To Sully-sur-Loire

October 10, 1993

The entire day was again spent along the banks of the Loire; and except for a climb to Sancerre the route was flat throughout. We decided to put in a long route today. We are close enough to the end of the tour to be able to plan out the best stops for the night for the remaining days. Our aim is to reach the vicinity of DeGaulle airport by Wednesday night, to leave us two full days to explore Paris.

Our first destination for the day was Sancerre, a renowned wine community. The town tops a knoll which rises about 150 meters above the floodplain. The long ascent, which curves around the face of the knoll, is just barely bikeable with my one-speed. From the top, we enjoy fine views over nearby vinyards and of the Loire valley. While we were there the city was inundated by an organized bike group about 3,000 strong. From our overlook we could see them approaching far below in the flats; and they continued, unabated, for the half hour or so that we were exploring the village, careening in a steady stream through the narrow twisted streets of the town.

In Sancerre. Looking at this now, I'm pretty impressed with myself for making it up here on my one-speed.

Whipping down off the mountain, we sped northwards along the river to Cosne, where we treated ourselves to a wonderful picnic on the margin of the outdoor market - cheese, bread, fruit; and, for the first time, fresh-roasted chicken. An incredible meal! (Ed: earlier, in Provence, I noted with surprise that I didn't mention how great the roasted chicken was in the journal. It turns out that I was wrong, and have been misremembering all these years. I must have just been looking at the chicken then, but not actually trying it. Thinking back on it again now, I think I recall that it was too early in the day, and the chicken vendors were just getting warmed up. More evidence for why it's worth taking the time to journal your tours as you go - it's surprising what you'll forget or misremember).

The rest of the day was marked by fast, regular progress as we continued to enjoy favorable winds and flat riverside cycling. The most noteworthy stop for the afternoon was in Gien, a unique town characterized by its extensive use of brick as a building and artistic material. Of special note was its 15th century brick cathedral. (Ed: as usual, I'm wrong again here - it's just a church, the church of Jean de Arc. I didn't take better notes at the time, but Gien was destroyed during World War and was largely rebuilt.)

Gien, with its 15th century bridge; the chateau; and behind and to the left of the chateau, the church of Jean de Arc. I'm not clear on how much of this was rebuilt after the war.

We arrived in Sully, another lovely town on the Seine, at about 5, only a few minutes before the first raindrops hit. We surprisingly found few hotels open, and settled into one which required us to eat supper there as well - so for yet another night we ended the day stuffed.

Today's ride: 107 km (66 miles)
Total: 2,553 km (1,585 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0