes, was very refreshing. We didn’t swim in the Loire, but we did stop and wade into the refreshing water and tried to convince the small fish to nibble our toes – no luck.

The school of fish were curious but cautious.

It’s nice to arrive at your hotel in time to shower and relax. Rich is in the swimming pool. Château De Saumur in the background.

The lovely light color of the tuffeau stone is luminous in the evening light. After a nice galette dinner we walked up to the Château to admire the view and watch bats swirl around the walls.

Another advantage of a post dinner visit is having the Château to ourselves.

You’d think we’d be tired, but no, plenty of energy to take flattering evening light photos.

We were starting our last full day of cycle touring, from Saumur to Villandry, about 55 kms. It was going to be another pretty hot day so we wanted to get going and try to beat the afternoon heat. From Villandry it would be a short ride to Tours to catch a train to Lyon, one night in Lyon, and catch a train to Geneva.

Making some good time through the shady trees.

No way! The bike route goes into the cave.

It was an old road for commerce winding into the mountain. Where rock had been mined people set up houses and food storage.

Rich ducking under an impressive fig tree. Notice the door and house number to the right.

The little driveways leading to cave houses are so intriguing.

The cave houses stay the same temperature year round. Nice on a hot day like this one.

The former quarries or mines have been turned into houses, restaurants, wine cellars, and mushroom growing caves.

Really good info plaques. Of course I don’t speak French so I have to stop and Google translate each one.

A good pictorial of the history of the caves. Of course I still had to translate it. Not getting far this morning.

They had little stone buildings in the vineyards connected to a shaft down which they tossed the grapes to the press.

We emerged from the cave streets of Souzay and were in the vineyards. It was harvest and crush season and trucks were trundling to and fro.

We both noticed that our tires were making funny noises and both thought we’d gotten flats. That slightly velcro noise a bike tire makes as it’s losing air. Worrying. But we realized that the trucks carrying grapes, and carrying stems post crush, had left a sticky residue on the streets which was now stuck to our tires making them sticky. We’ll take sticky grape juice over a flat tire any day.

Stems dumped on the edge of a field. You could smell the crush everywhere. That wonderful ‘making wine’ smell.

Art galleries and restaurants. All in caves. We will definitely come back to this area again.

Back to the river. A shady bench to take a break.

A well timed picnic table for our lunch stop. We are now riding along the sunny levee road and the temperature is climbing.

The river to the left, I’m on the levee road, and the houses to the right of the levee. You ride along at the level of their upper floor windows. And sunny.

Rich avoiding the pavé by riding in the narrow dirt shoulder. We know this trick from many years of watching Paris-Roubaix.

Ah, a tree shaded lane to Villandry, where our hotel is …at the top of the hill!

The only upside to a hotel at the top of the hill is the ride back down in the morning. And the view. We headed out to catch a long local train to Lyon. Most train routing would involve a trip up to Paris and back down to Lyon by TGV, but the slower local train is worth the extra time since we wouldn’t have to change trains with our bikes. I appreciate the opportunity to read on a nice long train ride.

Now we’re on the Cher River, and it’s cooler.

“Built on the river Cher by Jacques de Beaune, François I’s Superintendent of Finances in the first quarter of the 16th century, The Great Mill is noteworthy for its sliding mechanism suspended above the water. This ingenious mechanism, which is usually used between the arches of bridges, enabled the mill to work all year round, regardless of the water level.” This mill remained active until 1973, when a new mill was built just inland.

Fields of brown sunflowers say it’s time to head in for the season. And we’re almost out of Schengen days.

Tours train station. That’s our train arriving behind Rich, one platform away.

Bikes secured. Ready for the six hour trip to Lyon.

We had a nice night in Lyon, another very bike friendly city. After a little discussion with the bike friendly hotel which initially wanted to charge us to park the bikes in their garage, the manager saw our point about being bike friendly and relented. We had a nice Thai meal, went to a craft beer bar, and to bed. Big city advantages.

Enjoying the river path in the morning before we ride to the train station.

A direct ride to the train station on a protected path.

The train from Lyon to Geneva is about 2 hours, then we were going to ride all the way to our home away from home, our good friends’ house in the Vallée Verte. It was our first time riding all the way up the valley, a very scenic 33kms/22 miles, but with almost 914m/ 3,000 feet of climbing. But scenic! Well stocked with snacks and having eaten lunch we headed off. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I had visions of sending Rich ahead to get a car to rescue me, or flagging down a passerby to take my bags and lighten the load – as if my French were up to the challenge! – but I made it.

Still going up. There was some significant downhill since we choose a quiet route that went over a higher pass instead of direct.

Made it! A nice sense of accomplishment to have arrived under our own power.

Even though we both had tired legs the next day it was wonderful to ride all the way up to our familiar and much loved French home. Four+ months of bike touring was a new record for us. The new bikes really made it fantastic. If you’ve backpacked it’s the same feeling of self sufficiency and being ready to go anywhere. Now, we are in Albania. We took our first flight in almost five months from Geneva to Tirana, Albania. More from Albania soon.