Day 16: Villandry Castle and nearing Tours

Distance: 34 miles

Kenny got on his flight without any hiccups, good news. Too bad he had to go home early, but he handled getting himself to Paris like a champ.

We had to move some gear around, since he was helping us carry three sleeping bags, and a few fuel canisters. The group helped us carry some items, and it’s hard to be on the receiving side of getting help, but we’re glad to take it. It’s hard to carry the gear for four kids on two bicycles. The moral of the story is, if you bring along someone to help you carry gear, don’t let them play in bounce houses.
The miles this morning went really fast, we did 19 very quickly with only a couple small breaks. We then rode another 5 miles to the town of Villandry which has a really nice castle. It was less than a kilometer off the trail, well worth the stop. The gardens were amazing, I’ll include some pics.

We ate lunch at a little restaurant a block off the main drive. I ordered a cheese plate, Brittany ordered a quiche, and the kids ordered ham and cheese crepes. They were pretty good though the quiche was probably my favorite.

We ran into a rope swing, Brittany recognized the area because we had stumbled across it a few years ago as well. Several of the little kids tried it out, as well as a few of us adults. Matt did a double backflip out of a high branch in the tree, probably about 15-20 feet up. Kimball did the rope swing too.

The 9 miles from Villandry to our campsite in Joué-Les-Tours was hot, but we had a tailwind. The last mile had a bit of climbing. Climbing with a trailer, or double Weehoo is TOUGH. That’s why we are sticking with river routes, too much climbing, especially early on would be very hard. Your riding legs come in within 2-3 weeks of touring, so we’ll see how hills effect me then.

We’ve showered, and the kids are now unwinding to some “Cars 2” in the tent.

Tomorrow we’ll explore Tours then head to Amboise where we’ll visit the Leonardo Da Vinci house and museum.

Brittany in front of the Villandry castle.