FOR ultimate grandeur, Chateau de Versailles is hard to beat, with its masterpiece ceilings, grand stairways and palatial ballroom (visit on a bright day and sunbeams foxtrot between the gilded window frames and shimmering chandeliers).

But there’s something sweetly magical about Chateau de Maintenon, which sits, as the crow flies, some 47km away from Versailles in a leafy patch of the Loire Valley.

Although smaller and less plush, gazing up at its fairy-tale turrets and wandering the rooms where, back in the 16 and 1700s, Madame de Maintenon defied social convention as the prison-born widow who found herself hired as governess to King Louis XIV’s illegitimate children (he had more than 12; honestly, it all went on), only to steal his heart and become his ‘secret’ wife, I’m transfixed.

So transfixed, in fact, I totally forget that I’m plodding around this regal scene in padded Lycra, sporting some impressive helmet hair.

Not your usual palace-perusing get-up, no, but it can be explained. I’m exploring France’s Veloscenic, or La Veloscenie, as it’s originally known, a 453.5km cycling trail spanning four regions - from Paris to Mont St-Michel in Normandy - created in 2013. Now, an English version of the accompanying guidebook has launched, so along with four fellow cyclists, I’ve come to give it a whirl.

We’re not quite doing the whole route. With four days to play with, we’ve trimmed off certain bits, opting to taxi those instead.

This is the beauty of doing Veloscenic; you make the rules, from setting your pace to taking as many pit-stops as you like - well, this and the fact it takes you deep through the heart of the regions’ countryside, weaving through forests, farmland, sleepy villages and rustic market towns, boasting four Unesco World Heritage Sites along the way.

After flying into Paris, we transfer to Domain of Sceaux, where we meet Hugo from Petite Reine Normandie, whose van will be lugging our cases (and us and our bikes, for those taxi’d sections) from hotel to hotel. We’ve hired our bikes from Loc’Velo, opting for hybrids (while most of the terrain’s pretty smooth, there are some gravelly and woodland bits) but they also stock e-bikes, so if your joints and fitness levels aren’t what they used to be, you can still enjoy the experience.

We settle into our saddles with a quick tour around the Domaine of Sceaux’s famous gardens, designed by Andre Le Notre, one of Louis XIV’s favourites, before hitting the road to pedal the 28km to Versailles. Although, to be fair, roads only make up a proportion of Veloscenic; around 42% of the route is traffic-free with plans to introduce more dedicated cycle paths soon, and the bits that are on roads have very low-volume traffic.

As well as detailing the route (which has its own branded signage), the Veloscenic guidebook aims to provide all the information you’d possibly need, from how you go about taking bikes on trains, to the bike-friendly accommodation options along the way.

The push is worth it – you just need a bit of pedal power.