Balzac set a novel here, and if you ride into Nemours at midday you can see why he found it a good stage. Ursule Mirouët, one of the quieter books in his huge Human Comedy, takes place among the notables, notaries and doctors of a small provincial town on the Loing, and Nemours, with its grey stone, its canal and its slow, watchful streets, still has something of that atmosphere. It is a town where people know each other's business and where lunch, at midday, is a fixed point.
The town has about fourteen thousand inhabitants, and together with neighbouring Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours it forms a pleasant, practical base for the ride. The Loing flows through the middle, split into channels by the canal, and the quays are lined with plane trees and cafes. The castle, which stands on the river, gives the place a bit of scale, but the pleasure lies mostly in the ordinary things: a baker with a queue, a market stall, a fishmonger.
For lunch, the usual French rhythm applies: restaurants serve from noon until about two, and after that the kitchens close, so the food window is real. The food of the Gâtinais, the region around, is plain and good, with a plat du jour of roast pork or chicken with potatoes, vegetable soup, a cheese plate and a fruit tart. The honey of the Gâtinais is well known, a pale, creamy honey made from rapeseed and wild flowers, and a pot makes a good souvenir.
The riding in this part of the Loing valley is quiet and easy, through farmland and woods with long views and light traffic. The roads are generally good, though some are patched, and the main hazard is the tractor or the cyclist on a narrow lane. In autumn, mist can lie in the valley until late in the morning, and in winter, black ice on bridges is a risk.
Bagneaux-sur-Loing, a few kilometres away, is a quieter village, but Nemours has everything: stations, supermarkets, cafes, and a bakery on nearly every corner. Eat well, take a short walk along the canal, and ride on refreshed.