Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Riding from Lagny Sur Marne to Montcombroux (part 1)
At 06:45 AM, the alarmclock of my mobile phone rang and I woke up. I got
out of bed, packed my luggage and mounted the panniers on the bike. Then
I went to the restaurant to have breakfast.
Breakdast was a little strange. The "normal" guest were moved from the nice
restaurant to some tables in another room while the organised tour guest went
into the restaurant. But in spite of that, I had a good breakfast with
chocolatbread, a small breadroll, a croissant, orangejuice and coffee.
My breakfast
After breakfast I checked out and left the hotel at half past seven. Then I
drove to the Esso gasstation, a few hundred meters down the road and filled
my tank. On yesterdays trip, with almost 200km doing 120 on the freeway, it
did 24 km on a liter. Not bad.
After filling the tank, I sprayed the chain with chainlube. I adjusted it
just before I left home but it will need adjustment again when I arrive in
Montcombroux I'm afraid.
The gas station
After a few hours riding, I arived in Nemours where the road crosses the river
Le Loing. Next to the bridge were a nice castle and a church.
Castle in Nemours
Before ten AM, I made another stop just passed Dordives and had a drink and a
chocolatbread (a leftover from breakfast). The weather is very nice and I realy
enjoy riding here in France.
Then I cross the river Loire at a big nuclear powerplant and continue my
trip on the D751, next to the Loire channel (Canal lateral a Loire).
Nuclear powerplant at Belleville sur Loire
Because this is not a flat country like the Netherlands, there are many
locks in the "Canal lateral a Loire" to let ships through.
A ship pasing through a lock
The "Canal lateral a Loire"
Another (Dutch) ship pasing through a lock
At eleven, I filled my tank again at an AVIA gasstaion in Léré. With 7,03
liter I did 179,5 km (25.5 km on a liter).
Then at half past eleven, it was time for a coffee so I stopped and parked
the BMW next to a small sidewalk café in Banney. I loved drinking my
coffee here and enjoying the nice weather.
Sidewalk café in Banney
At half past noon, it is time for lunch so I park the bike in the grass
close to another lock in the canal. The village is Marseilles Les-Aubigny.
Lock in the canal at Marseilles Les-Aubigny
A few minutes after I left the lock, I arrived at a bend in the river Loire.
It was so nice a view that I had to stop again to take afew pictures.
Bend in the river
Just passed one PM, I arrived at a very unique construction. A bridge that
let a canal cross the river L'Allier with a lock to let ships get to the high
level needed to cross the river.
The very high lock
to get the ships on the viaduct
It is an impressive construction
A ship actually crossing the river
This shipping viaduct is on the D976, just before Gimouille and absolutely
worth visiting if you are in the area !
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