Noirmoutier to Nantes

6 - 9 July

The cycle path runs along under the sea wall beside one of the drainage channels

The bridge from Noirmoutier to 'the Continent', Rodney up ahead, rain covers on luggage

Noirmoutier to Nantes should have been a doddle but life’s not always like that. No sooner had we got over the bridge from Noirmoutiers than the rain started, slowly, slowly. We changed our route to include the beach/port town of Fromentine, and arrived before the worst of the downpour. 12km, less than an hour’s riding. Sitting the rain out in a bar/cafe is quite a good idea (they sell hot chocolate too) but this one happened to have some cheap rooms available and we decided to stay. Biking in the rain is nobody’s idea of fun, especially if there is an alternative. 

"Our" bar and home for 2 days

The room was great for the price, with a large bathroom (excellent hot shower), TV, our own entrance, as we had had at Noirmoutier, an outside table and chair which we were allowed to take inside, since it was raining, so we could eat our bought food in civilised fashion. And GREAT wifi reception. So unusual!

Very sweet and most modestly priced

It was the start of the Tour de France, and at our host’s suggestion we watched the afternoon’s events in our room, venturing out later when the weather cleared. Turned out we were in the town from where ferries leave for the local islands, so there are people coming and going around boat arrival/departure times and it is relatively quiet in between. The beachfront was great fun - no houses identical though either joined or very close together. Pretty unusual! 

The unusual street beside the sea: view 1

View 2

View 3

There was a second-hand bookshop advertising '20000 livres’, run over the summer by a retiree - all books 2€, unless they are 1€. I spent 2€, as one can’t collect books on a bike… The ferry port is interesting - with such a high rise and fall of tides it is not enough to just have a gangplank that alters its angle - there is a complex system to even out the heights so that little buzzy carts laden with luggage can handle the slope easily. Bakery just along from the bar, so that we could have something to eat with our coffee. Nice walk along the beach to the base of the bridge, almost. In the middle of the harbour are four sunken ships - exposed at low tide and under water at high tide. A range of restaurants but only small shops for groceries. At least three bakeries. Probably 5. The supermarkets belong to the bigger town a bit inland - not far but not worth the hassle on a bike in the rain. Saturday morning market - in full swing when we arrived but we didn’t know whether we would be moving on or not then.

20000 books @ 2€ max

We got on well with our hosts and really enjoyed our day. Rain on the Sunday morning saw us booking for the next night (at an even cheaper rate!) - and when the rain stopped, we and everybody else around went out walking and exploring. 

Everything we needed. You can't see the bathroom or TV! Outside table brought inside.

We ended up in the late afternoon eating well-priced savoury crêpes at a restaurant on the seashore, clouds dispersed, sun high (it’s still not dark at 10pm…), water sparkling, ferries passing.

It took several more days to reach Nantes. On Day 2 we got completely lost - no signpost at a crucial point - and cycled along the wrong track following the wrong arrows for quite some time, lengthening our trip by about 20 km. Bonus: By 3pm we had arrived in a town from where we could continue in the right direction. Somewhat hungry, we were disappointed that the cafe/snack bar at the crossroads was closed and entrances barred. After all, it IS July! Undeterred we went into the town to find a bakery or other food source. All shut! We started out along the main road that the tourist office had guided us to. Very busy. Scarily busy. And there, only a few hundred metres from the roundabout, a restaurant! Not quite what we wanted at 3pm, but food anyway! We explained that we didn’t want a big meal and were offered the buffet selection for 5€ each! A good price. And fantastic tastes! And prawns! Bread included, of course. And they brought us a dish of frites! Gave us a good break and restored our spirits. Extra bonus: This guy actually knew how to get where were going without taking the road outside his restaurant, which he considered too dangerous. With his explicit instructions we were easily reunited with the correct path, which became the Vélocéan at the point we caught up with it. Well signposted. :)

If the restaurant owner had not told us about this steep little bridge we would never have attempted it. It provides a good shortcut to the Vélocéan on the other side

The Vélocéan is a cycle path that goes along the Atlantic coast for somewhat less than 100km on both sides of the Loire estuary. Here it is also the Vélodysée, which we have been following since the coast near Bordeaux

We did another 20km after that, bringing us to a 60km day and to a point 12km outside the next big town, Pornic. Two choices of camping at La Bernerie-en-Retz - overpriced 4 star and overpriced 2 star. We went for the latter, which was mostly all mobilhomes, with a paddock or two down the end for passing campervans, caravans or tents. Only one sanitaire, and that at the entrance, but a huge bonus with an electricity outlet hanging around in the paddock, still with the ‘old’ connections, meaning we could plug in more than one appliance all in the same spot. Luxury indeed. After our very late, copious and delicious lunch we finished up in the evening with an aperitif (Perrier water for me…I drink a lot of Perrier when we’re biking) and a cheese selection in a local cafe! All good. And Nantes getting closer!

Pornic

Our special treat the next day was being invited for coffee as we passed a house in St-Michel-Chef-Chef. This town is where the original St Michel biscuit factory (and shop) are - except closed for lunch, naturally, when we were there. However, being invited in for coffee was just lovely. Our host has a 200 year old house which they have been renovating over the last 8 years. They have lived in it as a family house though it will soon be a secondary residence, as his wife works in Paris and the children will be in school there in September. As he works abroad we talked about the ongoing international events.

One of the many tourist offices recommended a good place to stop for the night- after St Brévin-les-Pins and not too far from Nantes. We took their advice and found the most delightful camping ground aimed at cycle tourists. Right on the edge of the cycle path beside the canal, plenty of space for tents, and in addition a floored marquee with lighting providing table-seating for 12 and bicycle stands for 12 - fantastic if it is rainy or cold - a refrigerator and microwave, even! Plus excellent showering facilities. Top marks to Le Migron!

A fellow-traveller in the marquee, our bikes on the bike supports. Later they were full.

The 35 or so km to Nantes were quickly covered. There is a crossing on a free ‘bac’, quite sizeable, from one side of the Loire to the other - part of the road network. 

For a long time coming into Nantes there is a very depressing area of industrial land  - smells, pollution, railway lines (lots), a gypsy camp - gypsy is used generically here - I don’t know what group of temporary stayers lived there but it was depressingly awful to bike past. Dirty and smelly. 

Once in Nantes and armed with train tickets we had plenty of time to kill. We rode a bit, walked a bit, and fell upon a delightful little CycloCafe not far from the station where two people follow their passions. La Musette is run by a computer-programmer-turned-cycle repairer/restorer and his Hungarian-born wife, who loves cooking. They made us very welcome - we ordered 'the lunch’ (modestly priced) - gave us a place to leave our gear so that we could tether our bikes outside, looked after our gear when we went for a walk, invited us to watch the Tour de France on the TV, and generally made the wait for the train pass quickly. He fixes the bikes while she fixes the food! It’s just a new enterprise and we hope it goes well for them.

Eszter and Yvan and their cyclo-café

The train we waited for has a specially-fitted wagon that takes 34 bikes. A guy takes them off you and looks after them until it is your stop. So much less trouble than struggling with them up steep train steps then hanging them on hooks - once you have managed to find the right place - especially when loaded with panniers etc. This train runs during July and August, to cater for the many people who want to bike the Loire à Vélo trail. It stops at relevant stations between Nantes and Orléans, doing the trip in about three hours. We appreciated this service last year as well. 

Chris was at the station to meet us. So good to see him again. Time to catch up in many ways.

The beach at Fromentine with the ferry wharf visible at the end

The bridge at St Nazaire. Cycling over it NOT on our route, nor recommended