Great rides: Toddling up the Loire by bike

Afternoon sunlight gleamed on the waters of the Canal Maritime de la Basse-Loire. As we supped our Pelforth beers in the shade, children squeezed the last drops of enjoyment from the final day of their summer holiday, leaping from the heights of the locks 100 yards away.

The canal took 10 years to build, opening in 1892 and closing just 19 years later as merchants turned to the railways over the slower ways of barges. Now an idyll for locals escaping the larger cities of Saint-Nazaire to the west and Nantes to the east, its willow-sheltered picnic stops and undisturbed swim spots are eagerly sought.

The mouth of the Loire was once home to swarms of little grey shrimps. “Aah, les petites crevettes gris!” sighed a 30-something Frenchman nearby, soaking up the sun in his deckchair. “Sautéed in butterrrrr with garlic and rosemary!” He smacked his lips in memory of a dish his father served.

Earlier that day we’d passed huts on stilts connected to the land by narrow gangways. They had giant nets fixed to miniature cranes that would dip into the Loire and come out heaving with shrimp. Our French friend lamented today’s less plentiful catches. It was a cherished dish he wished to share with his young son, and that was why they were in Frossay.

“Your son, he should try some, too!” he said nodding to 18-month-old Cosimo, as he napped in his trailer. Before we could answer, the little lad woke and made his demands for food, water and a nappy change known.

When we’d finished attending to him, our French friend and his son had disappeared, hopefully in a successful hunt for shrimp. I reattached the trailer to my bike and began a slow ride back to our campsite.

Teething problems

We’d only been on the road for two days, covering little more than 70km in all. It felt like much further. Travelling and camping with a toddler will do that, especially after a trip that involved two long car journeys, an overnight ferry and two train trips (one cancelled prematurely) to reach the start of our ride.

Oh, and there was a heatwave. That was unexpected; we’d packed for cooler weather.

We’ve ridden with Cosimo since he was old enough for his trailer, but never really camped with him (apart from one windy night in my mum’s garden, which he hated). That would probably not have changed had we not been incentivised to take on this journey after being awarded a travel grant from Tim Moss’s The Next Challenge.

Still, how hard can combining the two activities be? Turns out our nomadic ancestors were heroes beyond modern man’s fathoming!

I’ve no idea how they coped with toddlers refusing to sleep until darkness descended and insisting on waking with the lark. Then there’s the difficulty of prepping something suitable for a developing palette in a camp kitchen.

All of which meant that, despite the leisured nature of the riding along the Loire, this trip looked like it would rank more difficult than the ride that Daria and I made into 70mph headwinds across Iceland’s interior.

Unlike Iceland, however, the French invented baguettes and croissants, saving the day and our sanity. We realised that the trick to survival on tour with a toddler – and on tour in general – is to adapt. It was a lesson we relearned from watching our son settle into our tour’s rhythms.

Each day brought new discoveries, new sights, sounds and sensations and he took them all in his stride, with a dummy in one hand and a battered bit of bread in the other. Yes, there were tantrums and contrariness but no more than to be expected than when at home.

Savouring slow travel

Despite taking our cue from Cosimo, it took us a bit longer to set aside our anxiety and begin to appreciate and adapt to his style of more relaxed travelling. When we did, that’s when the pleasures of cycling along the Loire as a family truly began.

For those looking for a relaxed ride, the Loire à Vélo provides it in buckets along its 900-kilometre length. It’s part of EuroVelo 6, which crosses France and then continues through Europe to the Black Sea – a 4,700km journey all told, and our final destination for many years down the line. Shorter sections are perfect for riding along with a small person.

It’s well waymarked, largely traffic free and has interesting stopping points, a good cycle-friendly train service and accommodation options to suit all types of tourer.

Riding along by the Loire – sometimes to our right, sometimes the left – simple joyous cries of “boat”, “bird” and, of course, “bread” would come from our trailer. Occasionally our chatter would be silenced by the snores of a nap.

It’s hard not to delight in such simple pleasures, when all the cares of the world can be seen through the perspective of an 18-month-old. As the great dub pioneer Lee Scratch Perry said: “All things are possible, nothing is impossible.” It just comes down to perspective.

Such a philosophy is easy when the riding is stress free and requires no navigating skills. The lower reaches of the Loire Valley are largely flat. Your only concern is how much shade you can find, as you journey between the vast fields of French farms and the smallholdings of locals.

It is only when you hit wine-growing country after Ancenis that you encounter the short steep climbs you see rising above the vineyards.

It’s also an excellent route along which to engage in the fine French tradition of ‘le picnic’. All along the Loire, sun-sheltered spots, with benches and spaces to play pétanque, echo to the pop of the cork and the cheers of gatherings of friends and family.

Even without the demands of a toddler wishing to stop and play, they encourage a more sedate and considered way of travel, where lunch is planned even as you finish breakfast.

This style of riding encourages people of all ages to visit the Loire. We were not alone in cycling with our lad. Other families rode in similar convoys, but so too did groups of older riders – often on e-bikes, taking advantage of the ability to charge along the way. Each day was a game of leapfrog, passing and being passed by familiar faces, and always with a wave and “bonjour”.

Stage one complete

Signs of the region’s rich past abound. You pass typical French villages with well-heeled churches. Brooding chateaux in Ancenis and Angers were once sites for the fraught relationship between the kingdoms of France and Brittany.

The one regret we have from this trip was not weaving in enough time to allow for off-piste exploration. For the rider with more time on their hands, there is plenty to see off the beaten cycle track.

Seven days and countless baguettes after starting, we rolled into our final resting stop: a small hotel with a pool just outside Angers. I couldn’t help but think back to our shrimp-obsessed friend, and his efforts to share familial memories with his son to cherish over the years to come.

Without really realising it, our family tour had the same goal: to share with Cosimo our love of cycling and its ability to immerse you in unfamiliar locations. At 18 months, he will be too young to remember this trip but we now know touring isn’t stopped but enriched by family.

We hope eventually to get to the Black Sea, riding in stages as the years pass. That’s if the terrible twos on tour don’t put us off!