Although we are trying to dial back the daily distances a bit for Ellen's knee, we had to crank out 55 km for this stage. There's a large music festival in the town between Pouilly and Nevers, and there are no rooms available for a large area. Temperature was mid-80s and humid so we were working hard to stay hydrated. From our Camino and backpacking experiences we've learned that sometimes you just have to get your head into the right space and grind out the miles.
Before this trip we'd read and heard from friends that French people are cold and unfriendly to outsiders, and don't appreciate lame attempts to speak their language. This has not been our experience at all. (I am excepting Paris: large city people always seem somewhat off-putting to small town folk like us.) Everywhere we've gone locals have been amiable. Those who speak English have been happy to talk, those who don't have been very tolerant of my more-than-broken and poorly pronounced attempts at their language.
We continued riding through farm country today. Stopped for a cold drink in Marseilles-lès-Aubigny. One of the canals passes through here, and we saw barges and private excursion boats cruising.
At Bec de Alliers we stopped at the point where the Allier River flows into the Loire. This is kilometer zero on the Loire Cycle Route (though people usually start or finish the ride in Nevers, the larger city nearby). The route signs along the path are now changed, from Loire Velo to Eurovelo 6 (the route which runs from the French coast to the Black Sea).
At Le Guetin we stopped for a snack and to refill our water bladders. This is another spot where a canal crosses on a bridge high over the Loire. There were many people enjoying the Loire water on this hot day.
From this spot we followed the canal about 15km further to Nevers.
We had booked a room at Cafe Velo in Nevers, a lovely place right by the river where we entered the city. As the name suggests, this place is for cyclists. Our room, overlooking the Loire, is decorated with bike-inspired fabrics and a Look frame hangs on the wall. The owners are a delightful couple originally from Britain. This is the place to stay while biking the Loire.
We took the next day (Saturday) as a rest day in Nevers. It's an old city, dating to Roman times, and the baptistry under the cathedral is from the late fifth century. Much of the old section, and some of the city wall, survives. We explored the city, I worked on wrapping up an analysis and report for a client, and in the evening we listened as a throng watched Paris-St Germain win the Champions League match in front of a bar down the street (and then heard the celebrating late into the night).
