Day 20: Blois to the Chambord Castle to Swimming pool paradise (Muides-sur-Loire)

Distance: 18 miles.

Riding conditions. Mostly flat, good temperature around 80 degrees and relatively easy riding.

Big ears. At church yesterday I noticed Bennetts ears and thought, “Man, his ears really poke out, how have I not noticed this before, oh well.” Later on that day Brittany noticed them and knew it wasn’t normal. They were a bit swollen, it was pretty sad to see him like that. It didn’t seem to bother him all that much, so we just gave him some Benadryl to see if that helped. Today it seems much better. There are TONS of bugs here, and you never know what might be causing it. The kids have several bites on them, as well as random scratches and such from playing outside and a few falls on the bikes. I guess this is all part of living outdoors.

Today we left Blois to ride to Chambord, then on to Muides-Sur-Loire (Sur Loire means By the Loire, which is the river we are following). Chambord has yet another huge castle. We toured the castle and it was by far the best castle yet. It was much more open than any of the other castles we have been through. It also had an amazing staircase that went to the top of the castle roof.

We didn’t have a good food stop this morning so most everyone was out of food for lunch. I pulled out all our snack reserves and was able to clear out most of the snacks my kids aren’t too fond of. The kids were all like vultures, which is a benefit of bike touring and working out so much, you have an appetite!

Muides-Sur-Loire has a great campsite, go ahead, check it out on google maps and a few blocks up from the mainstreet you’ll see all the pools and the lazy river, it’s amazing! We’re resting here tomorrow.

Today’s music mix is sponsored by my friend Spencer Steenblik, “If ya ain’t Dutch, ya ain’t much!” Listening to some Bob Marley in his honor. He and I have done about 4 months of touring together and have had some amazing times. As far as books, I’m listening to “The Second World War” by Winston Churchill.