veryyyyyyy long cycle track!

[gavroche]

If any of you are going to the Loire valley in the future, you will be spoiled for choice when it comes to where to cycle.
The French Authority have just finished doing a 800kms long cycle track along the Loire valley that goes all the way to St Nazaire.
Enjoy and report back please.

 

[MattHB]

Wow that would be so cool

 

[Kiwiavenger]

if only my mum still had her house out there! would have been nice i reckon to have cycled a lot of it!

 

[the_mikey]

http://www.cycling-loire.com/what-is-cycling-loire/cycling-loire-concept-figures

That site seems to tell you more!

 

[benb]

Very nice. Could be a good destination for a cycling holiday.

 

[gavroche]

If you read the article, Orleans is mentioned several times. Just for the record, i was born and grew up there. My mother and brothers still live around Orleans. Let it be known!

 

[perplexed]

There are some lovely towns and villages along there...

 

[paulj]

I cycled down to and along the Loire valley in the summer of 1987, and apart from unseasonable levels of rain, it was a memorable holiday. We camped along the route, having entered France at Le Havre, returning to Dieppe. I would strongly recommend to everyone to give it a go, either camping or staying in hotels - you will really enjoy it!

 

[Arch]

Ooh, and if you end up at St Nazaire, work out an excursion that takes you over the Pont St Nazaire. We crossed it last year on our recumbent tour. There is a cycle lane (although it's not hugely wide, but drivers do pull out to give you more space generally, and it's a big high bridge and a real blast coming down the other side!

(the Pont Normandie at Le Havre is another good one. Watch out for cross winds though. Recumbent trikes recommended!)

The Loire is lovely. We stayed in a B and B that was partially rooms carved into a cliff, overlooking the river. Our trikes spent the night in a cave below us...

 

[400bhp]

Future family cycling holiday that

 

[fatblokish]

I'm doing the bit ( !) south of Orleans as far as Nevers in August; thanks for the link.

In fact the path is part of Eurovelo 6, some 3600 km long and running all the way to the Black Sea.

http://www.eurovelo6.org/rubriques/gauche/whats-ev6

 

[xpc316e]

I spent a really lovely holiday in the Loire Valley four years ago and cycled on parts of the route as it then was. It was very pleasant with plenty of signs exhorting drivers to share the roads with cyclists. The TdF had recently passed through the area, so there were bikes everywhere, and the attitude towards people on bikes was really positive.