Bromptomaniac

Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez to La Tranche-sur-Mer

As it turned out, sleeping next to an ocean brings not only the lulling sound of waves but also the shrieking of seagulls, which is considerably more obnoxious than frogs. They started their cacophony around 4 in the morning — or at least that’s when I woke up. After that I dozed on and off until 6am, but they wouldn’t let up.

I checked the distance to La Rochelle and it was more than I felt like tackling — not that I couldn’t, I just didn’t want to. I set my sights on La Tranche-sur-Mer, a seaside resort town that is, by all accounts, only lively three months a year.

Once again I followed the Vélodyssée, sometimes from a distance.

The only town on the way that stood out was Les Sables-d’Olonne. Cycling along the seafront was quite pleasant — wide, well-paved paths, plenty of cafés with tables outside. I stopped for a coffee and a pain au chocolat. The well-maintained path continued for several kilometres until, inevitably, cracks and potholes began to appear.

When I reached La Tranche-sur-Mer proper, I stopped at the first campsite I stumbled upon. They wanted €25 to pitch a tent without electricity, but were kind enough to point me to a nearby campground with a cyclists’ rate. That one also had a dedicated room for cyclists and walkers — fridge, microwave, stove. Handy.

After setting up the tent, I went down to the beach and fell asleep. Hopefully without getting sunburned.

Tomorrow, another day riding along the shore — then I turn inland, and head for home.

Today in numbers:

78 km — distance cycled

45 000 km — the distance each solo skipper of the Vendée Globe sails non-stop, rounding the three capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, before returning to Les Sables-d’Olonne where it all started

1 in 3 — skippers don’t finish the race

64 days — the current race record, set by Charlie Dalin in 2025