I Stumbled Upon This Castle While Bikepacking In France

Watch the next episode right away and support my channel on Patreon. / biketouringmike460
Get early access to ad-free videos + loads more.
After a couple of rough days battling the heat and the traffic in Paris I’m finally at the highlight of the whole trip, The Loire Valley. The Loire By Bike trail offers some spectacular and easily ridden stretches along the Loire river. And this day promises to offer some fantastic sights in the form of a castle taken right out of a Disney movie, an impressive cathedral and of course you’ll get to see me almost hitting the wall in the afternoon due to the heat. All in all a fantastic day here in France.
Bike:
Kona Sutra
Bike Bags:
Ortlieb Handlebar Pack 15L
Ortlieb Frame Pack 6L
Ortlieb Seat Pack 16,5L
Clothes:
Adidas Adilette Flip Flops - amzn.to/40eKFyQ
Craft Core Enduro Jacket
2 Forclaz Merino Wool T-Shirt
Nike Mens Dri-FIT Short Sleeve Polo Shirt - amzn.to/3j2aq1w
Padded MTB Shorts
Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants - amzn.to/3jalGfE
2 Pair of Socks amzn.to/40dU4H6
Merino Underwear - amzn.to/3XRU9hZ
Merino Wool Buff - amzn.to/409sYkd
Giro Fixture Mips Helmet - amzn.to/3XKHsoZ
Science In Sport Water Bottle - amzn.to/3WLLsV9
Northwave Cycling Shoes
Sunglasses
Cooking Gear:
Sea To Summit X Mug - amzn.to/3Hg7GJ1
Light My Fire Spork - amzn.to/3Dncn2J
Wine Bottle Opener ;-)
Tools:
Lezyne HV Bicycle Hand Pump - amzn.to/3lHxnJc
Park Tool VP-1Vulcanizing Patch Kit - amzn.to/409NhOC
Crankbrothers M19 Multi-Tool - amzn.to/3j0A86D
Squirt Long Lasting Dry Lube - amzn.to/3iWqYIf
CTC Plastic Bag + packaging
Inner Tube - amzn.to/3Dq1oFP
Bike Lock - amzn.to/3HHcWqs
Toiletries:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Shaving Gel
Mach 3 Razor - amzn.to/3j2bYsm
Contact Lens Case
Travel Schampoo bottle
Camping Equipment:
Naturehike Cloud Up 2 Tent - amzn.to/3aA1MTp
Sea To Summit Collapsible Backpack - amzn.to/3RvanLP
Aegismax UL Down Sleeping Bag - amzn.to/3BVCStv
Aegismax Nano 2 Ultralight Sleeping Bag - amzn.to/3RcZcqR
Sea To Summit Reactor Insulated Sleeping Bag Liner - amzn.to/409RLVs
Nemo Tensor Insulated Sleeping Pad - amzn.to/3Y98qGC
Nabaji Microfibre Towel L - amzn.to/3Y3KDbh
Electronics
Samsung S20 - amzn.to/3Y544jR
Dji Mavic Pro Drone - amzn.to/3FKsVBk
GoPro Hero7 Black - amzn.to/3JoetTC
Canon G7X Mark II - amzn.to/3XO7lnY
Zoom H1N Recorder - amzn.to/409ewZA
Rode Smartlav+ Lavalier - amzn.to/3RcZcqR
2 Anker PowerCore 20000 mAh - amzn.to/3JpPxvg
Bag Of Cables and Extra Batteries
DISCLAIMER: This description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! This helps support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!

[@Draganbikepaking]

So enjoyable to watch Thank you

[@BikeTouringMike]

Glad you liked it!

[@mmad3130]

Great Adventures, Mike! I met you on Ryan's journey where you rode with him. I'm glad you did. I love your adventures, a great inspiration to all of us who are trying to really ride.

[@madisondeans5566]

Hydrate,Hydrate!!🤪😉👍

[@BikeTouringMike]

I never learn, do I?

[@madisondeans5566]

I forget to drink as well! I come home after riding sometimes with a full bottle & wonder why I feel loopy! 🤪🤣

[@knutselaardre1272]

So many beautiful memories for me of the Loire à Vélo tour that I cycled this year in May. I usually stopped around noon to eat something in a restaurant. French cuisine is too good not to enjoy. It was not as warm as last year in September. We also had a heat wave here (Flanders) then.

[@edinelsonramirez5656]

Thanks, Mike!

[@BikeTouringMike]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@richardearp8577]

Thanks. Nice work 👍

[@kizzmitten1]

Great work Mike! That route looks perfect for a navigationally challenged idiot like myself, ha ha. I like how you chuckle every time you mention bad news like being too hot or missing a turn. Cracks me up. Cheers!

[@stevedavis8065]

Just added those tools to the bicycle repair station on OSM, well spotted Mike

[@MrCyclist]

Thanks Mike. I loved this episode. I am like you and cannot stand temperatures over 30C.

[@MrJhamil05]

Mike, I agree, the heat really effects my biking endurance, 15-20c is my temperature. Jeff from Canada

[@margotjerome2738]

Really enjoying your videos Mike. I found you through Ryan's Swedish adventure videos. Keep posting!

[@simoncee9011]

Excellent video. Thank you again.

[@robadr13]

Can't get over how beautiful the countryside and the bike routes are. If I ride it one day though, I'll have to plan on a cooler month! Sometimes taking a wrong turn can turn into an enjoyable surprise, but not when it's 35C. I can relate to having to constantly relearn the basic lessons of touring. We tend to remember how much fun it was, and forget the finer points of day-to-day survival. 🙂 Great series!

[@geezers10]

Apelsinjuice och cykelturer är en universell sak.😂

[@ZDD760]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing

[@mtbrnn]

Loving the scenery along your way. Take care to stay fueled and hydrated. Enjoying your videos.

[@BikeTouringMike]

Glad you enjoyed following along!

[@dpierre]

Hi Mike, Your hikes are beautifully filmed and thank you for sharing so much with us! As you're in cheese country, when it's not so hot, I'd recommend cheeses made from raw milk, when you're cycling, preferably goat's or sheep's (easier to digest) and if they're mature, well mouldy! Firstly, it's extremely healthy because it's full of probiotics, and secondly, it's delicious, because a thermised cheese (industrial, big brands) has very little flavour and loses all subtlety. I'm a gourmet and I don't mind driving for a long time, but stopping off at markets or grocery shops with natural products from the region is just as important to me as the most beautiful visits. Have you ever done a wild bivouac (when there are isolated corners outside the hunting season)? There's nothing like it when you're exhausted and if you leave early and don't make a fire, the law allows it outside the Nature Reserve. That doesn't mean you can't stop off at a campsite the next day for a shower and a wash, then go swimming or sightseeing. Taking a break for 1 day every 3 days is just perfect!

[@Rlaplante73]

Such a beautiful ride. If it wasn't for having to deal with the hot weather, everything looks amazing!

[@BikeTouringMike]

Normally September would have been ideal for this trip weather wise. But I guess summer decided to stick around for a few more weeks.

[@PumpkinVillage]

Beautiful country and another well done video. Heat can be a real detriment for a cyclist. At 64 my tolerance to heat isn't what it used to be. Glad you made it thru. Every bike ride is a learning experience. Take care, Al

[@BikeTouringMike]

Thank you Al!

[@Luigi13]

I am enjoying your bike adventures Mike, you are persevering with the heat for sure, I know how it feels I have experienced where I live. Thank you for the videos and looking ahead for more. Ciao.

[@BikeTouringMike]

Thank you Luigi. Glad you enjoy them!

[@ianmatlock1]

Another great video, reminds me of a camping holiday with my wife in the Loire valley. I love your honesty about the cycling challenges you face. Cycling in heat like that must be really draining.

[@Jane-ms9ky]

Really enjoyed this episode.a big thank you 🚴❤🙏

[@ericwharton1953]

Awesome video, Mike

[@goldenstardust]

Really enjoying this tour. Appreciate the effort it took to get all this great footage to tell your story ... and in 36 degrees plus heat! Legend!👍

[@jackfarris7056]

What an amazing journey. The heat looks killer but it makes for an epic story in the years ahead as you sit through those cold, dark winters in Sweden.

[@chrislonsberry1974]

I’m enjoying this trip! The castle was amazing! I’m with you on the heat! I suffer terribly when it gets too hot! Hang in there and go at your own pace. I hope it cools down for you!

[@BikeTouringMike]

Just wished I had a possibility to go in. But it always tricky when you have to leave the bike outside.

[@andyjsmallwood]

Hej Mike. You just single-handedly sold the Loire to a few thousand cyclists. Great video. Do you share your routes anywhere like Komoot, for example? I sent you an email a couple of weeks ago as you had asked for destination suggestions. I live in Portugal which is a little unkown as a cycle touring destination, but I can tell you it has everything for a cycling trip. Looking forward to the next video already. Andy

[@welshbikepackingadventures]

Great video bro

[@Two-wheeledCuriosity-yt3xo]

Hi Mike. I love seeing your your current posts on this trip. It takes me back to my ride up the Velodysee EV1 back in June. I can't wait until next summer when I will be back in France.

[@BikeTouringMike]

The Velodysee is high up on my list on possible tours for the future.

[@artmiliner5914]

Hi Mike- really enjoying your latest videos from your tour in the Loire area. Your touring style is a little more familiar to me than crazy hike-a-bike in South America for example! Bonne route and hope the temperatures are cooler this coming week.

[@BikeTouringMike]

Thanks for the nice feedback!

[@rabh6746]

Another beautiful ride Mike, the castle was certainly worth the detour👌France has some incredible architecture👌I had a pretty epic ride myself yesterday, just over 100 miles with 7000ft of climbing in the Scottish hills! No danger of over overheating here😂 it was 5C when I left and 10C later in the day so just nice for me👍

[@cyclistefroisse9267]

Salut Mike, So that you know (or anybody else interested) for next time, in summer, in France, your clock-time is two hour ahead of the solar time. If you stop for lunch at Midday, in reality it’s only 10 solar time, by doing so you « waste » two hours during which the sun isn’t right over head and temperatures haven’t reached their peak, yet. The guys you have met previously, who said «Hello! » when they rode by you, kept riding whilst you had stopped for lunch already. Water is really a no brainer in France, just bang randomly on anybody’s door and providing they’re home, they’ll fill your bottles, no question asked. No command of French needed, keep your helmet on, so that people can immediately identify you as a cyclist, sun glasses off, shake your empty bottle upside down, job done. People will understand.

[@RedHeadAgent]

Another great episode, Mike. Tell me what month were you in France to make this trip?

[@BikeTouringMike]

Thank you Diana! I was there in early September. September 4th-14th to be exact.

[@RedHeadAgent]

@@BikeTouringMike It was a hot September there. I'm sorry that you've had to deal with those temperatures. There sure is a HUGE difference between cycling in 70* weather vs. 90+* weather.

[@r-xggh]

At such a temperature!? Great, but pretty hard. Mike, would you tell how old you are?

[@helendale7668]

You can't see any nuclear reactors from the route... those were cooling towers at St Laurent des Eaux. There are 2 reactors that are being decommissioned and others that are still in service.

[@derekevans1932]

Mike. Thank you for this series so far. I have been wondering about bike packing for your journeys. We saw you opening the box at Paris CdG airport. What did you do with it. Would it be reused? Then, of course what do you do at the end of this journey, at Bordeaux. Where do you find a box? I am doing a lot of research and like you I might only have a limited time before I need to be home, so using planes or trains and potentially having to partly dismantle a bike (I have just put a pannier rack on my bike) is going to be an issue especially in these point to point tours so cannot take a bike bag to keep at a base.

[@bui340]

Cold or not, I'm still impressed by doing 160 km/day in Sweden.

[@BikeTouringMike]

I guess time flies when you're having Ryan as a travel companion.

[@bui340]

@@BikeTouringMike Also, as Kermit said, it comes flies (or mosquitoes in your case) when you have fun.

[@travelvideos]

What if you arrive after closing time and leave before opening time, do you still have to pay ? I like morning cycle 5-10AM then chill in cool place and after noon cycle 16-19PM. Avoiding the heat situation.

[@richardearp8577]

What bike are you this time ?