Bike: Cluny to Dracy-le-Fort, 31 miles, 1100 feet of climb
Accommodation: Individual maison en pierre (Airbnb); host Jose. Two-bedroom apartment in stone barn conversion, kitchen, wifi, outdoor pool, washer.
Patricia came down to check us out, and went through the apartment with care, making sure we had cleaned everything properly and left everything exactly as we found it. She pronounced it parfait (perfect), and we were on our way.
RWGPS routed us out of town through streets we had not explored on foot, and we were quickly in the country on the Voie Verte--a dedicated bike trail on an old railway bed. We saw lots and lots of other cyclists, many of them touring with packs, some in large groups obviously on organized day tours. We got off the trail in Cormatin to wind through its narrow medieval streets, and again in Saint Gengoux le National to circle around an old chateau on a lovely estate (we did not tour the chateau; we think we saw enough chateaus on the Loire). We stopped at a farm in the country to buy fresh (very fresh) fromage, creme glacee, and apple currant juice. We stopped at a supermarket in Givre to buy supper and breakfast supplies.
Our gite is on the edge of Dracy-le-Fort, which is not a town but a hamlet, with no commercial area. There is a small grouping of very old farms and houses, built around by newer homes, some on large estates. It's beautiful here, and quiet--though our gite is on a fairly busy small highway so there is some road noise with the windows open.
Anyway, we had an absolutely lovely, relaxing day, stopping to eat and explore whenever we felt like it, with a mostly flat trail off the roads. Life is good.
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| The working room on the farm where we purchased fromage (cheese). |
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| Ken cycling through the countryside. |
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| Gate to Givry, about three miles before Dracy-le-Fort on our route. |
