August 13, 2024
Today's good news is that the heat finally relented, and I enjoyed a cool ride up to Orleans, where I will join the EuroVelo 6 route. No more ad hoc planning or bushwacking through sketchy, steep, gravelly backroads! I am going to cruise on a legitimate bicycle highway across Europe.
Today's bad news, alas, is that the EuroVelo 6 route I downloaded onto my bike computer is wrong. I learned this when I looked across the Loire River and saw all these frolicsome cyclists flying up and down a smooth bicycle path while I was toughing it out on the shoulder of a highway. I crossed a bridge and, lo and behold, found myself on the route I was supposed to be taking.
It seems that Ride With GPS, one of the apps I use to plan and navigate, systematically distorted the .gpx files I downloaded from the EuroVelo website, and put me a mile south of the real route.
Once I figured this out, I hacked my way through a few cornfields to get back on the right path, where legions of joyful touring cyclists were pedaling. I was so sad to have missed about 20 miles of magical medieval towns, including Beaugancy, I cried a bit.
Now I have to find a computer where I can correct my routes, as no bike apps offer this functionality on their mobile versions.
So. Frustrating.
Distance: 62.46 miles
Total: 5,405 miles
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