The main event — cycling the Loire from source to sea — is over. But instead of taking the train home I’m jumping on the Vélodyssée — a cycling route running the full length of the French Atlantic coast — just from Saint-Brevin-Les-Pins to Rochefort.
Day 1 – Saint-Brevin-Les-Pin to Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez
Slept well and quite long. The day promised to be relatively easy. Due to shifting plans, I started from a different place than originally intended, so I wasn’t sure about the destination or the mileage. I was going to stop when it felt like time.
After about an hour into the ride, rain started coming down — nothing serious, but annoying. It continued on and off until noon. The funny thing: it wasn’t raining anywhere else in France, only where I was cycling. Fate?
I was following the Vélodyssée only loosely. At one point I decided to swing by Noirmoutier island. Because it was low tide, I went via the Passage du Gois. Not sure it was a wise choice — the road was not only wet but covered in sea debris, so Greengo got thoroughly muddied up and had to be cleaned later. There were hundreds of people collecting clams and periwinkles. Supposedly delicious. Probably an acquired taste.
At Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez I called it quits — after falling off the bike when I accidentally veered from the pavement onto the grass. I was fine, but one of the toe cages broke off. I settled into one of the many campings, went to a bike shop to get a replacement, and only then made it to the beach to enjoy the ocean.
Today in numbers:
118 km — distance cycled
4.2 km — length of the Passage du Gois, the longest submersible road in Europe
2,300 — hours of sunshine per year on the Vendée coast, where I spent a good chunk of the day cycling and, eventually, sunbathing