Fertile region that recalls royalty of past easy to explore on two wheels

Castles calling for cyclists

LSee

Page OIRE VALLEY, France — I wasn’t sure how to explore the castle-filled Loire Valley on my first trip to the region years ago, but the travel guide Let’s Go France provided the inspiration.

“Unquestionably the best way to see this fecund valley is by bike. Distances are relatively short, and the terrain is flat and lush.”

That settled it; I was going to rent a bike and pedal through the

scenic valley in the center of France.

The only problem was, I had no idea what fecund meant. Is it a French word? English? It had to be a good thing, right?

After a week, several hundred miles, a dozen castles, vast vineyards and fields of sunflowers, I completed my first Loire Valley bike trip and was hooked on its fecundness — which, by the way, means fertile and green. I have biked the valley four times since, the castles, vineyards, sunflowers, old stone towns and rivers luring me back.

What has changed in the past 25 years is that the Loire is much more bike-friendly than on my first trip.

Most towns have a place to rent bikes, hotels cater to cycling tourists, and bike routes are mapped out and marked with (mostly) easy-tofollow signs that take you from one end of the Loire to the other on scenic roads with little traffic.

All this makes the Loire a great place for a bike trip, especially for less-experienced cyclists or those taking their first bike trip abroad.

So, come along as I pedal on roads once traveled by the kings of France, Joan of Arc, Richard the Lion-Hearted and Leonardo da Vinci from Blois to Saumur. These and several other Loire towns make great base camps for day trips to the surrounding castles, all of which visitors can tour.

Blois/Chambord

No trip to the Loire would be complete without a visit to Chambord, the largest of the Loire castles. It’s an easy 25mile round-trip ride from Blois.

Chambord was built by Francois I, who was a bit obsessed with salamanders and filled the ceilings of his castle with hundreds of basrelief sculptures of the amphibian.

The Loire is where the kings, dukes and cardinals of France built their summer castles. They tried mightily to architecturally outdo one another in the splendor of their castles and the sumptuousness of the surrounding gardens.

It’s hard to say who won, as it’s a matter of each tourist’s taste. But Chambord must be near the top of any list.

Amboise/Chenonceau

Amboise is dominated by a castle in the middle of the city — a recurring theme in Loire cities.

According to legend, Charles