Away-Le-Rideau to Villandry to Ambois

May 30, 2023

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Todays ride was made up of the morning ride to Villandry with a couple of hours stop to tour the gardens and then we continued on to Amboise. We are staying in Amboise for the next three nights and our apartment has a washing machine! Machined wash clothes feel so much better than hand rinsed so it feels like a luxury.

The morning ride was along bike paths and quiet country roads. The air was cool when we started and Kathy and Maddie called a quick stop to add some extra layers.

Coat stop selfie. Note the old blind guy using the camera that can only see through the cheater lens in the bottom of his glasses hence the extreme head tilt.

Kathy & Maddie with some of the glorious roses.

Carpenter bee. Identified thanks to Bill Shaneyfelt

My formal water view for the day. I wonder if I can build one of these at home.

The symmetry of this rose appealed to Maddie.

The afternoon ride was flat for a long way. We wound our way around Tours passing through some less than attractive areas.

For one section we hit a nice bike path along the river Cher. A group of road cyclist caught us and gradually passed us with lots of comments in French. If only we spoke French it would have been interesting to hear if they made the same comments and "jokes" about tandems as we get in the English speaking world.

The peloton disappearing around a corner.

We hung with the group for a while getting a small respite from the head wind but their speed was too inconsistent for our inertia laden tandem. They would constantly change speed up 2 m/hr down 2 m/hr. On a tandem it takes time to wind up to speed and once there you stick to it. Riding in this pack required us jumping from the brakes to the pedals in a random pattern so we let them go.

When I changed the route this morning I thought we would have one section riding on busier urban roads but much to my surprise when we hit these sections there was still a separate bike path. You have to love a country were nearly all routes end up on bike paths.

Surprise separate bike path along a busy road.

Climbing one of the few small hills on the way to Ambois.

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 255 miles (410 km)

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Brent IrvineNice to hear there are paths everywhere - my son is coming on his first cycling tour in a few months and we will be covering some of your route, though in the opposite direction. Happy cycling!
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10 months ago

Carl OlsenBrent

We have been having slight headwinds most days and I commented just yesterday that maybe we should have been riding in the opposite direction. Have fun with your son, I look forward to another blog to follow.
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10 months ago