Follow The Horizon

June 5, 2014

Km 196- 60 km today… and getting easier.

Beautiful warm sunshine,  easy flat riding, what more could you ask for? Well, you could be in rural France. This has been amazing! I knew I would enjoy this, but I had no idea how much. It’s unlikely I can explain just how good it feels to be here doing this ride, and how much Chris and I are getting out of this experience to someone who isn’t actually here. As I sit here at our campsite on the bank of the Cher River I’m feeling so fortunate, for our health, and our adventurous nature that led us here.

It’s amazing the lifestyle the people have in the small towns of France. It’s just so laid back. There’s no super markets, you get your bread from a small bakery, your meat from your butcher. I remember it like that in Canada when I was a child, before the super stores took over. I think we’ve lost so much with our fast paced society!

My bike had a bad shimmy at any speed over 20 km and tended to throw me around on the bumps. I thought it might be caused by the front panniers, but it turned out to be the flexibility of the rear rack resonating through the bike. While we were in Tours we went into a bike shop to see if they had any Tubus racks. They didn’t have any on the shelf, but they has some new racks on a couple of rental bikes he was willing to remove, so Chris and I both got new Cargo Evo racks. Problem solved! No more death grip on the handle bars, the bike is rock solid, almost like I’m not loaded.

We veered off the Eurovelo 6 route to follow D40 south east to Chenonceaux. We were a bit apprehensive about riding on the highway, but all went well,  and I think we saw more bikes than cars on this section of road.

We’re definitely in the land of the tourist now, complete with tacky souvenir shops. A real change from what we’ve been riding through so far. The chateau is supposed to be amazing,  so we’re looking forward to seeing it tomorrow, but it’s likely to be the only chateau we pay to see the inside of.
 

Eating our breakfast of Pain au Chocolat on the River Cher at Savonnieres.