France by Bicycle | PART 7: THE LOIRE A VELO: NANTES

Music:
Accordion and Glockenspiel Comedy - JK Productions
Pond Five
081716572-accordion-and-glockenspiel-com
a href="www.pond5.com/royalty-free-mu..."Stock Music/a provided by JK_Production, from a href=“www.pond5.com/"Pond5/a
You Might Learn To Fly - Solomon Elwes
Epidemic Sound
Zigzag - Berny Shepard
Epidemic Sound
Somber Dawn - Line Neesgaard
Epidemic Sound
Say It Again - Chris Shards
Epidemic Sound
Meet Me On The Bridge - Trio Leo
Epidemic sound

[@dondonner1095]

Another winner. How ever you find the music it is perfect.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

thanks, I love working with the music, it makes film come alive!

[@carmenraedelaney2795]

Bonjour…à simple greeting can make the day better! It was nice to see you enjoy your day off. Once again your editing, music, and beautiful shots of the scenery were amazing. I would love to bike this route….what a fabulous adventure! I am a fan! Carmen Fargo, ND

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks Carmen. It's a fabulous route, and in the European tradition, easy to manage, with lots of accommodations, ease of trail finding, and flat enough that anyone can go at their own pace. It's a bicycle tourists dream. Hope you make it some day!

[@alethearobinson8132]

Another excellent video. Well narrated. That grove of trees you mentioned are probably destined for a paper mill. Sad to see the effects of the drought. Merci to you and Julianna for taking the time to share your adventures.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Good to know on the tree crops. that makes sense, they looked like fast-growing, poplar like trees. Thanks so much for the kind words. We appreciate you!

[@eff6582]

Bonjour, thank you for your videos. I hope you have a good "souvenirs" of this trip along the "Loire" which is important for me. We are lucky to have a history still always present. Now i live near a small town in Brittany, where Benjamin Franklin passed, in 1776 to be an ambassador. We have this story who unites us(the Louisiana and independence) together, and his name is still there in Auray for memories.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Bonjour EFF. I really wanted to ride through Brittany but we went south instead. I was there decades ago and found it stunning. Yes, I've always found the American/French relationship to be special. What we don't always learn in school is that it was France who won our war for independence, without her help the revolution would've never been successful. Thank you so much for watching!

[@garyseckel295]

Thank you for sharing your ride! So fun to sightsee on bicycles!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

You're welcome! I'd like more people to discover how cool this mode of travel is.

[@frankcauthorn1472]

TY as always! I always find joy in the fact that tough/crappy situations like your motel stay make for excellent stories later. I really dislike bugs and no A/C yikers!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yeah, the bugs were awful. My daughter calls it type 2 fun. The kind you don't appreciate until later.

[@TerrapinCyclist]

It’s so hard to be cheerful when sleep deprived! Bon voyage Victor and Nadia :-)

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, farewell. But we're starting to make plans for our next trip together. So there's that!

[@colinwellman9480]

Thanks once again for sharing your travels. My youngest daughter and grandaughter live in Nantes so we know it quite well. Once you're familiar with the city it's a very bike friendly place with many bike routes. A few years back it came top in the best places to live in France. Sadly this has changed and crime rates have increased. The French are a very polite nation and even unaccompanied children naturally greet you with a bonjour. My wife has just returned from a break in Norfolk UK and found if she said hello to other walkers most didn't reply. After 20 years here it just seems normal to greet a passer-by. Just the two of you on your own from now on but you seem a well matched couple so I think you'll continue to enjoy the trip without company. Looking forward to the next video.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hi Colin, thank you! Yes, the French are very nice, always there with a greeting. And the children seem to be raised to be so polite, mature, and gracious. I find that here in the US as well, in many places people don't even notice when you pass them, and ignore you when you say "hi". You gotta keep it up, though, gotta spread the love.

[@cherylbigoness7441]

Absolutely love your videos, sorry about that flea bag hotel, yeah sleeping on. Picnic table would’ve been a great idea! Such beautiful country!❤

[@TheBicycleTourists]

thank you Cheryl! France is, indeed, amaszing!

[@Biking360]

It looks like paradise :)

[@TheBicycleTourists]

It is indeed, Jay. France is so sweet!

[@sergemilaire3474]

Just wanted to thank you for your wonderful videos. Watching you on your rides is relaxing, uplifting...and gives us some time enjoying a peaceful escape from all the problems of the world. You're always upbeat and positive even when things are not going as well as planned, amazing! The editing, the music...perfectly done. Looking forward to more of France and we'll be watching more episodes of your trip across the states as well. Bon voyage mes amis.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Bonjour Serge! Thank you so much. This kind of travel is not always fun. There are hardships and challenges constantly. So I think our expectation is that it will be hard. That makes the joyous moments - which make up nearly the entirety of the trip - so vibrant and alive. Thanks again for watching!

[@knutselaardre1272]

Very nice series of videos. I enjoyed watching them because... Next month I'm going to do the Loire on Velo. Based on what I've seen on your videos, it'll be great. I hope the weather will be better than now. Today it was raining cats and dogs in Nevers and throughout the Loire region. I booked all the b&b and chambres d'hotes in advance to make sure I had a place to sleep. Nantes is also a problem for me. The night I want to spend there, there is almost no hotel or B&B available and it is difficult to find somewhere where you can safely leave your bike. Enjoy your next cycling holidays.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you! Interesting about Nantes. I pretty much NEVER have an issue when booking rooms, especially in Europe, though we generally travel in off-season months. Enjoy your tour! We absolutely loved the Loire.

[@dennispiciullo8060]

I really find these rides that you guys do very intriguing, looking forward to the next video

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks Dennis! Next video we make it to the ocean, and complete the first big piece of our journey. It's always nice to reach a goal!

[@dennispiciullo8060]

@@TheBicycleTourists very cool

[@dreuxdemack1417]

Bonjour!! Splendid as always. The light show on the castle walls was really cool. And that poor French river, looks like so many here in the US. But that one hotel room sounded worse than a Motel 6! Great segment again you two. Bon voyage!!

[@e-BikeLife]

Your name.... When I was a kid I lived in a town in Normandy... well, actually an American Air Force Base... in the town of Dreux and went to high school there for a time.

[@dreuxdemack1417]

@@e-BikeLife that's cool because I have known about the town of Dreux since college and want to go there someday. I'm almost 65, I better hurry. Thanks for the note!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hey Dreux, I hate to say it but part of the bike touring experience can be bad hotel rooms. We didn't bring camping gear and probably wouldn't have wild-camped in any case, but sometimes you find yourself without many options. When are you taking off on your trip?

[@colinprice5494]

Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. They are truly inspirational even when the hotel is terrible. One suggestion is to tell the date you were there to help others plan a similar trip or perhaps pick a different month. Thanks again for bringing us along.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I sometimes throw the time of year in there. This was mid-late September. Almost always lots of accommodations. Through this stretch we had some issues, only time I've ever had issues finding rooms (except for autumn in New England, where you expect it).

[@dooley-ch]

Thanks for sharing. Sorry for Nadia & Victor, but Zürich is pretty OK! Although Irish I spent a little over three decades working there before retiring.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Zurich is a great city. We flew out of there and had a couple few days to enjoy at the end of our trip. We loved it.

[@lindahowes5949]

Bonjour! I love how you show where you are each time on the map. Sad to say goodbye to your cycling companions Victor and Nadia. 😢 Bummer about that room. I think I would have cried. The architecture is so captivating. Thanks for another great episode. 😊

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Bonjour Linda! And thanks for your continued viewing! It makes it all worthwhile.

[@e-BikeLife]

You guys! We really enjoyed our stay in Nantes.... But, how did we miss that light show? Damn! Last summer I was reading about the drought in Europe and how the Rhine in places was so low that they had about 6 cm of draft! Can you imagine the Rhine shutting down?!?! Let's see... what else...? I lived in Normandy as a kid, from 1962 to 1966 and we never had the heat like this. It was usually quite rainy. I can't even imagine that people then would have expected to see the Loire as dry as seen in your video. Bon soir mes amis!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

It seems every year we encounter the whole climate issue. The drought in Europe last year, forest fires in the northwest US the year before, fires in Colorado the year before. The heat really surprised us. I haven't kept up but I hope they are getting a good winter of snow to get things back to semi-normal. Here in Colorado we're well above normal for snow for a change.

[@michelesauret7779]

The old french houses were built without a bathroom. Not easy after to find where to put showers and sinks... Our country is old, we had two wars and to build is very expansive in the cities.....

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes! Absolutely! So much has been retrofitted, so there really aren't a lot of options but to squeeze what you can into limited space.

[@marksip01234]

French people can be quite formal, but I find them very friendly

[@TheBicycleTourists]

It seems to me that all of Europe is a bit more "formal" than the US, which to this day seems a bit rustic and uncouth by comparison. Not a criticism - I love the American culture - but Europeans on the whole seem to have a bit more class. Vive la différence and all that. We also found the French to be very friendly. But I think everybody is friendly to someone traveling on a bike, at least that's our experience.

[@PennySchwyn]

Bonjour. We are really enjoying your videos as we prep for EV 6 west to east starting in May. Two questions for you if you have a moment. 1. Did you ever camp and 2. At your accomodations, we never see your bikes. Did you leave them in lockup? Bring them inside with your? Do tell! Thank you!!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Bonjour! I have to pass your KZbin channel on to my daughters, very cool! Glad you are enjoying these. We did not camp in France, decided that the extra weight was too much this time. We did camp when crossing the US. But mainly in campgrounds with showers. We did a mix of things in hotels and inns. Nearly everyone had some kind of bike storage, especially along the EV6 (In France as well as Germany and Austria on previous trips. A locked garage, where we would also lock the bikes. Sometimes brought them to the rooms. In only one or two places did it seem less than 100% safe. like locking them outside on the property. Even then other bike tourists did the same as us.

[@markclemens3409]

There are so many hotels, gîtes and Airbnb accommodations that seem like the quintessence of French charm and strike one as pure serendipity, but one does come across the occasional disappointment. There are chains that offer consistent (mediocre) quality like Ibis but who wants to encourage the monotony of chains? That's part of what one wants to escape by traveling outside the US. I'd rather take the risk of an occasional stay at Le P***t P*****r.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yeah, and we kind of fly by by the seat of our pants. That is a great freedom to have, but it does come at a cost.

[@dimrub]

You keep saying "eastward" :)

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Ha! I get my directions all messed up in Europe!