After a day off the bike in Nevers we saddled up for a moderate day to Decize. When we went down to breakfast in the morning, we met two Australian men who were rolling up on their bikes. We got to talking, and ended up sitting down to breakfast together. Long conversation about bike touring, politics and a range of other topics; it was not an early start. Fortunately we had only 39 km to ride.
The path today was all following a canal. Very peaceful and mellow riding. Now that we have gone past the main Loire Velo route there are fewer cycle tourists.
Stopped for lunch at a very nice restaurant right along the canal and the cycle path in Fleury-sur-Loire.
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| This boat pulled up at the restaurant |
Our destination for tonight (Decize) didn't have much in the way of accommodations, so we had booked a little cabin at a campground along the Loire. It's actually quite nice: two bedrooms, living/dining area, full kitchen, and a very nice porch. The campground has spots for tents (a few cycle tourists there), plus larger fixed tents for rent, a variety of cabins and spots for camper vans.
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| Sunset over the Loire |
On to Cronat:
Next day (today) we rode an easy 32 km to the small village of Cronat. After breakfast at a little cafe in Decize, we started along a canal, but soon the path diverged into farm country. It was a lovely and curving path through the farmland, which occasionally brought us down to the banks of Loire. We took rest breaks at a couple of picnic spots along the river, one of which featured a few lovely wood sculptures. At one rest stop we had a long chat with a fellow cycle tourist, woman from England who is touring on the continent for three months. Many years ago she and her husband biked down the Pacific Coast on 101; she loved Oregon and the state parks even though it rained the whole time.
Our room for tonight is in an old B&B.
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| Our room |
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| Entry hall. The owner is a painter. |
After cleaning up we enjoyed exploring around the village.
We had read that the B&B has excellent food, so we enjoyed dinner here as well. Best meal we have eaten in France. In addition to an appetizer of quiche and salad (which disappeared before I could take a picture) the main included chicken, garlic potatoes, and a dish of turnips and zucchini like nothing we'd experienced before. Dessert was an apple pastry. Ooh la la!
Looks beautiful and amazing! Thanks for sharing. I hope Ellen's knee doesn't cause too much of a problem.
ReplyDeleteLooks so fabulous! Sounds like great riding and food…at least for omnivores. I’m glad that Ellen’s knee isn’t complaining so much, or maybe you’re just not writing about it.
ReplyDeleteThe shuttle finally went to the top and the upper Bull Gap trail (double track) has only one long snow patch just below the pump house. Banditos is still a mess with snow and down trees. Lower Time Warp was the focus of Sunday’s trail work with an estimated 100 trees down. Lots of work yet to get it clear. I’m going to try to clear Banditos tomorrow.
Looking forward to you and Ellen replicating these fine French foods, and inviting your neighbors over!
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