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.

Yes, we already left Sweden and entered Denmark.  Altogether we biked around 125 miles in Sweden.   We just did the coastline of southern Sweden.  We crossed into Denmark on a 20 minute ferry.  It is so interesting riding our bikes onto these ferries.  This is the second time we were on the same deck as the tractor trailers but we gon on by ourselves and they let us off and give us a reasonable head start before letting the trucks off.

It got sunny today for the first time so far.  Now it feels like summer instead of fall.  Temps are in the mid 60s.  I am learning how to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit again. 2 times plus 32.  Small headwind again today but not an issue.  The distance today was only about 45 miles.  Less gravel paths today.  My borrowed Bike Friday likes that better.  Thanks again Mark for lending ‘Friday”.  It is performing like a champ.

We had a little snack in Helsinborg, Sweden in a little outdoor cafe before catching the ferry across the sound which separates Sweden and Denmark.  Hotel was steps from the ferry dock.  No problem finding this hotel.  The three guys are sharing a room tonight.  Brian is already asleep and snoring.  Could be a long night.

After arriving we were able to walk around the castle/fort where Hamlet took place in Shakespeare’s play.  Castle was built in 1500’s.  Tons of history in this part of the world.  Chris is giving us a tutorial as we pass thru the villages.  Tomorrow we visit and pass thru Copenhagen.  Can’t wait.

We were the first ones off the ferry and biked to Ystad starting at 7am. Nothing on the road that early and a huge tail wind.  Ystad is where Wallender tv show is set.  Visited the town square and other streets shown in the series.  Had brunch in a little outdoor cafe off the town square.  If I can figure out how to add pics, I will add to my blog.

Next leg was from Ystad to Malmö but now we had a headwind. Tough going but we made good time on a highway we weren’t supposed to be on.  Motorists started honking at us so it was time to get off.  The rest of the way was largely on gravel lanes and paths.  Chris is using his phone for bike directions.  Maps would not have any of these paths on them.

When we got close to Malmö, primarily on paved roads, it started pouring rain.  We got soaked.  Clothes in packs got wet and some other  things like books and unfortunately Brian’s phone.  If it looks like I am killing him on step count, it’s only because his phone is dead and he can’t sync.  He is still keeping track manually and reminding me he is still ahead.  He’s not competitive!!

Checked into a really nice Radisson and had a room to myself.  Met an old friend of Chris’ for dinner.  Very enjoyable getting to spend time with a Swede to ask and be asked a lot of questions about our respective countries from politics to economy to history.

All of our clothes were laid out and hair driers and irons got a workout getting everything dry.  Bike shoes took the longest to dry out.  All is good and the hot shower in the hotel was magnificent after getting soaked.  All in all a great day despite the soaking.

After assembling our bikes, took a ride around countryside led by Chris.  Almost wish we were staying in Germany to bike.  Very pretty and bike friendly.  Antje’s family is awesome.  Loved their hospitality to us Americans.  I’ve been taking lots of pictures.

Our hotel was first class in a beach resort but very different than typical American beach town.  Much quainter and older. Less beach.  Too cold to swim as in American beach towns and so many less people.    The name of the town was Kuhlungsborn.  Fortunately my iPad knows how to spell it for me.

The next night was spent in a state room on the ferry from Rostok, Germany to Trellborgh, Sweden.  Three men in one small room was a lot of snoring.  We survived!!

It rained last night and the clouds did not clear as forecast but nothing can dampen our enthusiasm for today’s ride. The ride started out a little tricky on a mainish road with a lot of traffic. After crossing a bridge over the St. John River (really wide) we stumbled on a bike trail that took us more or less in the right direction. Riding all abreast, we immediately started on baseball trivia. Name the starting lineup for the Phillies in the 1980 World Series-Game 1. Name the starting lineup for the 1964 Phillies. Name the starting pitchers on the 1964 Phillies and on and on. Yes this was definitely the trivia leg. It sure helped the miles pass by.

We had a headwind/crosswind most of the day but once again Matt did almost all the pulling. Thank God for young legs and thank God Steph shares him with us. We arrived in St. Augustine around noon. The approach from the west is a little rundown but the old part of town is spectacular. The narrow cobblestone streets remind me of Quebec City but a very different personality. Another neat place to come with Marcia and spend some time strolling the streets.

But I get ahead of myself. We headed straight to the beach at Anastacia State Park for the photo op of dipping our front tires in the Atlantic Ocean. I cannot describe the feeling of that moment. We did it. We survived without any mishaps. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. We all commented at some point how nice it would have been if Ted and Kevin made the ride. We are starting to talk about our next adventure ride. Maybe more family will be able to join us on future rides. Matt and I are planning to do a ride across PA from Erie to Media soon. Anyone interested?

I’ll post Final Thoughts when I get home. That’s all for now folks.

I had my best night’s sleep at the Grady House B&B==10 hours. Even though I felt rested, my legs (and my butt) are feeling the effects of so many days of riding. If we were doing this coast to coast, a rest day would be in our immediate future.

A good (and uneventful) day of riding. We rode thru our third city in Florida–Gaineesville–home of the University of Florida Gators. We didn’t see any of the campus and not much of the city itself since we rode across the northern tier. The best part of the ride, and some said this leg, was a wide recently paved bike trail for about 12 miles. We were able to ride 4 abreast for the first time and continued our trivia games.

As I approach the final day, I want to thank my wonderful wife, Marcia, for all her support and encouragement to pursue this dream. I know it wasn’t easy for her to keep things going at home for the 6 plus weeks I was away these past four years. Please know I really appreciate it and I hope in some way I can reciprocate. Words just don’t measure my appreciation and love for you.

Another special thanks goes out to my assistant Debbie who keeps my office going while I am away. I have a tremendous confidence in her ability to know what will wait and what needs a little of my attention to keep things going until I return. Hopefully she got to take some time off while I was away. Not really looking forward to reengaging with the practice in a few short days.

Tomorrow’s the day. A short one, mileage wise, so we expect to arrive in St. Augustine by 1pm. Plan is to ride to the beach, carry our bikes across the sand (hopefully not as wide as Wildwood’s beaches) and dip the front tire in the Atlantic Ocean. Then we can celebrate!!!