Nevers Again

The final riding day of our Prologue Ride was a relatively gentle 38 km cruise alongside the Chemin de Halage from Decize to Nevers. This path follows the parallel canal alongside the Loire River. At this point of the Loire, it is not really a navigable waterway as it is too shallow and consists of multiple smaller rivers all twisted together. The canal serves the purpose of providing an alternate route for vessels to travel from Decize to Nevers.
Once again, we were greeted with a cloudless sky as we cycled out of the Port de Decize. It looked like it was going to be another carbon copy of every previous day, with the temperature predicted to rise into the low 30s. Since the ride was short, we had no intentions of hurrying the pace. We might as well enjoy the experience, so almost immediately started to look out for the first coffee stop of the day.
When we reached the tiny village of Avril Sur Loire, Mark 3 thought that he would be able to find a coffee shop. I was doubtful of his chances, however a couple of minutes later he waved enthusiastically for us to follow him. Sure enough, he had not only found a lovely little boulangerie, but one that was open on a Sunday ! Previously I had somewhat rashly promised that, if he found a coffee shop in that place, I would eat his hat. Fortunately that promise was forgotten in the excitement brought on by the prospect of cakes and coffee.
The next 30 minutes or so was spent drinking coffee, covering our faces with cakes, and chatting to the steady of stream of locals who were arriving for their morning baguettes. Then it was back on the bikes for another short 10 km or so, until we reached Fleury Sur Loire. There we spied a brightly painted red cafe, complete with dozens of outside tables and chairs. It looked like an ideal lunch stop. Unfortunately the pizzas we ordered were undercooked and underwhelming. That was a bit of a disappointment, but as they say "C'est la Vie".
The remaining few kilometres into Nevers was achieved without incident. The last time I had been to Nevers was in 2019. On that occasion we had a team of 16 riders cycling from Nevers to Le Croisic. We did not get to see much of the city since we arrived from Provence after dark and started the ride the very next morning. Now seven years later, Nevers was the major pitstop for our epic ride. We had not one, but three nights here. That would be time to get up to date with our laundry and also see some of the quite large historic city.
I have to admit that the first impressions of the city were rather mixed. The route to the hotel took us past a number of deserted and graffiti covered buildings that looked like a set for some sort of dystopian horror movie. It was also a very convoluted route that left us wondering if we would ever find the place. The owners of the hotel had done their best to make the entrance almost impossible to find. We had to grope our way down a dim alleyway where were met with a locked iron door. Eventually we managed to catch the attention of the manager who let us into the place. My room was clean and basic, although I was dismayed to find that it contained not a single window. For someone who always sleeps with the windows open, this was a daunting proposition.
Our evening meal had been booked at the Brasserie Au Metro, about a kilometre from the hotel. It was an "interesting" walk through what appeared to a pretty seedy neighbourhood. There were several groups of dodgy looking young people gathered on the footpaths, and even a muscle bound dwarf leaning up the wall (I am not kidding). In spite of our trepidation, we did make it to the restaurant.
At this point it is worth making an observation. Every time I come to Europe, we are surprised at how entrenched is the smoking culture in these countries. It seems that, wherever you go, you are never far away from yet another lungful of smoke being blown into your face, In France, countless millions of the French have selflessly sacrificed their lungs and lives, so that future generations of young people would have the freedom to smoke, whenever and wherever they wished. I wondered if packets of "childrens' cigarettes" were distributed to kids with their school lunches.
Faced with the prospect of sitting outside in the toxic cloud of second hand smoke, we retreated to an inside table. After an awkward interchange with the cafe staff (not one of them spoke a single word of English), we eventually made up our own rules and just ordered anything we liked from the menu. It worked out OK, because the food was great and the dessert was amazing. Somehow, we managed to find our way back to the hotel, thanks to Tim's expert guiding.Read more