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    France

    The Best Day Of The Bikepacking Trip So Far – Bikepacking France



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    I’m riding the Eurovelo 3 from Paris to Bordeaux, and after a couple of rough days battling the heat I’m finally looking forward to reaching the highlight of the whole trip, The Loire Valley. And to finally get some shade from the trees lining the river. The Loire By Bike trail offers some spectacular and varied stretches along the Loire river, with everything from singletrack sections to easy flat gravel sections. It also goes through some beautiful small towns as well as remarkable architectural wonders. This might be the best day of the whole trip!

    Bike:
    Kona Sutra

    Bike Bags:
    Ortlieb Handlebar Pack 15L
    Ortlieb Frame Pack 6L
    Ortlieb Seat Pack 16,5L

    Clothes:
    Adidas Adilette Flip Flops – https://amzn.to/40eKFyQ
    Craft Core Enduro Jacket
    2 Forclaz Merino Wool T-Shirt
    Nike Mens Dri-FIT Short Sleeve Polo Shirt – https://amzn.to/3j2aq1w
    Padded MTB Shorts
    Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants – https://amzn.to/3jalGfE
    2 Pair of Socks https://amzn.to/40dU4H6
    Merino Underwear – https://amzn.to/3XRU9hZ
    Merino Wool Buff – https://amzn.to/409sYkd
    Giro Fixture Mips Helmet – https://amzn.to/3XKHsoZ
    Science In Sport Water Bottle – https://amzn.to/3WLLsV9
    Northwave Cycling Shoes
    Sunglasses

    Cooking Gear:
    Sea To Summit X Mug – https://amzn.to/3Hg7GJ1
    Light My Fire Spork – https://amzn.to/3Dncn2J
    Wine Bottle Opener 😉

    Tools:
    Lezyne HV Bicycle Hand Pump – https://amzn.to/3lHxnJc
    Park Tool VP-1Vulcanizing Patch Kit – https://amzn.to/409NhOC
    Crankbrothers M19 Multi-Tool – https://amzn.to/3j0A86D
    Squirt Long Lasting Dry Lube – https://amzn.to/3iWqYIf
    CTC Plastic Bag + packaging
    Inner Tube – https://amzn.to/3Dq1oFP
    Bike Lock – https://amzn.to/3HHcWqs

    Toiletries:
    Toothbrush
    Toothpaste
    Shaving Gel
    Mach 3 Razor – https://amzn.to/3j2bYsm
    Contact Lens Case
    Travel Schampoo bottle

    Camping Equipment:
    Naturehike Cloud Up 2 Tent – https://amzn.to/3aA1MTp
    Sea To Summit Collapsible Backpack – https://amzn.to/3RvanLP
    Aegismax UL Down Sleeping Bag – https://amzn.to/3BVCStv
    Aegismax Nano 2 Ultralight Sleeping Bag – https://amzn.to/3RcZcqR
    Sea To Summit Reactor Insulated Sleeping Bag Liner – https://amzn.to/409RLVs
    Nemo Tensor Insulated Sleeping Pad – https://amzn.to/3Y98qGC
    Nabaji Microfibre Towel L – https://amzn.to/3Y3KDbh

    Electronics
    Samsung S20 – https://amzn.to/3Y544jR
    Dji Mavic Pro Drone – https://amzn.to/3FKsVBk
    GoPro Hero7 Black – https://amzn.to/3JoetTC
    Canon G7X Mark II – https://amzn.to/3XO7lnY
    Zoom H1N Recorder – https://amzn.to/409ewZA
    Rode Smartlav+ Lavalier – https://amzn.to/3RcZcqR
    2 Anker PowerCore 20000 mAh – https://amzn.to/3JpPxvg
    Bag Of Cables and Extra Batteries

    DISCLAIMER: This description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! This helps support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!

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    View 34 Comments

    34 Comments

    4. Chris Lonsberry on

      Great video Mike! I’m in my 70’s and I don’t do well in the heat so I totally get where you’re coming from with the heat! I’m enjoying seeing France!

    5. Sue G on

      It looks like it was a beautiful ride and journey, minus the heat. I bet it would have been so nice to stop and take a dip in the public water rest area. Maybe they don’t have those in France. I have no idea. Looking forward to more videos. Be well and enjoy the journey.

    6. robadr1 on

      So beautiful. I would have been tempted to stop in every small village for coffee/wine/baguettes, etc. 
      I did some cycle touring in Southeast Asia some years ago, and I found one of the best strategies for heat was to place a small, thin hand towel over my head (under my helmet), letting it hang down the back of my neck. The evaporation of the sweat from the towel kept my head noticeably cooler, and the towel also shaded my head and neck more efficiently. It wasn't stylish, but it worked.🙂 
      I also found that a baggy, long-sleeved light cotton shirt seemed cooler to cycle in than a T-shirt. It reduced my exposure to the sun, and the slight flapping of the loose material in the wind felt more comfortable than a tighter fitting shirt.

    8. colin wellman on

      Nice leg of your trip Mike. When you're in France and looking for water if you see a cemetary you'll find a tap with water. If it's not drinkable it will be marked up 'Non potable'. I've never found one marked like this, most come from the mains water supply and are drinkable.
      Agree about the heat here, it was almost unbearable and going outside was like going into an oven.
      Thanks for the video

    11. The One-Eyed Undertaker on

      Unfortunately this is NOT a heat wave Mike. This is the new normal during European summers. Climate change is real. Better get some light, white arm sleeves like the ones Van Duzer use. Or your old age skin will regret it in a couple of decades.

    13. Susan Scorah on

      Mike, I found while riding through the Canadian Rockies last summer during a super hot spell (110 F) that if I soak my shirt in that luke warm water in my water bottle it keeps me cooler than if I drank it. It is amazing how much cooler you feel with the wind from cycling blowing on that wet shirt. Love your videos

    14. Simon Wiltshire on

      Thankyou mike for letting us share some more of your travels, heat makes everything harder work, i know i live in spain and in the summer months things get quite tough.

    24. Jorge Leon on

      Thank you for sharing, Mike! I have great memories of the bike tour I did last year in France. Part of it was on the Loire a Velo, from Nantes to Orleans, which was the best part of the trip, I think. The towns, the castles and the views are just incredible. It was a wonderful experience… By the way, I know your are friends with Darren Alff, and we have not known anything about him since he stopped making content. I wonder how he is doing. Is he well?

    25. lv2keepfit 49 on

      I just sub'd, enjoy watching your videos plus I'm considering buying the Kona Sutra SE. Looking like you've put on many miles with that bike and it's standing up like a champ! I'm deciding on a 54 or 56cm. I'm in the middle according to the charts. 5 10"

    29. Frank Nobody on

      Hi Mike, beautiful video! Hey, I have two questions:
      What kind of App are you using to find Drinking Water?
      And why are you navigating with your phone? Does the Garmin not do that?

    31. Mark Eightv29 on

      Enjoying your France videos. I'm researching how to extend my traditional bike-packing setup into a hybrid bike-pack/tourer setup with minimalist bags or frames so I can carry a warmer/bigger sleeping bag and puffy and have good storage for food. Strapping supermarket plastic bags to the top of my handlebar bag in 2019 was a good workaround, but not ideal. The Ortlieb Forkpack 5.8L is on my radar as I already use an Ortlieb handbar and seatpack and give them a score of 8/10. Have you found the Fortpacks satisfactory? Trying to avoid any rack or bag that is too heavy duty too keep the weight from escalating.

      Also considering the Tumbleweed Mini Pannier Rack over front and rear wheels and if the Forkpack can be attached to them, so I can use four Forkpacks if I wish or load my four (yes four) 1L bottles at the rear if I move them from the front forks to the attachments available on the Tumbleweed. I may also replace my non-waterproof bespoke framebag from Alpkit with the Ortlieb roll-top framebag if it fits snugly in my frame. I give the bespoke Alpkit framebag 8/10 rather than 10/10 because it is not waterproof and I think it could have been made a little wider to give me a little more storage space. Unlike other vloggers who have reported problems with zips on their own framebags, I have not had any problems with the Alpkit zips. They are excellent zips. 

      Just realised my new setup could cost me an eye watering 600 dollars for an extra 24L of storage, so I can see why people max out on pannier and bag setup if they are thinking in terms of Litres per dollar. But I know the weight of a setup is absolutely key, either for the fit and healthy competitive racer bike-packer (which I am not) or the unfit and go-slow bike-packer such as myself. Keeping the weight down means I am still even in my physical condition able to cycle up 17 degree hills. There will be many many 10+ degree hills on the 5000+ mile trip I am now planning and in training for.

      100F heat vs mosquitos? It took me maybe 3 weeks out of 9 weeks to fully settle into the bike-packing life-style in 2019, so you do well to settle in over just 2 or 3 days.

    32. Helen Dale on

      The part along the Briare Canal is really nice, I did it one evening in July in the other direction, getting to Montargis at about 9 pm. There was hardly a soul on it, just a few dog walkers.

    33. A C on

      My girlfriend and I cycled along the Loire in 2022 during a heatwave in August. We went from Orleans to Nantes where it is possible to hire bikes at one end and drop them off at the other – i wish more cycle companies could do this arrangement. What a beautiful trip.

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