Bikes on French trains - TGV/TER

Just a short cycle this morning - to Nantes station, the best part of half a mile I reckon. We've pre-booked our bikes for the journey to Roscoff, but that involves 2 changes, and taking a TGV from Rennes to Morlaix, and I seem to remember there being problems with bikes on TGVs....The TER is a regional train, and I've read that they accept bikes, so no problem there. The train from Nantes is equipped to take just 3 bikes, which you suspend from the front wheel, and there are 6 of us, but we all manage to crowd them on. The TGV however is not so easy - even the French people we travel with who are doing a tour of Brittany don't understand the system. We have only a few minutes to get to the right platform and the bikes don't fit easily in the lift, my bike must be longer than Clare's. She roars with laughter as the lift door opens to see me wedged in, bike almost upright in the confined space and I make my unceremonious exit. The TGV can take about 3 bikes as well, so it's a cosy ride in the back carriage with 6 bikes and a trailer. Glad we didn't decide to do this on a tandem as originally planned. We get to Roscoff, final glass of rose by the harbour, buy Kouign Aman for Izzie, her favourite, then board the ferry. Sunny start but then fog bound, in fact the ferry is even late arriving at Plymouth because of it, never known that before. Now, I see that there's a Eurovelo route that starts in Wales, and crosses at Plymouth to France, from where you can get to.....

Resting, Raw Meat and Retro Kitsch

Despite Simon's attempt at a cliffhanger, we are still in Nantes. Extraordinarily we and the bikes have both survived and both arses are intact (thanks to Assos shorts and Conotrane!) Like all weekend mornings when the alarm does not have to be set we both wake ridiculously early. It feels strange to go to breakfast in ordinary mufti clothes, not swathed in Lycra. We still have the bikers breakfast though. We had imagined our rest day in Nantes basking in sunshine but sadly the skies are grey. We walk to the Cathedral and chance upon the tourist bus that is just about to leave. We are virtually the only passenegers on board and bag the front seats at the top. We have an enjoyable hour long tour of the sights including the Erdre River basin and canals, and the Ile de Nantes. We add the birth place of Jules Verne to our list of celebrities. We then do the ramparts of the Chateau Ducs de Bretagne before lunch in a French bistro with a pig theme. A spot of shopping before moving hotels just across the bridge. I now have a large ceramic Tarte Tatin dish balanced across my panniers. We are on the 11th floor with impressive views of the city. Simon is on a quest for Fruits de Mer but one restaurant is closed for "exceptional reasons" and the other is complet. We end up in Chez Maman, an extraordinary restaurant that is filled with retro kitsch, all for sale. We are sorry that we cannot fit any chandeliers, stuffed stoats, or giant plastic Brio men into our panniers. Simon eats boulots and eel with strong garlic aioli (I may need a gas mask tonight) and I enjoy my first Steak Tartare. Miles cycled today: one. The road home tomorrow... 2400 miles in the saddle:

2,400 miles

Today is Sunday, the day of the Fete de Velo, which happens once a year. The route along the Loire is closed off to traffic and cyclists of all shapes and sizes are encouraged to ride along the banks of the river. A man with a small white van has attached to it the biggest trailer of bikes I've ever seen, I count 20 on it; it's three times the length of his van! He smiles at us sitting in the window seat of the restaurant with our piles of mini croissant, pain au chocolate, and pain au raisin, dressed in our lycra cycling gear. We set off against what the weather forecast has predicted will be 30 kph winds, and it certainly seems like it, the Loire is like a rough sea; white horses whipped up by the wind. We reach Nantes by mid afternoon, under leaden skies, and feel we have cycled into English summer weather. The EuroVelo 1 route goes through Nantes, on its way from Norway to Portugal. Now if we go back over the road bridge just after the second railway bridge and turn left, carry on along the South bank of the river we could pick it up and make our way to......(Montjean-sur-Loire to Nantes - 43 miles)

The end is in sight

We are the first to breakfast at 7.45 but we have a longer day ahead of us and we are keen to get a few miles under our belts before we tire. My legs feel fresher today, maybe it is because the end is in sight and we plan to reach our final destination of Nantes tomorrow. The route is really beautiful now and we spend most of the day very near the banks of the river. We seem to be leaving real Chateaux country and pass through several delightful towns perched on the river banks with beautiful houses and gardens full of flowers. We have coffee in the tranquil town of le Theureil. The Loire seems more wild and less inhabited further west and the erosion has left many sandbanks, now the home to flocks of birds. Another perfect picnic spot in the sun, but the Roquefort was a bit too strong for our liking today. Although we miss Germany for the bread, breakfasts and beer, France certainly comes up trumps for food in general. We have had some superb set menus for about £16, and our picnics are a far cry from the bread and tasteless cheese of Romania. The patisseries are way too tempting and even Simon has become partial to a coffee eclair or tarte tatin. We are now in the little known gem of Montjean sur Loire in a lovely Auberge with a room overlooking the river. We fear that coming home may be harder than we thought. (Saumur to Montjean-sur-Loire - 54 miles) And the sun is nearly setting on our adventure....

Where the seed was sown

It was a beautiful cloudless sky last night, full of stars, a freight train hooting loudly somewhere in the distance. We leave Villandry and cycle along very familiar territory: Brehemont, then chateau Usse and then the cycle route to Avoine, just after Chinon. This is where, a couple of years ago whilst staying in Chinon with the family, that we first came across the Loire a Velo route maps which led us to discover the Euro Velo 6 route and thought about the possibility of doing this long cycle ride. We linger for a long picnic lunch by the confluence of the Vienne and Loire at Candes Sur Martin, then on through the troglodytic villages of Parnay and Souzay Champigny. Nice temperature today and pleasantly sunny, not the oppressive humidity of yesterday, though strong head wind along the levee road. We stay in Saumur, and take a walk though its mediaeval centre, and up to the chateau and the panoramic view point. Great supper on the terrace of a fish restaurant as recommended by the owner of our Hotel. (Villandry to Saumur - 40 miles)

Picnic Interruptus

Rain overnight but a dry and very humid start to the day. The calm before the storm perhaps. We breakfast overlooking the Loire and discover that our host, Tim, grew up in Cullompton! We feel relaxed as we have only a short day ahead of us. We arrive in Tours in time for a leisurely cup of coffee in the old town and visit the Wilson Bridge where we were almost a year ago with the girls. We remember then, wondering if it would ever be possible that we could cycle here: and here we are! Finally we find another perfect picnic place: a nice clean table with benches in a quiet shady spot, and at lunch time. We enjoy a much sought after brown baguette with compte cheese, tomatoes and sardines and are feeling very pleased with ourselves when the heavens open and we have to rush for shelter under trees before our cherries and melon (quel dommage!) It passes quickly but is followed by a gale force wind, from the west of course and the rest of our journey is quite a battle. We arrive in Villandry rather windswept but feel we are returning to old haunts when we walk around our favourite Loire gardens. We were worried that our hotel and meal would be rather touristy but infact we are surrounded by French (albeit quite elderly) and the menu has no English translation. Simon remembers too late that what I have ordered is Eel. The French will eat anything that moves, however slowly. Actually it wasn't too bad and another thing to add to the list of experiences. (Amboise to Villandry 31 miles)

In vino veritas sed in aqua sapientia

The day starts with a typical French breakfast in a typical French hotel. A cool, almost autumnal feel as we head off early, the sun only recently risen it seems above the wheat and corn fields, but with the promise of being scorching later on. One of the many nuclear power stations that dot the Loire is manufacturing neat cumulus clouds from its cooling tower. We buy our picnic lunch provisions early from the local market in Beaugency just as it is being set up, fantastic looking cherries and apricots, and as near to brown bread as we can find. We stop at the perfect bar for coffee in Blois, an attractive lively town with great panoramic views from the Hotel de Ville, and then the perfect picnic spot for lunch just outside Chailes. Getting both of these right in one day is unusal. We pass beneath chateau Chaumont, and arrive at Amboise, where we stay within spitting distance of its chateau. Instead of wine we are greeted with a cool bottle of water by the English owner, and I am reminded of the Latin maxim that adorns the fountain in Bourbon Lancy that we saw the other day. (Beaugency to Amboise - 51 miles)