October 22, 2009
Loches to Amboise: a varied ride
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Weather: a bit of sun, but mostly cloudy, with one sharp rainshower
Today was one of the nicest rides so far, and more interesting than the ride from Azay to Loches, even though the weather was mostly cloudy. There were only a few empty fields, more curves in the road, some gentle hills and picturesque stone villages. While cruising along a tiny little road—practically a bike path—in the middle of nowhere, a narrow overpass suddenly appeared which took us across a major highway. You'd never find anything like this in North America. Then came several lovely downhill glides through vineyards.
Just as we reached the tiny settlement of Le Vau we felt a few sprinkles, then suddenly rain started to fall in earnest, taking us completely by surprise. We stopped next to an old stone barn, and Al found the waterproof cover for his rack pack very quickly. Eva's was buried in the bottom of a pannier, and after searching fruitlessly, she just transferred the vulnerable stuff to a pannier and let the pack get wet. Both of our pairs of waterproof booties were buried, so we didn't bother with those. It was our first experience with rain while touring and a good lesson. From now on we would make sure our raingear was easily accessible. Luckily we were already wearing water-resistant tights and rain jackets, and our Ortlieb panniers and handlebar bags were just fine.
We rode through the rain for about an hour to the town of Chenonceaux, where we dripped into a restaurant for lunch, and were turned away because they said it was full. We looked pretty disreputable, so had a small lunch in a bar, where they were glad to serve us. The rain stopped, and after lunch, we rode the short distance to the chateau, (spelled Chenonceau) and Eva went in to have a look. We didn't want to leave our loaded bikes unattended and by this time the sun was out, so Al didn't mind waiting. Much of the chateau was covered with scaffolding, but it was still impressive. Eva spent about an hour going through the interior and the grounds, and then Al decided to skip it. We rode the last 12 kilometres to Amboise and came into town very close to our B&B, Manoir de Maison Blanche, arriving about 4pm.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
The manoir turned out to be an old country house, and our very large tiled room was up an outdoor metal spiral staircase. We parked the bikes in the garage/shed and walked about a kilometre into the main part of Amboise right past Château du Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci's home for the last three years of his life. It's now a museum, and was still open, so we went in to take a look. There were interesting exhibits and furnished rooms inside, with models of all his inventions in the basement. Outside was an extensive park, with more models and da Vinci memorabilia around the grounds. By now it was after 6, and we were really hungry. We continued downtown to l'Epicerie, a restaurant recommended by our hostess, and got one of the last available tables. We had a good dinner, then a walk back uphill to the B&B, and a reasonably early night.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 196 km (122 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |