BV25-38 Paris > Tours

I’ve covered cycling around the Loire in a previous post, but this one is a bit more adventurous. Riding from the heart of Paris to the heart of the Loire is not your typical weekend spin, but it can be done in a single day with a train ride back. You could also use this route together with my earlier one to create a lovely little cycling adventure.

This route takes the most efficient, although less scenic, way out of the city, cutting through the 15th and climbing up out of Sèvres. There are several climbs as you cross Châteaufort, Chevreuse, and the forests surrounding Dourdan. After about 90 km most of the climbing is done. That point also brings the least enjoyable section of the ride: a 40 km stretch of flat, open farmland with more traffic depending on the time of day. When I last rode it, it was fine, we left really early and hammered, so it was over quickly. I have heard from others who did not enjoy it as much, especially later in the day and with a headwind. You could consider zigzagging onto smaller roads, but on a ride this long it feels like just a blip anyway.

At 145 km you reach Orléans, where you can resupply before crossing the Loire river and joining the La Loire à Vélo path. From here you follow the river, passing through villages and by châteaux that are worth a stop—many of which I wrote about in my other post. If you’re doing this as a single-day ride and catching the train back, you won’t really have time to stop, but the views along the river are still great. After Blois there are a few short climbs as the path deviates away from the river. They’re not long, but after 200 km they can sting a little.

After 275 km you roll into Tours. The route takes you straight to the train station, where you can catch a TER or even a rare TGV, which has two spaces for fully assembled bikes. (More on dealing with your bike on French trains here) Before I hopped on the TGV I took a refreshing dip in the river and replenished my glycogen stores with a couple of beers at a restaurant right on the water.

This ride has plenty of resupply points along the way and makes for a fantastic one-day epic, but the region also begs for a multi-day adventure.

GPX File