October 7, 2021
Jargeau to Briare
As Nevers approaches, I find myself thinking more and more of the route I cobbled together between Nevers and Lyon. It's too ambitious. I'm going to keep us on EV6 to Chalon-sur-Saône and then follow the Saône south to Lyon. It'll add a couple of days to our journey, but I think it'll be worth it. I'll chart it out tonight to see if it all makes sense.
It was another cold and foggy morning, but somehow we managed to convince ourselves to get out of the tent and over to the local Auchan for stove fuel and human fuel. Back on the levee, it was calm, quiet, mysterious:
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The dew exposed the spiders' handiwork and likely spared a few gnats and flies from a deadly fate:
We skipped our morning break because pedaling kept our bodies warm. Instead, we opted for an early lunch. By then, the sun was out and we were feeling pretty good.
We crossed the river via a railroad bridge that had been repurposed for pedestrian and bike use. A quick left brought us to the Château de Sully-sur-Loire. It doesn't get much castle-ier than this:
We probably would've toured it, too, if it was open. Excuse in hand, we were ready to sally (sully?) forth, but not before bumping into Christof, a Swiss cycle tourist who started EV6 from the Atlantic and is riding back home. He was also headed to Briare, but he said he's also getting tired of the cold nights, so would opt for a hotel instead. Smart guy.
The afternoon took us inland a bit through a couple of villages and some woods. We stopped for refreshments at this nondescript bistro:
The fellow in the bright vest is e-bike touring with his friend, who speaks English. We had a nice conversation with them. Here they are from another angle:
The route doesn't take one to Gien. The view from across the water is spectacular. Maybe it was just the way the sun shone on the buildings at that particular moment:
Upon arriving at the river crossing to Briare, we had some pretty scenery to distract us for the last couple kilometers to the campground:
Those first two photos are a canal that crosses over the Loire. As far as I can tell, this canal connects the Seine to the north, then parallels the Loire to the south. For a place not known for its canals, France sure has a lot of canals!
We strolled around the campground after dinner and ran into none other than Christof, who had decided to camp after all. He and a French cycle tourist (whose name is something like Malo) had cleverly set up their tents near a nice covered picnic area. Malo is headed to Paris, while Christof intends to ride to Nevers tomorrow. Our plan is to ride to a little place called Beffes, where they apparently have a campground dedicated to cycle tourists. Tune in tomorrow to see how that goes!
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Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 1,847 km (1,147 miles)
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Macon is lovely you have to ride on roads from there to Lyon but they are fine we have done it twice and we are very adverse to busy roads. A dis rip toon is in my journal Three Reasons for Riding Across Europe. Good luck
Tricia
3 years ago
3 years ago