Bike: Briare to Sully-sur-Loire, 30 miles, 900 feet of climb
Accommodation: Studio - 2 persons - ideal Loire a Velo (Airbnb); hosts Jean-Pierre and Edith. Cottage above garage with bike storage in entryway, double bed, kitchenette, view of canal, wifi, no washer.
Ken walked to a boulangerie in town and returned with croissants, pain au chocolat, and bread for our breakfast and lunch. By 10:00, we were packed up and riding through town, weaving in and out of lines of vintage cars. Apparently, all the preparations the day before were for an old-car gathering.
After we crossed the aqueduct, we were back on the canal path for another easy day of biking.
About halfway through the trip, we detoured into Gien, an interesting city on the other side of the river, with an imposing cathedral at the top of the hill. We biked up to the cathedral and read a little history of the location. The church and town suffered a massive fire in the early 1900s and was mostly rebuilt using plans from one architect. The result is a collection of neighborhoods with distinctive architectural differences but an eerily similar style.
Gien was full of cyclists, cafes, ice cream shops, and gift shops. We had packed lots of food for a picnic lunch, so we bypassed the enticing food, finished our tour of the town, and crossed back over the bridge and onto the Loire a Velo. For the next several miles, we kept leap-frogging another couple on bikes. When we stopped for lunch in a park, they passed us and waved. After lunch, we found them stopped at a crossroads and pulled over to talk. They were a retired couple from Belgium, staying in Gien in their camper, and taking day rides on the many cycles paths in the area. As always, it was fun to talk to other cyclists. But rain clouds were chasing us, and we took off again to try to beat the big gray cloud ahead.
By the time we arrived in Sully, the sun was out and the air felt fresh. We checked in to our little cottage, stored the bikes, changed into walking clothes and sandals, and hiked a few blocks to the Sully Chateau for our last castle tour. It was relaxing and fun to explore a historic building without the huge crowds and heat that we experienced on the Loire in July.
On our way back to our cottage, we found a grocery store and bought supplies for dinner and breakfast.
We can feel our trip winding down. It is nice to have easy riding during the day. The challenge this week is that we are biking seven days in a row, and rain is predicted every day. So far, we have just gotten a little wet a couple of times. We hope our luck holds, but we know we can't count on it.
