September 27, 2019
Moret sur Loing
The end of the cycling - a miracle we made it
Today really was a very bitter sweet day, it was the last day of our cycling and possibly the last day we would ever have on a cycle tour and what a magical day it was.
Leaving the hotel was easy and without the crazy traffic of the night before we were able to enjoy what Nemours had to offer. It is a pleasant town of around 14000 with the obligatory 16th century church (being repaired) and 12th century castle that has been turned into a museum which we gave a miss. It is a vibrant looking town with a direct train link to the Gare de Lyon in Paris which would probably take around 1hr 15min so probably some people would commute. But we were straight down to the beautiful canal and at the first ecluse there was a likely looking coffee stop. We had lingered over breakfast and had done less than 5km but it was irresistible We sat in the almost sunshine and delighted in watching just what a wonderful social centre these PMU/cafes really are. Old people were arriving by foot or by bike, one old guy was pushing a pram with a much admired baby but without exception everyone got a warm reception, even if you lived alone it would be hard to be lonely with a place like this nearby.
We couldnt people watch all day so it was back onto the side of the canal on a beautiful track. We were going slowly as we had such a short way to go and neither of us really wanted it to end. A lot of the times we were passing through forest. At one point we were on the river where it had been canalised and there there was an old mill house looking every bit as if it was out of a Constable painting. A local boat was taking a load of tourists for a river experience. There were some small villages and at Episy we got off - yes you guessed it on a coffee hunt. No luck which may have been for the best as we may get coffee toxicity
Yesterday when we mended my puncture we were horrified by the state of my back tyre, it had no tread at all but worst than that a small slit in it so I felt a bit weary that some nasty would slip in and there would be a repeat so we set the GPS on the nearest bike shop which happened to be Velo Belo at Moret. The man was still there at 12,45 and happy to change it and checked over my bike. He also had a bike museum, he and his museum were fantastic. It is quite the best we have ever seen. he went from Velocipeds and Bone Shakers through Penny Farthings and into a very early Safety bike. He then had examples of early chain gears including one requiring back peddling for the lower gear, this was made in significant numbers for 30years starting in the early 1900s. The first derailer had only 2 gears and was used in the1934 Tour de France. He had a bike someone had ridden around the world - he had excellent English and was a gem
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We then went to a Bistro on the Loing river and had Fois Gras and Tarte looking at a scene immortalised buy Alfred Sisley who lived in Moret. We both knew the painting and the scene did not seem to have changed at all. We wondered through the stunning little town and found our way to my niece Louise’s place. They were not yet home so it was the moment of reckoning and we sat on the back lawn converting ourselves from cycle tourists into tourists. All the panniers were unpacked and things were repackaged into our big sports bag. It felt a bit sad but we have now cycled somewhat over 30,000km in Europe over the last 11years (with no major mishaps) and what a wonderful time we have had. If it doesn’t happen again we have fantastic memories and feel extremely fortunate to have had these adventures
Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles)
Total: 2,682 km (1,666 miles)
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