Bike trip to Blois and Chambord

One weekend, we took a field trip to the Loire Valley and stayed the night in Blois.  There was a typical, tourist-y "spectacle son et lumière" (sound and light show) at Blois Castle, depicting the town's history, at night, and a little sight-seeing around town.  Blois, however, is not as exciting a town as others, and Blois Castle is certainly not as well-known as, say, Chambord or Chenonceau.

Luckily for us, the field trip included a visit to Chambord to see the town and castle.  We were told we would be biking the twenty kilometers or so, and it would be a "leisurely ride through the French countryside." I envisioned us biking down a trail for a few hours, stopping every so often to take a picture.  The reality of the situation was far less fun.

I had broken my tailbone about six months before, and unfortunately that's an injury that never fully heals.  I was dismayed to discover we would be riding on old beach-cruiser-style bikes, without gears and certainly without ergonomic seats.  Additionally, my classmates seemed to think they were participating in the Tour de France, and it was literally a race to see who could get to Chambord first.  My roommate and I took our time, and arrived well after everyone else.  We took a tour of the castle, wandered around the town a bit, and decided to head back early so as not to be left in everyone's dust again.  Looking back, it was a good experience overall...but any memories I have of it are certainly marred by the pain I was in during the entire bike ride.

My tailbone still hasn't forgiven me for aggravating it like I did that weekend.