Started out in the rain, across the loire to the right bank, wearing my new loire kit (thank you all!), 3 riders short as some returned their bikes. Rain ended quickly, then rode through vineyards, sunflowers to vouvray where half the group stopped for 10.30am wine tasting. 5 o'clock somewhere! Down to river where lots of cave-houses cut into side of mountains, where rest of group stopped for coffee and olive/nut cans from 1 Euro vending machines at lulu parc, looks like a total party place with band warming up. Rode into town and grabbed lunch by our **** grand hotel, then most of us rode to lac bergeonnerie - nice picnic spot, but no swimming. So we rode along the cher, through the trailer park to lac brettonierres. Also no swimming. Ah well. Turned around to go back to our **** grand hotel, beating the rain but most of our rooms were not ready...dinner in the big city at L'atelier Gourmand with Glasgow, #1 of 426 rated places by tripadvisor. 1 and a half flats, Jason...

Faster turnaround at the bike shop this morning, including 2 e-bike upgrades, and back onto the trail along the loire, this time continued straight until coffee at scenic bridge in cande-sur-beavron, where we tried to figure out where the 4 stragglers were ('we weren't lost!') and how 4 leaders went on without stopping. Beautiful riding through forests and along the river until the fairy tale castle in chateau de Chaumont where we instantly decided we needed more time than initially allotted. Beautiful gardens and overlook of the loire River, and nice lunch in courtyard. And a nap. Magical. Then back along the river, and by the vineyards. Stops for swimming in the loire, and another winery tour! Arrival in amboise before 5pm (!!), then our 2nd 'group's dinners (clois d'amboise with anne & jj). This town may be even cuter than the last.  First appearance of audrey, still testing covid positive but still not riding with us. One flat (with the wrong tu...

Early walk along river (after coffee and croissants) then through Jardin des plantes and quiet streets of Ile st Louis. Quick 45 min visit to Musee de carnavalet, which features the history of Paris. Many fancy "hotel" rooms, stories of kings - and tons of fragments of grand statues smashed during French revolution (another example of the French killing each other). Decent prehistoric exhibit in the cryptlike basement. Paris has been around a long time, and had 250,000 residents in the 1300s! Jen went to see the stained glass museum on Ile de la cite, appropriate biblical scenes for Shabbat, then got on train to Blois with 8 more riders. A hot walk to the hotel, then we had a little meet-up, with wine, and went off to our first dinner in small groups (petit honfleur with Sam, missie, David and Shira). Tomorrow- we ride.  An on time departure to the bike shop and then it took us about 45 minutes to get bikes matched up, and on the roa...