Cycling in the Loire Valley

From Paris, we drove about two hours south to the Loire Valley to the town of Tour-en-Sologne. We arrived in the evening to rest up for a cycling adventure the next day. We spent two nights at Logis Hotel du Chateau, and I would recommend it as a nice and easy place to stay with a dog.

In the morning, we drove into town for breakfast and found a market (there’s always a market in France!) We bought some fancy yogurt and ate it at a cute bakery nearby (with croissants and coffee, of course). We were loaded up and ready to ride.

We rented e-bikes from a lawnmower repair shop near our hotel. It may have been forbidden to ride with Bailey in the trailer like this, but the shop attendant didn’t ask any questions. When the owner came back and saw us riding away, we heard him yelling in French to the attendant, and we pedaled a little faster.

I’m not sure if Bailey enjoyed riding in the trailer. Sometimes she seemed like she liked it, when we were going fast and the road was smooth. She definitely did not like having the screen closed, so we tied her to the seat harness and kept it open. I think she would’ve liked a bigger carrier with a flat bottom (this one had a raised seat bench), so she could comfortably lie down. Bryan ended up riding behind us for emotional support, because she would cry if he got too far ahead.

We cycled about 12km to our first stop, the Chateau de Chambord. The path was a combination of roads, smooth dirt trails, and very bumpy dirt trails. It was beautiful cycling through the forest and felt like we could’ve spent a few more days there exploring different areas (maybe leaving Bailey back at the hotel).

We carried on our cycle tour and rode along the river. We found a cafe for lunch with a lovely view of the water, but they were only serving a limited menu. There’s usually a period each day in France, between about 2 and 5PM where most of the restaurants close and take a Spanish-style siesta. Unfortunately, that was the time when our cycling hunger hit the hardest, but we ordered some prepackaged ceasar salads and were able to refuel.

The paths by the river were less well-groomed and the deep tire ruts were not very accommodating to the trailer, so we decided not to push on further. We cycled back through the forest trails to the hotel for work and later had a mediocre dinner at a restaurant close by. Our meals in the Loire may have left a lot to be desired, but the cycling and scenery made the visit worthwhile.