Loire a Velo

Monday, September 20th
Nantes to Angers 105k

So today was our first day back on the bikes, headed east across France. We woke up in our HI hostel, had the standard French breakfast of warm cornflakes and bread. McKayla was ecstatic about the fresh prunes and dates at this breakfast. We got an early start on a chilly, foggy morning that quickly turned into a beautiful, sunny, warm day. It felt great to be back on the bikes! Fresh sit-bones and no saddle sores. We found our trail (we have a book that details a route following the Loire river) and were pleasantly surprised by the abundant signage. Unfortunately, we're pretty sure we were on a "route provisionaire", which we think (but aren't sure) are more for mountain bikers than road bikers. We saw many other older tourists on mountain bikes, and ended up doing about 25 km on "gravillons".... We got a bit off-track several times finding our way through Oudon, we almost lost Erin, but finally we were on the proper route, following green (not yellow) signs. The rest of the day was long but rather uneventful. We ate lunch in an ancient church's parking lot - the route takes us through and around all kinds of small French villages, alleys, pasteurs, farms, etc. Finally we're getting some ups and downs as we dip into and out of the Loire valley. We made good time, getting to Angers around 5 pm after 105 km of riding. We were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into "Ethic Etapes" (which didn't take us 10 extra kilometers to find) - an environmentally friendly hotel/hostel chain that cost us only 59 euros for our own clean, beautiful room (cheaper than many hostels). We even got our own little bike garages! We cooked rice and beans out on the back patio, overlooking a park and on the Lac du Maine. Passed the rest of the evening enjoying a long dinner and chatting while the sun set. Then we spent some time on the FREE internet, and had a decent, early bedtime. (We couldn't post this blog because the computer crashed... but apparently it's been resurrected. If we're off the grid for an extended period of time in the near future, that's probably what happened.)

Tuesday, September 21st.
Angers to Saumur 65km

We awoke this morning to the most delicious/nutritious breakfast (way to go France!). Yogurt, muesili, fresh squeezed orange juice, kiwis, fromage blanche, green plums, bread pudding, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and hot milk. Fully satisfied, we hit the road. We got a litle lost this morning, but after getting back on track we had to cross a canal with a self-service barge. It was a small boat that we loaded with our bikes and then McKayla hauled the chain attached at the other side of the canal to pull us across. After this morning, we've realized how to better navigate the trail system, avoiding the areas that are unpaved and taking roads instead. We stopped in Gennes at a campground to do an ab workout and eat second lunch. Once in Saumur, we quickly found the "Office de tourisme" and were happy to learn of a closeby hostel on an island in the Loire river. After checking in, we biked to the nearest grocery store, which meant riding up a mountain side. We did get to see a lovely Chateau that overlooked the Loire River. In two separate instances, we were approached today by women commenting on our American English, both exclaiming how rare it is to hear American English in this area. One even invited us to her house built into the cliffside tomorrow morning, which we politely declined because we have another long day ahead of us. We cooked up a fantastic dinner in the hostel kitchen of hamburgers with cheese, tomato, onion, and avacoado, with broccoli, cauliflower, white string beans, and cucumber on the side (all for 8 euro!). We are currently being entertained by 8th grade boys and girls playing ping pong in the hostel lobby. Tomorrow we are heading to Tours (100km) where we will stay for the night before heading to Blois (60k).