It was another hot day today but thankfully shortened by Fred and Martijn to 45 kms.
We cycled from Creil to l’Isle Adam and then cruised for an hour or so to Auvers sur Oise. Highlight of the day was the Domaine De Chantilly.
This impressive estate was created by Henri of Orleans, Duke of Aumale and son of King Louis-Phillippe and includes the chateau, extensive gardens and impressive stables.
Although we had a 2 hour stop here we didn’t get to the stables but enjoyed the audio guide through the chateau. Henri was the greatest collector of his time and amassed 60000 books and manuscripts and an impressive art collection that includes several paintings by Raphael and other Italian, Belgian, Dutch and French masters.
The riding after lunch was partly through cool bicycle tracks through the forest and partly on busy, hot roads.
You can guess which was the most popular. The last 20km of our day was on the London to Paris bicycle route. The final kilometres along the river Oise were very pretty and we were glad as always to find the Zwaantje.
Route of today’s ride – Creil to Isle Adam – 44 kms