Started our ride by biking Acadia National Park including Cadillac Mountain. Beautiful sunny day. Biked about 35 miles.

Got passed by an Ebike going up hill. Show offs

Day 2 started in pouring rain. Yuk. It stopped in about an hour but of course we were pretty soaked by then. Went about 62 miles which was a good distance for the first day of touring. We spent the night in Belfast. Reminded me of Montpelier with all the 1800’s brick buildings.

Day 3 was a long tough day. 82 miles with too many steep climbs. Passed thru Camden, Me. Really cute town. We both started having trouble with our shifters. I lost my granny gear which I could have used every climb. Finished in Brunswick. Stayed in the hotel for dinner and several rounds of drinks at the hotel bar, watching the Phillies game. It was very nice of the hotel to have the Phillies game on TV for us.

Day 4 was another soaker. We got wetter and dirtier than we have ever gotten on any of our tours. The worst of it was on a gravel trail for 7 miles. We rode thru most of Portland, Me on a bike trail which was awesome. I must say folks in Maine are some of the most courteous drivers we have encountered. I did get my shifter fixed in Freeport at the L.L. Bean bike shop. It turns out my small sprocket was bent Today’s mileage was 56.

Another perfect day for cycling.  Overcast this morning and then sunny this afternoon.  We have really been lucky with the weather this year.  Another 70 K day which brings our total to 430 K with a little bit more riding tomorrow before we return the bikes.Plan is to then drive to Paris with stops at Chartre and Versailles along the way.

We also return the car at the airport tomorrow.  They say it is really difficult to drive in Paris.  If it is like what we have experienced so far, the French seem to change the name of the street every couple blocks.  That’s what we use street numbers for.  Just saying.

Today’s pics for the blog.

A view from outside our hotel in Blois.. We crossed this bridge and then headed to Chambord.

A picture from the brochure, sans scaffolding.

Erecting the scaffolding must have been a major engineering project.

The three bromigos.

Another view of scaffolding.

All in all, a very impressive place. We had to change out of our bike shoes in order to be able to enter the chateau.

We all concluded it was too ornate for our tastes. You may be wondering what happened to Brian and Beth. They ditched us.

Crossing the Loire on our way into Orleans.

Outside dining in Orleans. Restaurants didn’t open until 7 PM this trip.  The French like to eat late.

Mark taking one more picture of the Loire River

Our walk back to the hotel along the river. It was just after 9 PM

It was another perfect day for cycling.  We did 65 K with a pretty stiff cross/tail wind that wasn’t much of a factor.  Most of the ride was on macadam (roads) again today.  We can travel so much faster on macadam as opposed to gravel.

Brian and Mark had very minor falls when they couldn’t get their shoes unclipped after coming to a stop in Amboise because of pedestrians.  Mark insists he fell just to keep Brian  from suffering the embarrassment alone.  Since no one got hurt, I can say it was very comical.  A touch of the two stooges.

We ate a light lunch in the town of Amboise after touring the Chateau du Clos Luce, Leonardo da Vinci’s home the last years of his life, 1516 to 1519.  Worth seeing but perhaps a touch overpriced.  Beth was going to meet us but the parking was limited and she couldn’t get there in time because of a detour due to an accident.  She met us for lunch instead and then toured a different chateau while we pedaled off.

Beth passed us coming into Blois (tonight’s destination) but we were able to beat her to the hotel.  There is something to be said for traveling by bike in city traffic, especially when there are dedicated bike lanes.  I must say that throughout this trip, the motorists have been very courteous to bikers.  We assume many drivers also ride bikes.

Walked to a restaurant, as usual.  Beautiful vistas in this city.  So far, my prettiest city.  Didn’t bring my iPad to take pictures tonight.  Bummer.  Might be able to take a few as we are leaving tomorrow morning.

Today’s pics for the blog.

The brothers outside Leonardo da Vinci’s chateau.

Typical view of today’s bike path/local road.

My traveling partners still at da Vinci’s.

Brian at lunch. The chateau of King Francis I, the one Beth toured, is in the background.

Relaxing in the hotel bar after the day’s ride.  That carpet is really ugly!!

Tomorrow we plan to stop at Chambord, another chateau.  It’s kind of on our way to Orleans where we will spend our last night on the Loire River.   It’s hard to believe tomorrow is our last full day of riding.  It’s been a great trip.  We are thinking next year Germany and then the following year the Provence section of France.  We’ll see.

Hope you are enjoying the blog.

A great day of cycling.  75 k with a tail wind and almost no gravel/dirt paths.  Smooth macadam, some on roads (very little traffic) and the rest on bike paths.  We really liked Saumur.  A nice city but much smaller than Nantes and Angers.  There was a possibility of rain today but it only drizzled a few times.  Cloudy for most of the ride which is fine.

A shot break this morning. This was a typical bike path today.

Lunch time. It’s nice to have a picnic bench.

A view of the Loiree. Most of the ride was on a bike path built on top of a levee.

On our way into Villandry.

A nice meal in the cafe outside Villandry.

The three amigos.

Self explanatory.

Two shots of partofthe formal gardens. 52 K of box woods.

This is a photo of one of the rooms ceiling.

I’m not sure what they are discussing. Probably what flavor ice cream Brian wants tonight.

A view from the balcony of my hotel room.

A pic of the gardens.

Another view from my balcony.

The second part of the day was the tour of Villandry, built around 1535 and walking around Tours looking for a good restaurant and we found one with the help of the hotel staff.  Need to remember to ask the hotel staff every night.

Beautiful morning but no cold cuts at the breakfast buffet.  We are usually able to make ourselves cold cut sandwiches for lunch at the breakfast buffets, except today.  The French know how to bake rolls.

This was where we took a short break. We only stopped twice on today;s ride.

We stopped to read this rode sign. As best we could tell, this was the home of some French royalty, up until the French Revolution. Laura, were we close?

Another lunch photo.

Crossing the Loire into Saumur.

A pretty easy day which we needed after yesterday,  54 K, 3 1/2 hours.   A lot of macadam today.  What a difference it makes riding on smooth macadam vs. gravel.   Tomorrow we intend to tour our first chateau on our way to Tours, our next destination.  Showers are in the forecast.  We’ll see,

This was planned as our longest  day.  It turned out to be for a different reason.  We got away about 8:15.  Within 5 minutes, I took a a nasty spill.  I couldn’t tell you how much time we lost.  I think I was dazed by the fall.  I hit a curb trying to get on the bike path that was a little elevated from the pedestrian walkway.  I remember seeing that I was going to hit this curbing and then the rest was a blur.  Washed it as best I could and I soldiered on or, as Marcia sometimes says: ‘I offered it up’.

That was my knee a few hours after my fall. Other scrapes to my hand.

A nice picnic bench for one of our many stops today.

I agree Mark. This day is getting long.

I partially cut off their heads at this stop. O well, we are in France. Pardon, sil vows plait.

One of the many views of the river today.

A gravel road/path. We were on gravel about 50% of today. It’s taking its toll on our arms. We are not used to wide grip handlebars.

Finally, arriving in Angers. 7 hours, 108 k ride today.

Another view from the bridge into Angers.

A view from my hotel window of the hotel parking lot/courtyard.

Brian and I tried to go to mass tonight (to pray for Mark and Beth’s souls) but couldn’t find the church.  Added another 5,000 steps to today’s total.  No good deed goes unpunished.  I got a huge blister.  Hopefully I will be able to wear my dock sides home.  I have had to wear my bike shoes everywhere since.  Does it sound like I am whining too much?  Pardon, sil vous plait.