Bodhi On Wheels: 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.