Loire Cruising

July 22, 2023

Barres to Ouzouer-sur-Trézée

After going to bed at 10:00 p.m., I managed to also sleep in until 8:00 a.m. I kept my earplugs in and my eye mask on; there were no donkeys or hedgehogs. I still started out the day feeling like maybe it should be a shorter day. I was looking at the town of Sancerre perhaps, about 40 km away, whose wines I really like.

As you can see, that's not what happened

The day started out fine, and still was not feeling super comfortable, but having a lot of sleep sure helped. Maybe 20 km into the day, I made a decision to stop and spend some time adjusting my seat some more. I pushed it forward which made my position slightly more upright, made my handlebars more accessible, and I think also position might sit bones more where the Selle Italia had padding. It made a significant difference in how comfortable I felt. It was only a couple of millimeters here and there, but just a reminder that, as I'm sure we all know logically, it's worth spending the time to get your bike to fit properly.

Well there was some more time on the canal lateral to the Loire, a lot of the time today was on paths or roads that go next to the river itself.

The very first bike tour that I did was up the lower River, starting from Brittany basically, and ending in Orléans. So although I love all French rivers, it does have a little bit of a soft spot in my heart. It also just objectively is a beautiful river. It's a wild river, not used for shipping, so the banks are more covered in flowers, it's full of islands with trees and just looks more wild. The banks have parks, and there just seems to be more restaurants and people out enjoying themselves. One park by the banks of the war had a wedding going on. It seems perhaps more touristic, but in basically a good way. Lots of flowers, both cultivated and wild. There's a reason that the Loire a Velo is a popular, developed route. Looking back, visiting the Meuse feels like visiting Alaska by comparison.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story (having learned my lesson that I need to get into bed to have a good day the next day). Basically it was just a kind of magnificent day where I was appreciating the best parts of biking in France, and trying to soak it all up before I go home in a few days.

Inspired by my wife, who really likes to put her feet into a body of water to connect with it, I stopped at one point to stick my feet into the Loire.

A small horse, for my children, who like pictures of animals

I'm not sure why I included this picture per se, but this is what a lot of France looks like

A typical scene after fueling up at Carrefour. I've been eating a lot of prepared tuna salad in a can (which I don't think we have in the united states, like with vegetables and mayonnaise already added?) with packets of precooked quinoa or bulgur.

Just your normal church parking lot bathroom

Saying goodbye to the Loire at point canal in Briare

Another view of the canal over the Loire in Briare

Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 1,374 km (853 miles)

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