Up bright and early, looking out the window of our accomodation. I note the boulangerie is closed. We were first to arrive at breakfast. Surprise 😲

Today we rode 122 km. On paper it looked straight forward but it was far from it. I do not think I have ever got on and off my bike, cleat, un cleat, walk crossings, avoid moving people, fast moving traffic, turned left, right, left quite as much as today.

One of the main reasons was the large city of Nantes, Frances sixth largest city with a larger metro population of around one million. We stayed on the southern side of the Loire to try and avoid the worst of it.

Before the Nantes urbanisation, there were some lovely vistas.

Photos around Nantes were not a priority. We just concentrated on getting in and out of urbanisation as safely as possible. Notwithstanding that, I actually did not spot one interesting thing. It was an ugly conglomeration of industry from todays perspective.

This was looking back at the main bridge between north and south Nantes. What you can’t see is that the traffic is barely moving. Lots of trucks just crawling.

I did do some quick research on Nantes tonight and the older area does have some redeeming qualities and history.

Sadly during WWII the Germans destroyed 2000 buildings and rendered another 6000 unsafe. The city wins awards for it’s innovation.

Some 10 km after the city, things calmed and we joined a canal path. Finally some piece back in nature.

Looking ahead, that bridge is the last one that crosses the Loire before it empties into the Bay of Biscay. I have read reports from riders, mostly saying it is awful to ride across as it is exposed, windy and has a narrow cycle lane.

Here is the bridge to Saint Nazaire as we rode closer. The river has become muddy and quite ugly. Man has stuffed it up. In addition there is significant siltation, part of which I understand is the result of a competition between the incoming tide, and the outflowing Loire.

The incoming tide reaches 30 km up the Loire as far as Nantes.

There are numerous of these fishing jetties and huts, all privately owned. They are maintained to varying standards but the jetties look wonky in many cases. Low tide does not add to the appeal.

Finally we reach the west coast of France. We have successfully completed our second crossing of France laterally, at different latitudes. Our first was in 2016 en route London to Venice, albeit a more direct route.

Time to head south for a few days.

The first highlight was the Serpent of the Sea, an interesting metal sculpture. It is very long (130 m) and was made by Huang Yong Ping in 2012. It is installed in the intertidal zone at Saint Brevin, at the mouth of the Loire ( southern side).

It was low tide when we visited, but at high tide, most of times covered. The intention is that marine fauna and vegetation will invade it over time.

By coincidence, my neighbour Dayle sent me the picture below this morning, courtesy of David Attenborough. At higher water levels and a drone camera, it shows the magnificence of the serpent.

We followed a walking path along the beach. It was very pleasant.

Then there were areas where there was more extensive vegetation verges.

Food options had been scarce today, without deviation. We hung on and shortly after turning south, we found a village, with a boulangerie so we grabbed some lunch and sat under a nice shady tree of the church below. You could just see the ocean. We had ridden just under 100 km at this point.

It was hot again with 34C so we moved onwards. We were only about 28 km from our accomodation.

We rode into Pornic, an interesting town crawling with tourists. This had been our original overnight stop but due to issues with bike storage, I cancelled and moved us further south.

Again, the tide is low, and it is a very muddy river, boats stuck on the mud. You would need to time your boat trips well here.

We are now in the town of Le Bernerie en Retz, boasting a long sandy beach and lagoon. The water is part of the Bay of Biscay, that is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Our accomodation is nice but we are not happy re the bikes. The owner has insisted they stay in his front yard, adjacent to a 3 foot low fence. He says he has a 300 euro bike and it’s never been touched….I told him the value of mine, his eyes popped. He moved his bike and put ours in his rack, and we have our locks on them. Reality is a two minute job and they would be gone. 🙏

The annoying thing is we have a back deck. They could easily go there as the fence in the backyard is typical of many European homes. It would be about 10 foot tall and solid rock. It would be safe as.

However this guy won’t budge on the issue of our bikes. On breakfast I did score a win. Instead of 8.30 am he agreed to 7.30am.

At that time he will move a pot plant that stands between our deck and their deck and we may move about the back garden. It was stressed, not until the pot plant is moved!

Time to get some shut eye. It’s now 9.30 pm.

Thanks for reading, smile on 😊

Oh that would be me….more later. Even Saint Hilaire is pointing his finger at me. 🪣

Today was a longer day completing 147 km riding from Bourbon Lancy to Sancerre.

With a 6 am breakfast, we were on the road well before 7 am. It had rained overnight as the roads were still wet. The sun was trying to break through.

Our first glimpse of the beautiful Loire River. I love the Loire, and we last saw it in 2015 when we cycled from Calais to Narbonne then across to Carcassonne, another great trip.

In a tiny village a little further on, boasting about three houses stood these seven carved figurines. They delighted me, particularly the first one earlier of Saint Hilaire. They are carved from trees that grew there.

Love these bikes! We were turning right and heading to Decize.

More pink bikes. The French are getting confused with the Giro. It is common to see pink cycling decorations in Italy as pink represents the Maglia Rosa, the jersey worn by the leader of the GC ( General Classification). In the Tour de France, the leaders jersey is the maillot jaune ( the yellow jersey).

We spent a fair time riding flood levees today. The one below has the Loire on the left. At other times we were adjacent to canals.

Again, lots of locks. This is a well kept lock.

We thought we would have a toilet/ coffee stop in Decize, about 45 km into our ride. The traffic was awful in this town. All variety of trucks and cars seem to converge into one lane snaking around to the bridge.

Whilst waiting to cross the bridge we noted the art installation over the road. Note the bird either end. It appears to be our Aussie sulphur crested cockatoo.

Once safely over the bridge we saw a safe spot to get off the road, allow our adrenaline to reset, aided by a coffee. Back on the road it was hectic for another km or so, pretty well crawling pace at best. Despite EV6 going through this town, I would avoid it if possible

This hedge art was at a Loire canal lock. Well maintained and manicured gardens.

We had seen many touring cyclists during the morning, all heading the other way. Finally we found some heading in the same direction but had to stop as they had stopped and blocked the cycle path, busy in conversation.

So we made our way ahead, and arrived in a village that had a shop open selling food. We had a nice quiche and treat each.

But whilst we were eating the group came past. There is a mixture of bikes there including a few e-bikes, particularly popular with older riders. We did catch up and pass them a bit later on after our lunch.

Heading off after lunch we came up behind these two riders. What intrigued us was the size (width) of the ladies luggage.

The next two photos are amongst our favourite for the day. The first sight was the lovely old bridge.

Then a little further on and more is revealed.

The town is Charite-sur-Loire. The bridge was constructed in 1520. Joan of Arc visited the city in 1429 attempting to take the heavily fortified place. Pretty cool.

Another fascinating site today occurred as we crossed the lock below. The barge is the Deborah, with about 20 or so guests on board. As we rode the path it was apparent this was an extraordinary engineering feat.

The canal crosses over the top of the Loire, then descends steeply at the next lock. Amazing.

Our destination today was Sancerre, a hilltop town. Our angle of approach did not show the town quite like the picture below, hence my use of someone else’s photo. The picture also does not show just how steep it is to get up to the top.

Tony took this photo early into the climb. The area is renowned for its wine.

Our route took us up the steepest street in the town, of course! I looked at it and thought ‘ I don’t think so’. However with my newest granny gears I made it. Just. If someone had stepped out in my path from a shop I’d have been stuffed – or maybe they might have been!

An interesting town with lots of narrow streets. We had some difficulty finding our accomodation and went down and back up steep streets just because!

I needed to negotiate better secure bike storage and fortunately the Dutch owner of the accomodation was very helpful and understanding.

Apparently the French Resistance used the town during WWII as a headquarters to thwart the Germans. Certainly there are very good 360 degree views from the top.

A few of the town buildings.

Time for me to get ready for bed folks. It is 9 pm and I need my beauty sleep. It is a later start tomorrow as breakfast is not until 8 am. However, it is a shorter day…I think 99 km?

So stay tuned, thanks for reading

Ooroo and smile on 😊