In Agen, our host at Relais des Iles chambres d'hôtes asked if we would like breakfast as it was not included in the room charge. We will often decline breakfasts if they are not included as they can be fairly expensive and high quality food is readily available all over France. But the offering of an omelet and bacon synched the deal. Arriving at the breakfast room the next morning we found that we were the only guests. Our host quickly whipped up the omelet which was a nice change and very good start to the day.
Our ride to Nérac was planned to be shorter than yesterday. Scott would like to think that it was just good planning to mix up the stage lengths over the days, which of course it is, but in reality finding a room for the night is what really influences route selection. Finding places to stay in this region has been difficult. Many of the towns are small and there are not a lot of rooms available. Nérac looked to be (and it was!) an appealing place to stop for the night but unlike yesterday, thankfully, we did finish with some mileage left in our legs.
After quenching Scott`s multiple espresso habit, we gathered our things and quickly found the bike path that would lead us to Pont Canal d`Agen. We were quite excited about the prospect of cycling across the second longest canal bridge in France. A length of 539 metres. We rode our bikes very slowly to fully enjoy the experience but also because the sidewalks are shared with pedestrians. There are no barriers to stop you from rolling right into the drink and it is noted to be 2.7 metres deep. It would not be easy to get out of the dirty looking water and certainly you would not recover the bike!
A great cyclepath takes you right up to Pont-canal d'Agen.
Leaving the bridge we were again riding beside the canal on a fairly rough and bouncy asphalt strip. This greatly reduced our speed as we passed by many fields of kiwis and apples. We were in no hurry and enjoyed riding side by side talking about the sights on this relatively vacant path. About 20kms into the ride, near the town of Feugarolles, our canal riding came to an end. We were ready for the change as we joined the road network and now began heading south and west toward the town of Vianne. The small fortified village was a perfect spot to stop and have a coffee.
At Lavardac, we picked up the Eurovelo 3 designated cycle route and enjoyed the last half dozen kilometres on traffic free roads through the beautiful hilly country side. It seemed to end all too quickly as we reached Nérac at 2:30 and most of the shops were closed for the afternoon. We sat on a bench in the town square and enjoyed the quiche we had bought at the patisserie in Vianne.
After checking into our hotel, regretfully a good part of the afternoon was spent sorting out hotel issues and creating bookings going forward. We were experiencing a huge problem providing a damage deposit for a hotel via their online system. It required that a credit card purchase verification code be sent via a phone message. We could not get this to work and found the wh0le experience very frustrating. With no way to solve the problem and past the cancellation date, it looks like another "discussion" with booking.com is coming.
Finally freed from the cycle tour housekeeping we headed out to see Nérac. The small town is split in half by the River Baïse. It is famous for once being home to the French royal family, specifically King George IV . We stayed on the busier west bank but at the end of September it is a sleepy town with mainly locals milling about. We wandered the streets looking at the buildings and the historic chateau before we joined the local crowd for a beer in the late afternoon sun.
Chateau Henry IV that attracts most visitors to Nerac. Only a part of the original chateau remains but it is a very impressive wing of the original castle, with a round tower and an arcaded balcony with decorative columns running along the first floor level.
Afterwards we had wonderful meal at L'art de Vivre. There were only two other tables occupied. On our way home, we stopped briefly at Passion Bière to chat about the burgeoning brewery scene in France and then called it another great day.
