Day 4
Today took us from Beaumont-en-Vero to LaCrois-en-Touraine a total 0f 61 miles. Today was the best day of riding so far for me. We started early-about 8:00 a.m. to avoid the heat. Had a nice little pit stop at about the 18 mile marker and arrived in Tours about noon to have lunch with the wives. Off the beaten tourist path we rode through the little towns that reflected this part of the Loire valley of France. Parts of it reminded me of the farm country in Illinois. At about the 30 mile mark we entered the city of Tours and it was very similar to Michigan Ave in Chicago. reminds me of Chicago. As for the trains, the Chicago el trains look ancient compared to those in Tours. Modern sleek vessels to haul people were very impressive. Today's roads were about 95% good. However, without warning, and traveling about 16-17 mph, we encountered cobblestone. Riding on that surface at a high rate of speed will rattle the fillings in your teeth. Fortunately it was only about quarter of a mile and we finally found a little gravel path to our left. When the cobblestone path ended, I had to adjust my handlebars since the force of the vibrations caused me to push them forward and down. But all's well that ends well. And, while the temperature got into the mid-nineties again, we had an early enough start that it didn't effect us much until the end of the ride. One of the highlights of this part of the journey was a stop at Leonardo da Vinci's home. He live there the last three years of his life and the tour was excellent. While I'm not complaining, well maybe a little, toward the end of the ride there was a bit of climbing but like I tell my fellow riders, just meet me at the top and I will make it eventually. All in all another excellent day of biking across Europe.
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