Our shortest day of riding for the trip ... for 3 of us. David made a promise to his wife to investigate a chateau that might make a great holiday destination at some point. Being a wonderful husband (as conveyed by David about David) he solemnly promised that he would do so. Unfortunately, we passed the turnoff for the said chateau yesterday, blissfully unaware we were soooo close. David was confident that it was still a day's ride away near Nantes! When David broke the news, we 3 Australians provided our input ... 'Catch an Uber', 'Tell your wife you saw it', 'Tell her it burnt down', etc. However, honourable David decided to add another 60 km to today's ride by heading back 30km to inspect a very very old chateau, then 30 km back to the morning's starting point, then 37 km to Nantes. Stewart, being David's buddy, offered to accompany him. We Australians looked down at our shoes averting eye contact, kicked some rocks, and said we didn't really like David that much ... and we'd see them in Nantes. So Brett, Col and I headed to Nantes, and David and Stewart headed in the opposite direction.
The ride to Nantes was a relatively short 37 km. It was uneventful as we rode on a variety of tracks today. The ride out of Ancenis was easy, and being a working day, bike and pedestrian traffic was light. The paths took us through forests for much of the first and last 10 km.
Today was really about the ride with no attractions to visit before Nantes. We tried to get as many kilometres done before the heat of the day set in, as it was expected to hit 30 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the intrepid duo, David and Stewart, heading in the opposite direction were making good time until one of them needed a toilet break. No fear ... a walk underneath the bridge crossing the Loire river found a site, behind a pylon, hidden from prying eyes. Deed done and buried deep in the sand, David made his way back onto the bike, and the quest for the mythical chateau continued! Eventually quest was achieved, the chateau inspected, and the report written!
On the way back to Ancenis, David and Stewart stopped for lunch at a cafe overlooking the Loire River. To Stewart's amazement, through the windows, he found himself gazing towards the exact spot (under the bridge, near the pylon) where David had done his unmentionables only 2 hours earlier. The waitress was sure she recognised David from somewhere!
Brett, Col and I made a great time to finally arrive in Nantes by noon. We proceeded to lock our luggage away and tour Nantes, the 6th largest city in France. It's a creative hub ... unfortunately, many of the places you find the creativity at play were inaccessible, being a Monday when museums and galleries are generally closed. I was keen to see the famous hydraulic elephant in action (yes I'm serious), but alas the Les Machines de l'Île was closed! I did get to see my elephant - although standing dormant today. Still impressive.
We visited the Passage Pommeraye, a shopping centre designed architecturally with Renaissance influences. We saw design and architectural students hand drawing the interiors of the centre. They were amazing ... but had little talent. Perhaps they could take up philosophy!
The town, like others in France, has a tourist walk ... you follow a line painted on the kerbing. In Nantes, we followed the green line! It was a hot day, and after seeing the top 5 sites according to TripAdvisor, we'd had enough. Hours of walking and rising temperatures saw us search for a bar.
Our last day of riding together is tomorrow. After 3 weeks and over 1,300 km of cycling, we're about to cross the finish line. Riding across France east to west will be an amazing achievement.
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