From Briare to Nevers

by Daniel Heesch

The Loire at Briare is more than 500 kilometers old, the same distance that separates it from the Atlantic at Saint-Nazaire. Given its total length of 1012 km it's the longest river of the country. It's also quite a beautiful river, with many stretches of it untamed. The Loire will remain our companion until St-Etienne, threehundred odd kilometers and two stages further south east. That means, it is going to be more or less flat for the next 24 hours and we can switch to a higher gear to gain some time before hitting the mountains in the Massif Central.

Not far to the west from Briare lies Sully-sur-Loire. It marks the eastern end of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes all the major castles in the Loire valley and extends another 220 kilometers downstream to Chalonne-sur-Loire. We are heading in the opposite direction and in fact I didn't sight a single castle on my way.

Throughout this stage, the road climbs continuously though barely noticeably. Consider that Briare lies at 150 meters, the finish at Nevers at 200 meters. With roughly 100 kilometers separating the two, this amounts to 50 centimeters vertical difference for each kilometer cycled. The route is more diverse, however, than the monotonous profile may suggest. The thirty kilometers between Briare and Cros-de-Cagne are rolling hills and though for many kilometers you follow the Loire canal, for many others you don't. But any climbs you encounter are short and mild. Although the road runs close to the Loire, it is not close enough to actually see much of it. It is well hidden behind thick forest and summer houses.

The only occasional problem arises when the N7 inadvertently changes into a motorway. You may then either hope for the best or return to the previous junction trying to bypass it. Cycling on motorways is as forbidden in France as it is in most other countries, and the French Gendarmerie is vigilant but also understanding. When I got caught on one such occasion, the young policeman politely enquired whether I would mind if he escorted me to the next exit, just to make sure...! Of course I don't mind, if that's all.


The first such metamorphosis from Route Nationale to motorway takes place shortly after Briare just before Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire. The N7, instead of crossing the village, turns left towards the motorway, the A77, and merges with it. After one or two kilometers, the old N7 appears next to the motorway and provides a perfect alternative to the traffic-loaden highway. The only problem: after a few kilometers it comes to a T-junction with no signs and both outgoing roads at right angle to the motorway. As the motorway at this point didn't look terribly inviting, I stopped one of the very few cars that were travelling along that road. I could not have been more lucky. The driver turned out to be a retired road surveyor who was once responsible for looking after French motorways, reporting on maintenance work that needed to be done. Thus he spent years crossing the country back and forth many times. Even though he was not from the region, his car was full of maps covering the whole of France at different scales. Excited about the possibility to help me, he unfolded one of the many maps, and leaned over it for a while with the same air of discernment with which many a wine connoisseur would indulge in the first sip.

The result of his deliberation: I needed to take the right turn which would bring me to the Loire. I would have to cycle downstream for a bit until a bridge would lead me over to Sancerre. From there you resume your former direction, but on a much quieter departmental road, the Route de Sancerre.

It all worked out well. The best thing, which is what I did on a subsequent ride, would have been to cross to the other side of the Loire in Cros-de-Cagne (instead of 10 kilometers further upstream). On the other side, you turn left onto the D955 and head straight to Sancerre along the lateral Loire canal. This way not only do you avoid the motorway altogether but also save yourself a few kilometers.

The region through which you cycle regularly takes part in national competitions for the most flowery town. There are plenty of these "villes fleuries" and if a town participates, most houses do. When I saw the first house thus adorned, I thought it must be the local flower shop and stopped to ask for water, for surely water that brings out such beauty cannot harm a cyclist either. Never before had I seen such an extravagant abundance of flowers.

Between Sancerre and La Charité the road stays next to a small canal (Route du Canal) that itself runs parallel to the Loire. You stay on it pretty much all the way to Nevers. To finally get to Nevers, however, you have to cross the Loire again and enter Nevers via the Rue Henri Bouquillard.

If you manage to get through to Nevers without problems, you will possibly arrive there late in the afternoon. Nevers is the last town of any notable size for some time and most likely the last one before night sets in. At that point already, I had grown tired of bananas and energy bars and headed for the first restaurant, "Le Gambrinus" in the city centre (37 Avenue Général-de-Gaulle). According to the other customers, it enjoys a good reputation in the region and attracts people from the neighbouring towns. Dinner is served between 7pm and 10.30pm and is not only savoury but also generously portioned. The manager was so impressed by the 300 kilometers ride from Paris that I was not charged for the many espressos with which I rounded off a huge plate of pasta with salmon. Mention "Paris-Nice" and you may well receive the same cordiality.

When I described to one of the customers at the neighbouring table how I envisaged getting to Nice, he took a deep breath, looked in disbelief and consternation to his friend across the table and uttered dryly `J'espére qu'il n'y a pas du mistral" upon which I exclaimed that I was actually hoping for the Mistral. Why should I fear it? After all it comes from the north, does it not? "Bah non", he explained, "il vient de tous les directions!"

So, the mistral should turn out to be not friend but foe? As we shall see, he was overly pessimistic, but also not altogether wrong. It all depends where you are: the Rhône valley acts like a funnel which not only makes for greater wind speeds but also imposes upon it a clear north-south directionality. If you move away from the Rhône, however, things get more complicated and the mistral gets deflected by anything that gets in its way and seems to be blowing from all directions at once.

If you arrive in Nevers before 7pm, you'll find all restaurants firmly shut, and you may as well continue your journey to the next town, Decize, a mere 25km further up the Loire. The town is small but there is a good restaurant on your right just before you leave the city again across one of the Loire bridges. There is a great choice of dishes including pasta, and a mouthwatering assortment of calory-rich desserts.