June 1, 2023
Chenonceaux
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Today was an unloaded trip to visit the chateau of Chenonceaux. I planed the route to the chateau to be as short as possible so we could avoid some of the crowds. I thought we would be on roads all the way but I am starting to think that in this part of France you can't ride anywhere without running into a bike path.
We climbed out of Amboise and then soon passed into the country again. It was one of those clear cool mornings I have fond memories of from my previous cycling trips to France. It is hard to describe how perfect the cycling has been for the last few days. Multiple times a day we comment on how spectacular the paths are. How glorious the forest is and how beautiful the bird song sounds.
To visit the inside of Chenonceaux you need to book a time. When I went online the day before there were lots of spots available so I did not think it would be too busy and booked an 11:30 time slots. We started the inside tour by picking up audio guides in the guard room. Everyone then congregates in the guard room working out the buttons and listening to the introduction so this room got crowded. The crowd moved together for the first couple of rooms but after room three or four the crowd started to thin out as people moved through the rooms at different rates.
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The inside of Chenonceaux was restored after the French Revolution so it had some good examples of what the rooms would have looked like. The history of the chateaux is very interesting as it went through the hands of several very powerful women including Catherine de' Medici and her rival Diane de Poitiers.
No visit to a chateau is complete without visiting the gardens and the grounds. Our timing on the garden was a little early in the season as they had only just started planting the flowers. There was a team of 8 workers starting to prepare the beds and trim the grass ready for the flower roll out.
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We had stopped at the boulangerie before leaving Amoboise and picked up a couple of baugettes with various toppings so we spent some time looking around the gardens for a suitable spot to have some lunch. Unfortunately the only spot you could Pique-nique was outside the gardens. It was still a nice spot along side a small stream but no view of the chateau.
For our ride back from the Chenonceaux I planned a route along the bike paths starting with the path on the other side of the river with views of the chateau. The first section of the path was dirt with some big pot holes which slows a tandem down considerable unless you want your stoker to be cursing you on every bump.
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The river had many people paddling up stream and down stream enjoying the cool of the water during the heat of the day. We even passed four people swimming upstream each towing a visibility float. Judging by the slow regularity of their strokes I guessed they were doing an extended length swim of the river Cher.
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We passed a large group of teenagers that were having a great time with lots of shouting, sunk boats and people splashing everywhere. It seemed like such a fun gathering we almost stopped to join in.
Our bike path turned back to one of the beautiful smooth paths we have often found on the trip and we were soon effortless bike strolling along the river and through the country side.
We met an American couple in Azay-Le-Rideau that are walking along the Loire trail. Each night they stay in a nice hotel. In the morning they drop their bag at reception and it is transported for them to their next hotel. They either start walking from the hotel or are picked up and dropped at a nice staring spot. Today we met them again on the path to Amboise. They had been dropped at Chenonceaux to start their walk for the day and were a few miles away from Amboise when we caught up to them. We slowed to walking pace and chatted for a while sharing stories of the trail. As we pedaled away into the increasing afternoon heat and a long flat section of trail, Kathy and I reminisced about our long hike on the Continental Divide Trail and we both decided cycling is a nicer way to travel in flat country.
We have found an excellent fruit shop in Amboise and Maddie's insisted that we had to push to get back to Amboise before the shop closed so we could get some cheese and fruit for our evening meal. The fruit is outstanding and the apricots in particular are delicious so well worth the small effort to make it back before closing time.
Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 279 miles (449 km)
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