Quickly, we were back on the Voie Verte with our coldest ride of the trip so far at 9 deg C!
Long stretches of dirt track were punctuated with small country road crossings.
We crossed a few expressways and were glad to not be travelling on those! Instead we were going slow and experiencing the local life.
Just 3 km more to go to the "big" town of Alencon!
On the outskirts of Alencon we found an amazing cafe stop! Le Aviateur was right next to an airstrip and flying club. We saw a 2 seater single propeller airplane land too! The Brompton would be perfect fitting inside that airplane.
We laid out our very civilized picnic that included pate de foie gras with baguettes, more of my wild blackberries, and apple juice! The only thing we bought from the cafe were 2 coffees!
I managed to get a picture with the plane as we were leaving!
Departing Le Aviateur we looped around the centre of Alencon, following the Veloscenic suggestion, and we were glad we did. The town was lovely! Stone paths and historic buildings lined the way.
As we rode, the cathedral leapt into view, a magnificent monument surrounded by a bustling town. People were visiting the market, doing their shopping, and riding their bikes!
We passed through the shopping area and many lovely cafés and brasseries. Alencon would be a great place to stay for a night or even two nights for a rest if one had more time on the Veloscenic.
We couldn't stay long because our schedule beckoned us to Carrouges and we knew that we had challenging hills ahead. On the way out of town we passes a giant family of 2 meter tall sunflowers! I reached above my head with my monopod to take this picture!
Old brick houses, meticulously maintained and personally named dotted the countryside.
We began to see more cows! We noticed light brown ones and got up close with these classic Devonshire animals. With all this open space and green meadows, it's no wonder the French dairy and creams are so delicious.
The hills stretched on interminably! I had put some of Renata's luggage into my own bag to lighten her load. At a couple of points she got off and walked her bike. I grinded up slopes on my 54T 2-speed, which I calculated was a massive 57 gear inches for these hills. It was okay if you were prepared to go slow. A 2-speed Brompton is doable but a 44T chainring would have been much better! At the top of an exhausting series we sat down for rest and nourishment, knowing it was just 5km more to Carrouges.
We finally made it! After looking around town for sustenance we made our way down a steep incline and the Chateau du Carrouges. This first impressive structure we saw as just the guardhouse!
The Chateau is wonderfully restored, with impeccable grounds and a moat where a family of ducks were living.
September is not the busiest time of the year, but there was a steady stream of people arriving to tour the Chateau.
Guidebooks reported that the interior had been magnificently restored with wonderful furniture, so we gladly paid the 7.50 euro per person to follow a guided tour. Of course it was in French only but we followed along in a detailed written commentary that was given to us. We got to see the kitchen and cooking utensils of a 15th century king!
King Louis XVI slept and spent time here. There were many salons for relaxing and entertaining guests. The furniture and pieces on display were either original to the Chateau or sourced from the 15thbor 16th century. Some of the oldest parts of the Chateau date back to the 14th century.
The Chateau de Carrouges is one of the few Chateaus to have a theatre inside that takes up one entire wing! of course the stage and chairs in this room are modern, as concerts are still played here on special days.
The Chateau was well worth the visit and a worthy reward for all those hills leading up to it!
Coming out of Carrouges we got a little lost and struggled up another hill before realizing we had to back down again! Finally we got our bearings and continued to the farmlands of the next small town in search of our B&B.
After 5km we turned off the Veloscenic into rural farmland and wondered what our B&B would look like. We were tired and hoping that they would remember that we had booked dinner with them because there were no restaurants around here! Finally we found the street and the B&B - Herbages du Beauvais.
It was a beautifully restored farmhouse that was 118 years old. The garden had so many nice touches from this old well, integrated with modern garden hose, to the heated swimming pool in the back!
The furniture was lovingly and tastefully chosen by the couple. Our bedroom was magnificent in so many ways! Through the door at the back was the dining room with a full coat of armour, helmet, sword and all in the corner. It was not cluttered and all tastefully arranged.
I washed the bikes and put them to bed in the stable - literally! The surroundings with the quality wood and metalwork was the most stylish stable I have ever seen!
Carol, the lash of the house, not only adores horses but looks after other peoples horses on this farmland. She takes care of 50 horses many of whom are "on retreat". These are old horses who cannot work or be ridden hard anymore. Their owners pay to have then stay here to love out the remainder of their lives - typically 5 more years, sometimes 15 years if the horse retired early due to injury.
Dinner was not just dinner. We are with Jean-Michel and Carol who loved having guests from all around the world, and were amazed that people came to their remote farm! In summer they have people every day! They had a young Australian couple who were cycling for 3 months, but the wife was very tired because they were doing 100km/day around several countries! There was once a couple Hong Kong driving through, but we were the first Asian cyclists! We started with aperitifs, including an effervescent white wine, the entree was delicious cured jamon with melon balls and goat cheese. She used a sauce made from port which was delicious with the sweet melon and salty jamon. A rare steak was the plat (main course). I didn't know that the French like to eat their steaks rare, not medium-rare as I had been taught to do in my sous-vide adventures. Dinner ended with an apple tart and would have included cheese but we were too stuffed.
What incredible hosts Jean-Michel and Carol were. We retired and collapsed into our four poster bed for a good night of sleep!
Our GPS Track Today: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/588447254
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