You have been fortunate to have found a suitable chainring. Nearly all road bikes in France have large rings with either 50 or 52 teeth. Mountain bike chainrings have typically 42 teeth. There isn't much in between. A 46-tooth chainring is better suited to loaded touring than a 48-tooth ring, so you should consider yourself lucky for having made an improvement to your bike's gearing!

Well, at least not unheard of. And I have even heard of two more cases...

So relieved for you. I felt sick on your behalf when reading yesterday’s post. I never really relax at the start of a tour until the bikes are unpacked and we can see we’re viable.

Two data points aren’t quite enough to establish normalcy.

Seven popular cycle routes. I think about the only major ones left out are the Lot/Dordogne, EV6 Canal du Rhone, and the Moselle. Plenty of shorter routes, but you've done a nice job of as you say, stitching a bunch of them together.

Considering your track, you will arrived north of Nantes, la Chapelle sur Erdre, Sucé sur Erdre. You will be departing Nantes on the East side, Sainte Luce sur Loire where we live. So far if I have no commitment, I will try to meet you on your north arrival side to Nantes.

I recommend this camping Belle Rivière located on your track.
Rte des Perrières, 44980 Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire
+33 2 40 25 85 81
www.camping-belleriviere.com

Wow, you wrote a splendid review of the helmets! Sharing information is such a great part of the experience of reading and writing journals.

Thank you, Bob! It doesn't feel overly ambitious, but we will see! It's so funny that you mention Rick Steves, because we used his Andalucia guide extensively to prepare for our last tour in Europe, but this route was simply a result of reviewing the France Velo Tourisme site and stitching together a tour that would eventually take us south. It's fun to go off the beaten path, but we'll save those adventures for another time.

Merci beaucoup, Michel! Do you live in Nantes? It would be a pleasure to meet. I will contact you by email. The generous spirit of fellow cyclists never ceases to amaze me.

Kevin and Sunyoung, Seiko, and I wanted to get in touch with you before you left so we could send out best wishes. Time, however, intruded, or I got lazy; you pick. Anyway ... you're off! Congrats. My first two impressions: 1. Looking at your map, L:e Tour has nothing on the 2 of you. 2. What an adventure. Although flat tires and bent chainrings suck, they - and other incidents - will add to the lore of your trip and enhance future tellings.
Also, well written.

We are really looking forward to seeing the daily updates. Thanks a ton for creating this blog.

Ken & Seiko

Hope you will recover from the cycling bit bug. Steve M just sent me an e-mail to let me know you will be crossing Nantes. Nice interactive map. Like Keith K, I will be more than happy to help you. If you wish or need, you can contact me at: michel dot fleurance @gmail dot com
Have a great bike ride.

It's comforting to hear that other people also suffer from pre-trip jitters. I always thought it was just my timid nature, now I see it's normal.
Bon voyage!

Your route goes through many of our favourite places, so it will be fun to follow as you explore them.

I "sort of" like the frankness of that French response about the health pass. They seem to say (they do say!) "We're busy so get lost". How different from "Your request is important to us, please stand by and we will process it as soon as possible"! If a video, you would have also had that classic French shrug, possibly with a désolé.

We also have those Sena helmets and like you we love them! Looking forward to following your travels. Looks like a great route!!

I love the ambitiousness of the plan. Your own version of a Rick Steves Best of France.