(97km)

Some of the nice alleys in Noiremoutier

Today I though I should try having something heavier for breakfast. So after I packed my stuff, I went to Noiremoutier’s old port and I had some of yesterday’s picnic leftovers. Some tomatoes, cheese and smoked sausage. I think it works better for a good morning start, as by noon I had already covered 40km, which helped to spread the distance along the duration of the day.

On the way to exit Noiremoutier

This time I left the island not by the Gois passage, but by the normal bridge. From the top there was an amazing view of the island, the countryside and the ocean.

On top of the bridge looking at the island

Just after I descented the bridge, I noticed a cycle path which I followed. It was not on tarmac, but cement covert with very fine sand which was good enough for my thin tires. The ride was within a dense forest of pine trees. It’s been the last couple of days that I’ve been noticing more and more pines, which is an indication that I am making some progress to southern climates. After about 10km, the road became to rocky so I abandoned it for the smoother and faster road.
By lunch time, I bought a bread stuffed with cooked onions, something that I had never tried before and I really liked, which I had by the ocean, where I had my break to read my book.
My next stop for ice cream was Saint Giles, which as a summer resort town was very spread out and looked a little deserted. The only interesting thing I saw was a preparation for some kind of cycling event. The road was full of cyclists warming up for the start, wearing their colourful clothes and riding their high-tech bikes. It’s very common than people that see me on the road will stare at me and say bonjour or something, but most of these cyclists only checked what bike I was riding and moved on.

Unknown cycling event

Leaving the town, I noticed another cycle path, which this time took me through the coast, within sand dunes next to the beaches. Today it was hot, so the whole area was rather busy with people enjoying the sun, swimming and also surfers in the ocean’s waves. I really enjoy these cycling paths, even if they are a lot slower to ride and indirect, as you feel closer to the nature, you see more interesting landscapes and you don’t have to worry about traffic. I just need to find a way to wash my bike, as it is now covered in mud and dust.

Endless beaches

I got to Sables, my final destination a little early, so my priority was to go to a cafe by the beach with wifi and update my facebook statues. By the time I was done, it was a 8pm, so I quickly looked for something to eat as I still had to look for a camping site. Luckily in the restaurant I met the french couple sitting next to me and they kindly helped to locate the closest one. They also bought me the dessert as they liked the idea of me cycling all the way to Greece. To be honest, I didn’t get to see much of the town, apart from the fact that has a very long beach, in front of massive appartment buildings, which I don’t find very tasteful.

The packed beach at Sables

(95km)

This time I woke up and got ready very early, as I was keen on covering some distance. I had my breakfast and started cycling to the south via the coastal towns of the area.
The first interesting place I saw, was Saint Gildas, which has a few remaining WWII bunkers overlooking the Atlantis ocean. I had the chance to go into one of them and it was amazing how thick the walls and the ceiling were. But I guess their job is to be strong.

It seems that it was that day of the week and I saw many markets on local streets in different towns. I started buying various goods for my midday picnic which I had in Pornic. Pornic is a very nice little town and is located exactly where the Canal de Haute Perce meets the sea.

After eating my pate and cheese, I had pleanty of energy to cycle until the evening. In Bourgneuf after visiting the local tourist office I decided to spend the night in Noirmoutier, which is an island close to the mainland. This island is connected via a bridge and also another road which is rather interesting. What is so interesting about it, is the fact that the road is submerged under the sea water for most of the time, but during low tide drivers have a window of about an hour and a half to cross these 5 kilometers. Luckily the timing was perfect when I got there. I only had to wait ten minutes half way through the road, in order to avoid getting my socks wet. It was very strange cycling so close to the water and the whole scenery was something I’ve never seen before. Next to the road, many people were taking the opportunity to go to the freshly revealed sand, to search and collect oysters for their dinner.

Passage du Gois

Salt... loads of it

Traditional fishing hut

Roadkill, I saw hundreds of them on the way to Noirmoutier

When I got to the island, I started looking for a camp site and I knew there are pleanty as it is a very poppular destination. But of course, something that didn’t really come to my mind beforehand, is that because of its popularity everything would be a lot more expensive. After visiting about three of them, I found a municiapl one which is cheaper than anything else and stayed there for the night.

Noirmoutier