Tours to Sarlat

October 5, 2022

Farewell, Val de Loire

The plan for today was to ride 20k out to visit the famed gardens of Château de Villandry, then double back for our 3:00 train to Sarlat. Frankly we've had our fill of chateaux for now and it feels like a bit much with a train to catch. Tours looks interesting so we decide to save Villandry for another trip and do a little tour de Tours instead. We ride out in the direction of Vieux (old) Tours in search of breakfast.

Another town, another place to appreciate the bike infrastructure in France.

One more blissful ride along la Loire on the way to Vieux Tours.

The aptly named French Coffee Shop in Vieux Tours is just the ticket for a leisurely breakfast.

Note the wooden fork and knife. We've seen very few plastic utensils so far on this trip.

Charming half-timbered houses surround the cafes in Place Plumereau, where Joan of Arc stopped in 1429 on her way to liberate Orléans from the English

Barry's handlebar is getting rather bedraggled. A little ways from the cafe we find a bike shop where he scores some new bar tape.

We continue on to Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours, an interesting mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles that gel together rather well. Construction started in the 12th Century but the towers were finished in the 16th, giving rise to the expression "not until the cathedral is finished" for projects that take awhile to complete – like this journal, for instance.

The towers of St. Gatien Cathedral, standing 69 and 70 meters high weren't completed until 1547 after the Hundred Years War.

Such elaborate decoration on the facade of the cathedral

The soaring feeling of the towers carries on inside

Next to the Cathedral stands Tours' Museum of Fine Arts which has a large collection of French, Italian, Dutch and Flemish paintings. I've been fascinated throughout the trip with the variety of depictions we've seen on classic themes like the Annunciation. Here two paintings of the Adoration of the Magi catch my eye. I didn't note the artists but am drawn to the first one with the faces of determination to see the child.

In another room we see a strange looking copy of the Mona Lisa and begin to notice more copies of masterworks. I guess they were going for completeness of the collection?

Not the real Mona Lisa, but a reminder of Leonardo's time living just up the river in Amboise

Back on the road we pass the Château de Tours, a handsome if somewhat more modest castle compared to where we've been in the Loire Valley.

We have time for one last spin along the river, crossing north on the pretty Saint-Symphorien Footbridge and south again on the Pont Mirabeau on our way back to pick up our bags and ride on to the train station.

There's more to see here but the half day of riding and sightseeing has satisfied our curiosity about Tours. We're ready to bid a fond farewell to the Val de Loire and move on to Sarlat and the Dordogne region.

We have to bag the bikes again for the first leg of the trip to Libourne on the high-speed train. For the second leg we get to roll them on, a relief since it's so much easier to roll the bikes from one platform to another than to carry them. All the folding and unfolding is a dirty business though. I make a note to keep some baby wipes on the bike for cleaning up my greasy hands.

The train trip through the countryside to Sarlat is a pretty one but by the time we get there it's after 8 and getting dark. First time we've had to switch on the bike headlights.

The Hotel Montaigne looks like a very nice stay for our next three nights. It certainly has the nicest velo parking of any place we've been, in a locked room on the ground floor. As we push the door open I'm stunned to see two more Bike Fridays in there already. Excited at the prospect of meeting other BF tourists, likely Americans, we leave a note of greeting in one of the helmets. Hopefully we'll find out who they belong to.

Hoping to connect tomorrow with kindred folding bike fans.

Today's ride: 14 km (9 miles)
Total: 428 km (266 miles)

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Brent IrvineYou mention bringing the bikes on the high speed train. The actual TGV? If so, is there somewhere to put them at the end of the train's carriage? Next year when my son and I cover essentially the same route along the Loire we plan to take the train from CDG to the start and then from the end back to Paris. We will have our folding Dahons and I think we can bring them on board.
In a note about greasy hands... in my touring tool kit I bring along a few sets of nitrile medical gloves for any dirty work. They are tough enough that they can often be re-used for this purpose (of course, not if used in a medical setting).
And finally... I love the look of that bright yellow BF. If you ever decide to upgrade and look to get rid of that one... please let me know!! :)
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2 years ago

Janice BranhamTo Brent IrvineBrent, we were on the Oiugo high[-speed train. Like the TGV, we had to fold the bikes and but them in a bag. There was room for them on a shelf in the oversize luggage area in the front or back of some of the cars. We had to hunt around a bit to find space.
Great tip on the nitrile gloves, thanks!
Barry is pretty happy with that yellow bike. I used to have a Dahon Mariner, they're a fun ride too.
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2 years ago