A few years ago, Ludovic Henri would have booked plane tickets to “Italy, Spain or Greece”. But here he is this summer, wearing a helmet and sunglasses, cycling with his family along the banks of the Loire: a “natural and greener” holiday.
“Our holidays are no longer worth the pollution of a plane”
“Our habits have changed in a short time. We are immersed all year round in worrying information about climate change. Our holidays are no longer worth the pollution of a plane, we wanted to try something else,” explains the 39-year-old computer scientist, who is cycling along the Loire route with his partner and five-year-old son.
With one eye on their electric cargo bike, sunscreen and cool drink in hand, the family takes a break in the quiet town of Oudon, between Angers and Nantes, at the crossroads of the Loire and Le Havre. Getting off the train in Tours, they planned to drive to the ocean.
From Cuffy in the Cher to Saint-Nazaire in Loire-Atlantique, the “Loire by bike” stretches for 650 km (900 km including alternative routes). It meanders between the river and fields of corn, wheat and vineyards, runs alongside the Loire châteaux and reaches the Atlantic, passing through villages and forests.
In the spring, Daphné Leprince, a 30-year-old Parisian, cycled from Tours to Nantes in three and a half days, slowing down in the vineyards around Saumur and then Ancenis. She and her partner also wanted to “lose the reflex of going away for a weekend.”
“By bike, in a tent, tourism is slower. We didn’t have a specific objective for our visit, we stopped in a village that seemed pretty. We discovered local products, wines from the Loire,” says the young woman.
Electricity “democratized the practice”
The route, which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first section next year, has never attracted so many people: 1.847 million cyclists will use it in 2022, twice as many as in 2015, according to a study by the Centre-Val de Loire and Pays de la Loire tourism observatories.
The public has diversified in recent years, with “more and more families, retirees and new practitioners,” explains Valentine Segrestan, director of the tourism division of Rêve de vélo, a travel agency specializing in cycling that rents bikes in Saint-Genouph, near Girona.
“The development of electricity has democratised this practice, especially among older people, and especially since Covid, the number of clients looking for eco-responsible holidays in the heart of nature has skyrocketed,” he continues.
According to Ademe (an agency for ecological transition), “the figures for cycling routes have registered an increase and confirm a growing interest among tourists in sustainable holidays.” The agency launched a three-year national programme at the end of 2022 to finance equipment and related services.
The government hopes that France will overtake Germany as the world’s leading destination for cycle tourism.
The Loire castles as key stops
Between Orleans and Tours, the Loire châteaux are key stops for cyclists. In Chambord, the bike parking lot is full in the middle of summer.
“We told ourselves that the best way to enjoy our holidays was to leave the car in the garage. We are close to nature,” explains Jérôme Minatel, originally from the Moselle.
After taking the train to Orleans with his two travelling companions, he plans to cycle for “at least a fortnight” to “taverns and campsites”.
With duvets and tents hanging from their luggage racks, a couple of students leave Chambord for a few days of bivouac. The bicycle, they say, represents “the best way to avoid taking the car and enjoy nature at a lower cost.”
In Oudon, Ludovic Henri and his family also set off again towards the ocean. And they are already thinking about their next holiday: to the Moselle, certainly, and always by bike.
Source: BFM TV
