Welcome BACK to the Loire Valley! In case you missed the first two episodes, I’m cycling 100 miles or so from Orléans to Chinon on the Loire à Vélo trail. I’m visiting castles, drinking wine, showering with dish soap on a houseboat, birding, and washing off my imposter’s syndrome to embrace French luxury.
Great! Now you’re caught up. Enjoy the last stop.
WATCH PART 1: https://youtu.be/Jz9IbjhoIQA
WATCH PART 2: https://youtu.be/_K_Lw8IKmYk
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If you’re new here… Hi, there! I’m Joe Baur, an American-German travel writer and filmmaker based in Berlin. I make travel and adventure films from the Americas to Asia and just about everywhere in between. And sometimes, I share my travel tips to help you travel smarter, more sustainably, and off the beaten path.
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Hey sports fans, welcome back to the Lir Valley. In case you missed the first two episodes, I’m cycling 100 miles or so from Orlon to Shinan on the Lir AO trail. I’m visiting castles, drinking wine, showering with dish soap on a houseboat. So hopefully that’s kosher to shower with birding. Those birds I’m hearing more great tits, and washing off my imposter syndrome to embrace French luxury. Drinking it. Great. Now you’re caught up. Enjoy the last stop. Good morning. It looks like a beautiful day out there. I am just going to make some coffee in here. Do some stretching and mobility that I’ve been missing out on by being busy on the bike path. And then yeah, go hit this last 65 km. [Applause] [Music] Okay, I just checked out and I’m about to hop on the bike, but I just wanted to take one last second to show off the hotel behind me cuz this is just like people who especially in like the online travel space who say like, “Oh, I just like the rough it and camp it.” I like doing those things, too. But if you tell me you don’t like these kinds of just like really nice hotels, then you’re lying to yourself. I wish I could just stay here for a few days. Like this is a great place to just chill, relax. Got the Lir right there. Life does not suck here. But alas, I’ve got 65 km today. And first up, I’ve got about 30ish to a little chateau. So I best get moving. All right, so the course is going okay so far. I got excited because I was riding on the main road busy like yesterday and I wasn’t super nuts about that road. It’s not the official route. It was just what I had to take to get to the hotel. And I was back on that road for a little bit. And I was excited because I wasn’t on it for long. And I saw that there was a paved path. But then as soon as I got there, of course, it said and I had to come back to the main road. And I was skeptical because as often is the case for cyclists, you know, they’ll say like, “Oh, detour.” And then there’s no other signs for cyclists. But in this case, I was pleasantly surprised because I did go up the road a little bit further and there was a deviation sign to come over here where I am now. Let me get this. [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] gate here. And while I’m taking off my jacket cuz it’s getting a little toasty, I’ve been opening up the gate for people as they as they pass on by. So, yeah, the deviation sign actually worked. I’m just, like I said, taking the jacket off cuz it was getting a little toasty. And I’m going to hop on this trail and keep going. This isn’t the Lara Veo L Valley Trail route. It isn’t that what I’m on. What kind of English is that? I’m not on the trail right now. uh cuz I went off course to get to that hotel. But I’ve got about I think it’s like 7 km and then I hopped back on the trail for the rest of the way to the chateau. [Music] Well, that looked lovely. That’s kind of been the thing with cycling this trail. You go by so many things. They’re like, “Oh, that would have been nice to see.” But depending on what time of day you’re going by, it’s probably closed. like some of the vineyards, chateau, or just like little picnicky outdoor restaurant areas like that right on the river. You know, I’m glad today is my last day. Not because I’m tired of doing this. This is wonderful. But I’m not wearing bike shorts. And if you’re adverse to TMI, you can pause here. But getting a little sore down in Rainbow Road, as I like to call it. [Music] just crossed the bridge. I think I’m getting back onto the trail. So, I’m in another town, as is the case with most of these places. I’m not going to try to pronounce it. Maybe I’ll put it on the screen. You could try to pronounce it. It’s Europe. So, big ass churches. [Music] All right, sports fans. I am out of the city. And once again, like I said at the beginning of this ride, what I love about cycling around in Europe or just European cities in general is how you can be in the city in one second, you just like turn right on a bike path or a trail and then you’re just like in a rural area or like a village. Anyway, I wanted to say that I’m officially back on the trail, but something they did in the city that I really liked. I’m sure I’ve seen it before and just forgot, but on some of the smaller intersections, they had a traffic symbol or they had a traffic light just for bikes and it would flash yellow while the cars were stopped red say like, you know, caution, you can go through. And I love that cuz you’re on a bike, you’re just trying to scoot on through, not taking up much space. I also have seen a lot of cyclists on the trail throughout the route. It’s hard to know how many people are doing exactly what I’m doing or some version of it because I don’t parlay the fron very well. But just like I love about Germany, it’s great to be anywhere where people are embracing the outdoors as much as possible at every age. I’m noticing that another river going by a lot is called Leair here. I always thought Sher was Armenian, but you know, you learn something. I do love these shady bits of forest, not only because it’s scenic, but that’s got to pack sunscreen and I’m wildly pale at the brag. [Music] [Music] Hey, well, I just got here. Running a little late. I think going through that city slowed me up some and also couldn’t find bike parking. So, saw these other bikes here and thought, “Wow, seems kosher.” So, having a quick snack and I’m running up there to the chateau. Okay, I found the bike parking. For the record, it’s actually right in front of the chateau and it’s wonderful. I’m tempted to go back and get my bike, but I’m also already running late. But yeah, kind of feel like a dummy cuz I’m looking at the chateau. Look at all this bike parking. At Chateau de Vandri, I learned that this is arguably a part American castle. The owner’s great-grandmother, Anne Coleman, was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. She was a researcher in Paris when she met her future husband, the Spaniard Hakeim Carvalo. The two married in Pennsylvania, moved to France, and eventually purchased a chateau. During their lifetime, they opened sections of the castle to the public. Now, visitors can visit just about everything. So, now I just did that quick little tour. I’m walking around the gardens. There’s like a recommended route that you can do that he said is about a kilometer. So, I’m going to do this. Right now, I’m in the forest. So, it’s kind it’s nice, you know. I’ve been cycling now. I’m getting like a little tiny hike in. Go check out the gardens and go get some lunch and finish up this bike ride. [Applause] [Music] I am back on Wo 38 kilometers to Shinon. That’s it. I’m going to go to the fortress and then hotel dinner. Dunanzo. [Music] [Applause] [Music] That’s why I said I’m out of here for the next shock which is that much but all right. Well, I just turned off the L ao trail. So the rest of my riding is just a shown feels weird. It’s just like I feel like I just started riding this thing. I’m already off the trail. Anyho, still a 70 km road. So should probably less you think that all the sites to see are right on the Lo Trail. There’s still stuff just off the trail. Look at this uh little castly chateau coming up. decided to pause here because I think I’d actually like to take a photo of this. That back sweat is not comfortable. That is cold. Weird how I’m sweating cuz I’m hot and the back sweat is cold. reading thisformational sign here. All in French. Guess I don’t get to expand my knowledge. Since Shinon is away from the river, seems that means I got to go up cuz I’ve been doing fair bit of climbing, but that’s okay. Getting a little sweaty is fine sometimes. [Music] Just entered Chenon. The finish line, the made out finish line is near. Hopefully this is the last climb. It’s been really slow going. [Music] So, I was just cycling on my merry way and realized that I had passed the fortress and I stopped looking up the quickest way from where I was, which is basically by the hotel. Apparently, it was up Jonavar Street, which is this. [Music] Hoping there’s a better way down. All right. Well, this looks promising. [Music] A tour guide greets me at the gift shop before taking me on a quick tour of the castle. She starts by noting that this place has been inhabited for a whopping 3,000 years. The beginnings of the castle didn’t come around until about the 10th century. Indeed, a subtle theme of the trip has been the frequent historical reminder that this is where the Kelts once lived before the Romans conquered the region. you know, as the Romans were want to do. [Applause] [Music] Just crossing this river and I’m at my hotel. [Music] There she is. [Music] And just like that, I am a human again. I showered up. I feel good and I’m done with the Lir Valley Trail. Lir a make this quick because I want to head out shortly to go get a beer. I’ve been doing so much wine cuz that’s, you know, what the region’s known for. But I’m really at heart a beer guy and I’m excited to check out some of the local brews that they’ve got around here. But before I go, I want to say thanks for watching. Thanks to the L Valley Tourism Board for having me out here, for helping organize things, getting me on the bike, sending me through the valley. It really was a great time. I can highly recommend it. Some people seem to think I was cycling long distances. Whenever I would get to some destination, they’d ask where I came from. Oh, wow. That that’s a lot. I don’t know. I guess uh depends on what you prefer. But I mentioned that only to say that if you wanted to go further, you could. If you wanted to go, you know, 5 km and stop each time, you could because there’s so much stuff here. I saw things that I was passing by. I was like, “Oh, it would have been nice to like a lunch there or just see what’s going on.” But, you know, that’s kind of the reality of travel. You can’t do everything. But I am very grateful for what I was able to do. Now, I think I mentioned earlier in the video that this whole thing in France started with a 50k ultramarathon that my wife Melanie and I ran in Elsa. So, if you didn’t watch that video, you can go watch that now. Otherwise, like I said, I need to go get a beer in me. Then I’ve got dinner. But if you did see that video, I’ve got lots of other stuff on my channel that, you know, I’m pretty certain that you haven’t seen. Like, surely you haven’t seen all my videos. All right, enough yammering. I’m out of here. Juice.
1 Comment
nice