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Day 25 – Notre Dame de Monts to Givrand click link for route

Saturday May 28, 2011

Today was mostly flat riding along the beach. We cycled passed a few hideous Surfers Paradise style towns with semi-high rises right on the beach. We are very glad to be here in the off-season – these places would be heaving in the summer time.

There also seems to be a sudden saturation of camping grounds – a lot of them with English pubs advertising Stella on tap!
“That’s probably the only way the woman can get her bloke out here is if there is an English pub selling stella!” I commented to mike while sipping on my stella in a pub in the camping ground. Well, we didn’t have much choice, and the camping is only 10 euros. Seriously though – we wouldn’t be drinking Stella at the bar, that would be way too expensive for us. We much prefer drinking our 22c lidl beer around our campsite.

Our camping site is a nice grassy pitch rather than the sandy ones we have had recently. The sand campsites seem to be full of little red spiders which were starting to creep me out.

Day 22 – Pornic to Le Frandiere

Wednesday May 25, 2011

Yet another stunning day. We continued to head south down the coast towards an island which can be reach via a submerged road only when the tide is out.

We arrived at the submerged road with no idea when time the low tide was. There was a sign with a digital display of 18:15 (6.30pm) . We took this to be the low tide. Darn – it’s only 16:30 (4.30pm) now.

We managed to decipher the small print which said you can cross 1.5 hours before low tide and 1.5 hours after high tide. Perfect! We couldn’t have timed it better. We had 15 minutes to wait but we decided to start cycling across anyway to beat all the motorhomes.

If you look really hard you can see Mike ahead, desperate to get across the road before the tide comes in!

We stopped at the first campground we came to and spent an hour trying to decide where to put our tent.

Day 21 – Pornic

Tuesday May 24, 2011

After yesterdays struggle to get here we couldn’t face the idea of packing up and getting on the bikes again – so we checked in to the campground for another night.

We cycled into Pornic for a look around. It’s a picturesque town with many cafes overlooking an estuary and chateau. We refrained from having our lunch in one of the cafes. Instead we bought a fresh baguette which we filled with salami and sat on the edge of the estuary.

We then cycled back to camp via the beaches. We stopped and read our kindles for a bit – but despite the hot weather we weren’t tempted into the cold atlantic water.

Day 20 – carquefou to Pornic

Monday May 23, 2011

We didn’t leave our comfy hotel until midday (check out time). It was another glorious day of sunshine. We cycled into Nantes and had a look around. Just another European city – seen one, seen them all.

It was a bland and industrial ride out of Nantes. I had been hoping for a scenic river cycle but this was not to be.

It was at 7pm we spotted the first camping ground for the day. It was a free campsite at the edge of a village. No showers but a toilet. We knew there was another campground in 20 kms so we decided to push on. It was a very hilly 20 kms and it was hard work pushing to make it to camp before the daylight ended. We made it to the camp by 8.30pm. We were so tired we didnt even bother cooking – just put up the tent and crawled inside.

Day 19 – Blain to Carquefou

Sunday May 22, 2011, 56 km (35 miles) – Total so far: 664 km (413 miles)

We continued along the unpaved path along the canal. We were both starting to get a bit bored with it now. The gravelled path is pretty hard on the bum, and the scenery doesnt change very much.

A couple of times the track ended and we had to backtrack and cross over the to the track on the other side of the canal. The French don’t signpost things very well.

There were no campgrounds on the path so we checked into a nice hotel beside a lake just outside Nantes. It was such a beautiful day and it seemed such a waste checking into a hotel. We much prefer sitting outside cooking our meal in the evenings. But – we took advantage of the free internet, the bath, and the half price Sunday rate!

Day 17 – Rieux to Blain(click to open route in new window)

Friday May 20, 2011, 45 km (28 miles) – Total so far: 608 km (378 miles)

Today seemed a difficult ride despite there being no hills. The heavy gravel path made it hard going and although we only did 45km – it was all gravel.

We saw a creepy frog.

We were knackered at the end of the day we were glad to find a campground at Blain, strong cowshit smell and all!

We camped next the the chateux.

We were so tired and our muscles so sore – we decided to stay here for two days.

Day 15 – Josselin to Malestroit (click link to open route in new page)

Wednesday May 18, 2011, 26 km (16 miles) – Total so far: 517 km (321 miles)

Today was another fine day of cycling on nice quiet roads until we turned onto what seemed like a minor road. It was narrow and there were no road markings at all, but cars and trucks were flying by at horrendous speeds.

Mike stopped at a bridge crossing a canal. There was a path alongside it. Then two touring cyclists came riding along the path on the edge of the canal.

I said to Mike we should get off this horrible road and follow that path along the canal. Our conversation went something like this:

Mike: But it’s not the way we are going

Jo: Who cares, we don’t have a route anyway and it looks like a nice ride.

Mike: But the GPS doesn’t see it as a road.

Jo: Those touring cyclists just came along there – it must go somewhere

Mike: But what if it turns into a dirt track like the english canals

Jo repeats: Those touring cyclists came along there – it must be ok.

At that moment three buses go flying past at horrendous speeds.

Jo: I don’t care – I’m getting off this shitty main road – let’s follow it and see where it leads us.

Mike: ok

This is the beauty of not have a set route or a set destination – we can go wherever our mood wants us to go.

Turns out the path is a popular cycle way which follows the canal for over 300km from Brest to Nantes. What a bit of luck to have stumbled onto it.

It was wonderful flat cycling, not having to worry about cars, trucks and buses.

We cycled through the narrow streets of the Medeival town of Malestroit.

We stopped at an amazing campsite right beside the canal just walking distance from the village. This was another fine example of the better the campsite the cheaper it is. It only cost 4.85 euros, it had toilet seats, and even a table for us to use!

We wandered into Malestroit and picked up supplies for dinner – sausages, potatoes and mixed veg, beer, and a chocolate desert.

Today was a struggle to get moving as we had Sunday off (day of rest etc). We decided to move away from the coast as the wind coming off the English channel was freezing, so we headed south in hope of finding warmer weather.

There seemed to be endless hills on our route, and having left the chilly sea breeze behind us, we actually worked up a sweat.

The route was also on a busy road with big scary trucks. We headed off the main road and forced the garmin to re-route us onto quieter roads. The garmin got his revenge by sending us up the hilliest routes possible. He’s about as vindictive as the lady in our Tom Tom!

We did a meagre 30kms before calling it a day and decided to stop in a hotel for the night. The campground was another 20 kms away and we just couldnt be bothered.

The hotel was in the middle of hicksville. We said we would like to eat in their restaurant. At 7.15pm the phone in our room rings, summoning us for dinner.

We arrive downstairs to a plate of salad consisting of potatoes, mushrooms, avocado, some fishy things (looked like that pickled fish you get in a jar) and a selection of meats and breads. There was also a carafe of red wine. Please note we did not order any of this and we have no idea how much it will all cost. It was yummy and we ate it all knowing this was only a starter.

Then the main course came out. It was a big blob of meat, with noodles and lettuce. It also was really yummy – but very filling.

Then came the cheese platter with a large selection of cheeses. We figured we were not expected to eat all of this.

Then they bought dessert – and Mike took two. We still arent sure whether he should have taken the custard with his cake. Guess we will find out in the morning on our bill.