La Charite - Chevenon: Storm warning - Brittany - Loire Valley - Burgundy 2010

July 3, 2010

La Charite - Chevenon: Storm warning

Janos's storm warning wakes me out of a deep sleep sometime in the early morning hours. It has begun to sprinkle and we dash out to bring in our laundry and batten down. On second thought, we decide it would be better to pack up the tent before it gets completely soaked. We set a record by being on our bikes and ready to roll by 7:30 a.m.

We settle in at the only café in town open at this hour and wait out the rain. Eventually it stops and we set out, this time not on the path on the dam but on the road. The air has cooled off and I feel better than I have for several days.

The 12th century Cluniac priory church of Notre Dame in the center of La Charité.

At Givry we cross the Loire and decide not to follow the bend in the Loire but to short cut to Nevers. This approach to Nevers isn't the most attractive and again it has become very hot. Janos has a near accident when he is blinded by the sweat running into his eyes while he is navigating a traffic circle. In Nevers we stop for a rest, food and drink. I consume several bottles of water, Fanta and Iced Tea.

Before Givry our path follows the canal.

The Ducal Palace (now occupied by the courts of justice and an important ceramic museum) was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is one of the principal feudal edifices in central France.

Interior of the Cathedral Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte

Wild boar on the Cathédrale Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte in Nevers. As the story goes, one night Charlemagne dreamed he was about to be killed by a wild boar during a hunt, but was saved by the appearance of a naked child who had promised to save the emperor if he would give him clothes. The bishop of Nevers interpreted this dream to mean that the child was Saint Cyricus and that he wanted Charlemagne to repair the roof of the Cathédrale Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte de Nevers - which he duly did.

After Nevers we have a short stretch of new bike path along the Canal Latéral. The rest of the day's ride is hillier, on a shady road through woods. After so much river bank, views across the countryside, descents and the sweet smell of the forest are a welcome change.

There is a campground, somewhat off our route and up a hill, in Chevenon. However, we are wondering where we will eat. There are no restaurants or shops in any of the towns we pass through after Nevers. And again we have no supplies in our panniers. Ineke suggests we ring doorbells and say we need food but I'm a little too inhibited for that and think I can do without food for one evening. It turns out that there is a snack bar at the lakeside down the hill from the campground where we get a simple but filling meal.

Finishing off our meal at the lake with an ice-cream

At first we thought the bubbles on the water's surface were fish, but then realized it had started to rain.

Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 1,216 km (755 miles)

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