La Loire à Vélo 1: Big River Country: Angers to Tours (29 April to 2 May 2016)

The Loire.  The largest and most important river in France.  The valley it flows through and the history unfolded there has colored and imbued France and its character and identity like nowhere else.  Someone along the way had the brilliant idea to develop a long-distance bicycling route along its banks - which would become La Loire à Vélo... mostly flat, varied in its meandering course through forest, farmland and medieval villages; and the best part: the chateaux rooted along the way, each with its own lure and intrigue, history - and place in French history.  Vineyard-covered slopes border the valley to the north and the south, and the absence of major cities means that most of the way you are in a quiet haven of birds, walkers and bicycles...

The imposing dark chateau in Angers with its fantastic gardens.

Katy meets another English cyclist in Angers...

... while our host Michel leads us on a cycling tour of the not-too-miss spots in Angers.

The South Rose window at the Saint Maurice Cathedral of Angers.  Phenomenal.

From Angers we rode across this creek on a self-service bike ferry on our way to the Loire River.

Finally, the EuroVelo 6 (here called La Loire ).  We will now follow it nearly exclusively until Basel.  

Our first look at the Loire River on this ride: looking mighty as the Mississippi at this point.

Michel accompanied us nearly all day, here crossing the Loire with Katy...

... and here picnicking with Bodhi and Jeff.

Bo being Bo at our next Warm Showers stay at Saint Geoarge-des-Sept-Voies to the southeast of Angers.

Here we are pictured with our gracious WS hosts: Simone and Jean-Claude, who hosted us for one night.

Jean-Claude accompanied us to Saumur...

... and so for the second straight day we rode with a surprise guest cyclist, which nearly never happens to us.

In Saumur Bo made friends with a bunch of slightly-older schoolkids.

On towards the next chateau...

The riverside Montsoreau, which inspired the 1846 Alexandre Dumas novel "La Dame de Monsoreau"...

Late in the day as it was, we didn't enter this one, but we made time to admire it all the same.

Our comfortable campsite along the Vienne River, a tributary of the Loire.

A pause from pedalling in Avoine....

... before arriving at the foot of Chateau d'Usse, where legend has it that the French writer Charles Perrault used it fictionally in 1697 as the setting for "La Belle Au Bois Dormant" -  otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty.

We had a sunny late-afternoon picnic here...

... and our ride onwards was etched with back glances like this one at the Chateau d"Usse.

The Loire as seen from our riverside campsite.

Bodhi gazes fixedly over the waterway...

...

The following morning had us at the Chateau de Langeais...

... where it was market Sunday, with thronging streets and vendors partout.

Jeff and Bo on the drawbridge.

Fab cellist installation in Langeais...

... where the church steeple aims skyward...

... and Bo doesn't fail to notice the Archangel Michael doing away with the devil.

Katy, recrossing the Loire at Langeais.

The Loire is basically considered a wild and unstable river, with shifting currents and courses, and sandbars everywhere.

At Villandry we had a little renunion with another travelling family!  Pictured are (L-R): Jeff, Thibault, Julie, Lina and Katy.  We had met them in June of 2015 at our final WWOOF stay near Auray in Brittany.  Thibault, Julie and Lina cycled and travelled from Brittany to Sardinia and onto Naples with their 1 y.o. daughter from September 2015-March 2016.

Bo and Lina getting along famously.

Katy, Lina and Bo in a moment of sunshine and glee.

Katy and Julie in a goodbye hug - they are on their way back to Brittany where they will live and work with Morgan at La Ferme des Mangetouts for the unforeseeable future.

Le Chateau de Villandry.

peepee stop for Bo, roadside.

Our camp along the Cher River to the west of Tours.

The formal splendour of Tours...

... where Bo frolics in the gardens.

Jeff at the approach to the mindblowing Saint Gatien's Cathedral of Tours.

It reminded us of the fabulous facade of the Strasbourg Cathedral.

Stained glass within...

... while flying buttresses and gargoyles...

... decorate the exterior.  

From La Manche to La Loire along the Mayenne: Mont St. Michel to Angers (21 - 28 April 2016)

Mont St. Michel proves to be worth all the efforts we've made to reach it!  Somehow, even with the phenomenal number of tourists visiting everyday, the place manages to retain its mystery, charm and medieval airs... especially after 6 PM, when the island clears out and the streets are free to roam in peace and tranquility.  The history and setting are entirely legendary.  After a two-day visit, we would continue our ride by following small country roads until connecting with the lovely Mayenne River and its idyllic bike path that would take us all the way down to the Loire at Angers...

Happy to be here!  

Some genius got their act together and booted all vehicle traffic (except local transport buses) from the Mont, making it quiet, contemplative and absolutely car-free. 

Bo and Jeff on the Mont's main street, La Grande Rue.

Looking out over the rooftops to the bay beyond.

Bo had his way exploring the alleys and steps...

... the chapel...

... and the winding medieval paths.

Rooftops and the Bay of Mont St. Michel stretching towards eternity.

In the Mont St. Michel Abbey we came across plenty of shell motifs, as Mont St. Michel is on the Chemin de St. Jacques, especially for pilgrims who were coming from northern countries (England, Scandinavia).

The cloisters (La Merveille).

Katy and Bo taking it in.

The Mont takes its name from Saint Michel, whose most prominous feat was slaying the dragon (Satan) (Book of Revelation), here pictured.  Bodhi was overawed by this representation, where the Archangel Michael is seen standing on and subduing the dragon while preparing to put the spear through him.

Bo, Jeff and sublime scenery.

This was the only place in northern France to successfully resist English invasion during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) between England and France.

Jeff and Bo relaxing on one of Normandy's happy cows in the tourist village near the Mont.  Our Normandy experience would be a short one, as just south of Mont. St. Michel we would re-enter Brittany (department Ile-et-Vilain).

Bo and Katy depart a soggy campsite near Pontorson some 10km from the Mont...

... and ride through some mud leaving our campsite near St.Brice-en-Cogles. 

Brilliant cafe seen in Saint Brice.

 No offense, but these cows look like they were whacked with the ugly stick...

Just arrived in Fougeres on a cold blustery day.

Katy enjoying the only sun we saw all day, which came out in late evening.

Bo pitches in with tent set-up...

In some wooded bottomland near Luitre.

The following morning the boss has a lie-in.

Approaching the village of Juvigne in typical landscapes of this area.

We discovered a whole field full of horses at an equestrian center near St. Berthevin.

4 km west of Laval in St. Berthevin we had our first WarmShowers stay of 2016, with the hospitable couple of Francis and Catherine.

Their stunning house and its sprawling lands made for a great stopover and rest, and some great football sessions...

Gorgeous church at Laval.

At Laval we jumped onto the Mayenne River voie verte.

Mileage marker on the towpath next to the river.

Calm scenes like this one abound, with nature hemming in.

Action shot along the Mayenne.

Katy can never resist visiting with horses...

... while Bo is kept busy with blowing dandelion seeds everywhere.

Not quite the Loire Valley yet, but we do start seeing some impressive chateaus along the Mayenne as we descend.

The bikes never fail to stir the curiosity of horses seen along the way.

The town of Chateau-Gontier straddles the Mayenne.

Our camp near Menil.

The picturesque village of Menil.

Chateau above the cliffs...

... fortified mill.

The Mayenne grows in size and scope as we pass near Le Lion d'Angers.

Rasta donkeys!

Dreadlocked and all, they form part of a small business along the Mayenne producing donkey-milk items such as soap and beauty-products amongst many other things.

We happened upon this chateau lurking amongs forested land above the Mayenne and knew we must be near the Loire.

End of a long day, nearing Angers on a fab cycle trail.

Pictured is Michel, our WarmShowers host in Angers who permitted us a much-needed 2-night stay in his flat.

Michel, in addition to sharing his personal travel stories both solo and with his daughters, also prepared a vegetarian version of a traditional Breton dish for us (utilizing a cloth bag to prepare buckwheat mash)...

... from a village near Brest, its called "kig ar farz"... involving plenty of vegetables...

... and buckwheat mash.