September 12, 2024
Day 10 - Cholet to Saint-Loup-Lemaire
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
(Posted one day late due to bad WiFi in our otherwise exquisite lodging)
We once again ate our oatmeal bars and coffee/tea in the room. Hotel breakfasts are generally not worth the money for us - we can’t eat enough to make it cost-effective!
When Rich went out to retrieve Schnooks from the garage, one thing was notable: It was COLD! We put on all the clothing we could manage in anticipation of a frigid morning on the bike.
We walked down to La Mie Caline and bought a sandwich for lunch. Today’s ride would be across an area with not much in it and we didn’t want to repeat yesterday’s mistake of pushing too hard to make the lunch window in one of the few towns along the way.
Robin poked her head inside the big church and then we were on our way out of Cholet. We made a quick stop at the menhir in town (Rich likes menhirs), before bike paths and bike lanes led out to the outskirts of town and eventually down to the Lac du Verdun. A really nice nautical center got Rich in the mood to start racing sailboats again. There was a class of some kind going on far out in the lake. Very cool!
We rode around part of the lake and then took off cross-country for Maulévrier. We bypassed the oriental garden that was advertised and huffed our way up a big hill out of town. And then we were in the heart of nowhere.
This ride was across “La France Profonde” (Deep France). Like a lot of rural france, this is farming country, and the smells and sounds of farming filled the air. There wasn’t much of interest to look at except lots of cows and the occasional nondescript village. The chief photographer found herself uninspired, so we don’t have any visual records from this deep plunge into the modern French countryside.
One thing about this countryside is that it is not flat. We were climbing and descending all day on roads of varying quality. Most of the slopes were under 6 percent, but the constant work and road vibration wore on us.
One of the few interruptions was the strangely modern town of Neuil-les-Aubiers, where we stopped for lunch. We split our sandwich on a concrete block in front of a city building, munching on some almonds, and enjoying the warmth of the sun.
From there, we were on a converted railway path for quite a few kilometers. It was nice to get away from the constant up and down, even as we shivered under a canopy of trees.
We left the railway path and were back into La France Profonde. We noticed some dark clouds forming upwind, and soon we were seeing some pretty serious rain activity approaching us. So the last 20km of the ride were kind of a time trial as we tried to get to our destination without getting drenched. We were somewhat successful, although we did get hit by some of the edge precipitation. We were damp but not dripping when we rolled into Saint-Loup-Lemaire. And we were definitely ready to be off the bike and somewhere warm.
We rolled through the village and up to the chateau where we have reservations for the night. What a beautiful place! The chief photographer quickly found her lost inspiration.
We walked up to the very intimidating chateau gate and wondered whether this was really where were staying. Luckily, as we approached the gate, the owner or manager (we didn’t get her name) saw us and came to greet us. She showed us to our room (heated!) in the medieval castle, and then helped us roll Schnooks into a room in the 17th century part of the castle. This bike never had it so good!
This place is amazing! It’s like staying in a museum where you’re allowed to touch things and sit on the chairs. There are two separate chateaux (medieval and 17th century), along with extensive grounds. The chateau and the gardens are registered landmarks, but as guests we have the use of them. It’s kind of overwhelming.
| Heart | 8 | Comment | 1 | Link |
| Heart | 5 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 5 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Dinner was at a Pizza-Grill in town - the only dining option in the small village that didn’t involve a 3-course menu. We came back to the room and celebrated our night in a chateau with some wine and chocolate.
Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 547 km (340 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |