Cycling Tours to Sully-sur-Loire, France: Chateaus, Caves and Lots of Levees
26 - 28 Jul 2019
Tours to Chaumont-sur-Loire (26 July 2019, 53 km, 33 mi)
Thank goodness, the extreme heat wave is behind us. A front passed through, so today’s high was 30 F degrees cooler than yesterday. It was also a lot wetter, at least in the morning. We got pretty damp during the first few hours of our ride. Then, the showers dissipated, and we enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon.
Wetter, but also cooler than yesterday. And being cooler was the important part. Temperatures were very comfortable all day today. Lussault-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We’re back in an area that has a lot of the tuffeau cliffs, honeycombed with wine caves. Montlouis-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We stopped at a farmer’s market along the Loire River, just as we were entering the town of Amboise. All the fruit seemed perfectly ripe. We bought some fabulously juicy nectarines, and a couple of bananas. The nectarines widely sold this time of year in France have bright, white flesh. They’re fragrant and delicious, and very different from the yellow ones we’re used to.
Everything looks so fresh at the farmer’s market. Amboise, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Critters for sale at the Amboise Friday Market, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
In Amboise, the route veered away from the river and started heading uphill. We passed in front of the massive, western tower and wall of the Chateau Royal d’Amboise. The tower is topped by the Chapel of Saint Hubert, and looms over a street lined with open-air cafes. Then, at the far end of the wall, the road rounded a sharp, hairpin turn to the left, and launched up the cliff, climbing its way onto the plateau behind the chateau with a gradient ranging from 10-18%. All along the face of the cliff, we passed more wine caves. I’m sure the view from the top of the walls was spectacular, but I didn’t dare stop pedaling, or I would have had to push my bike up the rest of the hill.
Starting up the hill towards the Chateau Royal d’Amboise. The chateau’s defensive wall looms over the center of Amboise, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
For 11 km we cycled along the gently rolling hills on top of the vineyard-clad plateau. Every so often, as we crossed over a high point on the road, we would be able to see far into the distance - sometimes towards the river, and sometimes away to the south.
After descending the far side of the plateau, we came across this old, public well in Mosnes, France. Although it didn’t look like the well water was potable, the site was still lovingly maintained, with an attractive canopy, and polished stone deck. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We had originally planned to bike a bit farther. But at 49 km, we came across a campground that looked like it would be nice and quiet. It’s a two-star, municipal campground, without all the stuff like a pool or playground that is common in the three-star, commercial campgrounds. It was also right on our route. (The one we’d planned to go to had those extra frills, and was 0.5 km off our route). We decided we would probably get a better night’s sleep here.
The spot we chose for our tent doesn’t have any close neighbors, which is especially appealing. At more commercial campgrounds, the cyclists are usually corralled on a lawn together, and it’s common for those areas to get a bit crowded with tents. Here we had plenty of our own space.
Dinner options were pretty limited in the small town next door. Luckily there was a tiny little grocery store that had a deli where we could buy freshly made sandwiches and some fruit. The store had a few shelves of stuff, but much less than a typical convenience store would have in a small U.S. town. The stores here often have a very limited selection of items, especially cold drinks.
The deli in this store saved the day. We brought our sandwiches and fruit back to the campground, where we enjoyed a picnic dinner. A post dinner walk down to the banks of the Loire River helped us unwind at the end of the day.
The Loire River. Chaumont-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Chaumont-sur-Loire to Orléans (27 July 2019, 83 km, 51.6 mi)
It rained overnight, with pretty heavy downpours at times. But once again, we stayed warm and dry. We’re very happy with our Big Agnes tent. The rain stopped soon after we woke up, around 7am. That was perfect. We were able to break camp without getting wetter, and it turned into a lovely day for cycling.
We’re definitely falling into a pattern of biking a little bit before breakfast, then stopping at a bakery along the route. Today we found a bakery in Candé-sur-Beuvron, six miles into our ride. We each had a delicious, individual-sized, quiche Lorraine. PedalingGuy also had a pastry topped with a floret of nectarine slices. I had a croissant with almonds and sugar. What a pleasant way to start the day.
In the rural countryside between towns, we see lots of small herds of ponies and horses, a few donkeys, and small herds of cattle. Candé-sur-Beuvron, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We noticed several more signs for the Camino de Santiago today (or the Rue de Saint Jacque, as they say in French). It’s amazing how far the pilgrimage lines reach across Europe, all heading for that one, famous church in Spain. Walking to Santiago from here would probably take 2-3 months. You get the feeling that you could be anywhere in Europe, ask someone which way to go to get to Santiago, and they’d know how to tell you to get on the route. There’s nothing else quite like it.
We’re still on a Camino de Santiago, or Rue de Saint Jacques as they say in France. Blois, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
As we headed across the bridge towards Blois, we were greeted with a uniquely entertaining view. The 120 steps of the Denis Papin Staircase, which link the waterfront with the upper city on the bluffs, have been transformed into a likeness of the Mona Lisa. The monumental image was installed to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance, which is being celebrated in France this year. It’s an amazingly accurate reproduction, and it grabbed our attention as we crossed the bridge.
Image of the Mona Lisa, installed on the Denis Papin Staircase in Blois, France. She’s there to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
A very special fountain can be found in Cour-sur-Loire. It actually looks more like a small well lined with rocks than a fountain. A legend says that around the year 550, Queen Radegonde fled her forced marriage and boarded a boat in Orléans - heading down the Loire River. Near Cour-sur-Loire she felt thirsty and went ashore. When she removed a stone from the river bank, a fountain sprang forth. The witnesses believed it was a miracle, and soon pilgrims started visiting the spring, claiming that it had healing powers. The queen was later canonized as a saint for this and some other miracles. And to this day, a nearby church celebrates the event each year with a ceremonial procession to the fountain.
Saint Radegonde’s Fountain. Cour-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
The public well that we saw in Mosnes yesterday turned out to be just the first of several. There are many springs in this part of the Loire Valley, and three of the towns that we passed through today had old-fashioned, public wells. The wells were all right by our route, and covered with a wooden canopy. You can’t miss them. The water looks clean and clear, but some of them did have signs warning that the water was not potable. It’s tempting to want to splash your feet in the water, but we weren’t sure that sort of thing was allowed. We didn’t see anyone in or near the wells, so we thought it was best just to admire them from the road.
Another public well. Le Vivier, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Many of the towns along the Loire River, especially the smaller ones, seem like they haven’t changed much for centuries. Le Vivier, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We often bike along the levees that help control flooding by the Loire River. Too bad the trees aren’t allowed to grow on top of the levees, to provide the route with more shade. Courbouzon, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
This hefty escargot was crossing the route, which is also a road that is lightly used by cars. I tried to pick it up to move it out of the road. But it resisted mightily, holding onto the asphalt with all of its suction power. I didn’t want to hurt the snail by yanking it free, so we left it in the road. I hope the snail made it to the other side without getting squished. Courbouzon, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
You can see the cooling towers of the Avaray nuclear power plant from a long way away. After watching them get closer for many kilometers, we finally passed them. France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Corn is by far the most common crop being grown on the Loire floodplain in this region. We saw lots and lots of corn fields. Tavers, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We finally stopped for lunch in Beaugency, France. The town comes right down to the river, and we thought we’d be able to get food right along the water. But the commercial center of town turned out to be about 0.5 km away from the river. Uphill of course. We cycled into the old part of town and discovered that we had just missed a lunchtime market, where a guy had been making paella from a street booth. Nuts! That would have made an awesome lunch. Plan B was sandwiches from a kabob shop. They were actually delicious, and we enjoyed sitting outside by the street in the old town. The restaurant owner was taking a break outside the shop, and we chatted with him for quite a while. He seemed very interested in our trip. All in all, it was a pretty good stop.
As we were heading out of Beaugency, we had our first encounter with Joan of Arc, the heroine of Orléans. She’s a huge superstar around here. Over the course of her short life (she was martyred at age 19), she was driven by her religious visions. Joan of Arc gained the trust of the future King Charles VII of France, and rode at the head of his armies to help liberate France from English domination in the early 1400s. Her most famous battle was the breaking of the English siege of Orléans, but she also helped lead campaigns that touched many other towns along the Loire River, including Beaugency. A statue of her stands heroically over the square outside Beaugency’s Church of Notre Dame.
Joan of Arc, heroine of France. She played a big role in liberating this part of France from England nearly 600 years ago. Beaugency, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We arrived in Orléans in mid-afternoon, and got the very last room in the hotel where we’d hoped to stay. It was a bit more expensive than we had planned, because it was larger than their standard double room. But it was perfectly located along our route, faced the back courtyard (quiet), and they had secure bike storage. It was also less costly than other, close-by options. So we took it. The room has wonderfully cool air conditioning, so it is very comfortable. We’re happy.
We were tickled that the bikes would be stored in an old wine cave, dug into the stone hill behind the hotel. After seeing so many of the caves along the route, we thought having our bikes spend the night in one was pretty cool.
PedalingGuy secures our bikes in the stone vault behind our hotel as the hotel attendant looks on, waiting to lock up. Orléans, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Orléans to Sully-sur-Loire (28 July 2019, 52 km, 32.3 mi)
There was not much new along the way today. Eurovelo 6 continues to closely follow the Loire River, and we spent a lot of time riding on levees.
Loire River waterfront. Orléans, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
On the sides of the road, we’ve been seeing more and more of a spiky plant called field eryngo. The leaves and bracts are all tipped with very pointy spines that will scratch your skin if you get too close. These plants have made us nervous about moving our bikes off the side of the road whenever we stop for a photo or a roadside break. They look like they could do some damage to our tires.
Checking out the sand bars in the Loire, hoping for a good bird. Sandillon, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Mid-morning, we stopped in the quaint village of Jargeau for a break. We had hoped to buy something to eat, but all of the little stores (a bakery, fruit shop, and cheese shop) had really long lines. And they all were moving slowly.
Part of the reason that the lines were long is that most of these shops close for the afternoon on Sunday, so everyone in town has to get their shopping done in the morning. But there was another factor at work. The fruit shop had a very traditional, French setup where patrons couldn’t choose their own fruit. They had to wait to be served by the proprietor, who would select the pieces of fruit for them. It was taking a really long time.
So instead of waiting in line, we sat on a bench and ate our own fruit - the last two flat nectarines of a bunch that we had purchased yesterday. Flat nectarines are like regular nectarines, but they are, well, flatter. That actually makes them easier to hold and eat, especially when they’re juicy, which ours were.
Believe it or not there is actually a building under all those vines. Le Mesnil, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Not long before we reached Sully, we stopped along the road to do some bike maintenance. It had been a while since we had last cleaned and lubed our chains. They really needed some attention after a couple of rainy days and riding on dirt/gravel. We also tried to fix a squeak on PedalingGuy’s mounting brackets for his handlebar bag. He tried tightening some of the screws, and that didn’t work. We’re not sure exactly how to fix it because Ortlieb handlebar bag holders have a complicated mounting mechanism, and neither of us could remember exactly how it works despite having put them on and off the bikes several times. We’ ll have to work on it again, later.
There were a couple of other odds and ends to take care of, as well. The plastic cover on my right-hand gear shifter had come loose, so we used super glue to re-attach it. And PedalingGuy removed the rebounding spring from my right brake lever, which broke just like his did a couple of months ago. The brake lever seems to work fine without the spring, and it’s nice not to have that pointy piece of wire dangling down below the lever, where I could accidentally impale my finger on it. I’m glad to have it removed.
Time to take care of some bike maintenance, Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We arrived in the campground in the early afternoon, and were all settled in by 4:30 pm. We thought we’d eat at the snack bar at the campground. But they weren’t going to serve food until 6:30 pm - a 2 hr wait. We decided to walk into town.
The walk into Sully was lovely. While walking along the river bank, we passed a big party of over 100 people that looked like a Mexican wedding reception, or maybe a dance club having a Mexican party. The live band was playing very danceable tunes, and most of the people at the party were dancing. It was very festive.
When we reached town, we were impressed by the Sully Chateau. It’s very striking, with its circular towers and moat. Visitors can tour the furnished interior, but we passed it by. We were looking for food.
The lovely Chateau de Sully. Sully-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Most of the restaurants in Sully weren’t open yet, either. We ended up buying sandwiches, salads and some fruit at the grocery. Then we finished off dinner with a couple of ice cream bars. Perfect.
Despite the renown of French restaurants, in the smaller towns outside of Paris and the other major cities in France, good eating options are limited. Many if not most of the bikers we see usually don’t want to wait around for hours before the restaurants open at 7 pm, and then wait around to be served, and then pay rather expensive prices for a basic meal. Fast and inexpensive food options are very limited. So like many other cyclists, we tend to favor eating what we can find in grocery stores. We have started to wonder if that is why picnic tables are so common in France - not just for cyclists, but for many others who find dining in French restaurants on a regular basis to be both expensive and impractical.
On our way out of town, we walked around the Chateau. On the far side of the building, there’s a bridge across the moat that leads to peaceful gardens. By now the chateau was closed, but there were still a number of people enjoying the garden and surrounding grounds.
Back at the campground, we tried connecting to the internet. The wifi at the campground was free, but didn’t work at all. It barely had a pulse. So much for that. Although many of the campgrounds we’ve stayed in offer wifi, it truly never works. Sometimes the campgrounds charge extra for internet access, and it still doesn’t work. It would really be better if they didn’t offer it at all, so that you wouldn’t waste time trying to get connected.
We’ve seen a lot of these bug hotels at campgrounds, in gardens and parks. So far we haven’t seen many bugs using them, though. The bugs seem to prefer to hang out with us at our tent. Sully-sur-Loire, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
This was a three star campground, with restaurant, pool, playground, table tennis and other games. Three star and four star campgrounds attract families with kids, because of all the amenities. As a result, they are humming with activity and can be quite noisy, even after dark. We sleep better in two-star campgrounds, which tend to be more subdued and quieter. Even the kids at two star campgrounds go to bed earlier. We’ll probably try to aim for two stars going forward.
One thing all the 3-4 star campgrounds seem to have that we didn’t see in other countries is a morning bakery service. You write down your bread or pastry order on a list in the reception area in the evening. Then fresh, made-to-order baguettes, croissants, and other pastries are delivered from a local bakery by 8am the next day. The French definitely put a priority on fresh bread.
Much to our chagrin, a singer started performing French pop tunes in the snack bar at 9:00pm. Live music on weekends is another feature you can get in these fancier campgrounds - and it’s a feature that we could do without. Even though our tent is on the far side of the campground, we can hear the music loud and clear. Hopefully they’ll end early enough for us to get some sleep.
