La Rochelle - Les Sables d'Ollone - Bouin - Nantes

18.5.2022 From La Rochelle, the route follows an old canal inland to Marans, then turns west. The terrain is very flat and I ride past huge cornfields. Near the coast, there are bridges over drainage canals. The paths are now often hard, sandy but easy to ride, only the bike and the panniers look accordingly. There are sections with rocks and sandy bathing areas right on the coast. Les Sables d'Ollon can be seen from a distance, it looks like Manhattan Downtown. It's not my favorite place.

19.5.2022 I accidentally found out that it might be possible to ride the 'Passage du Goie' according to the tides. It is only open during low tide and 1.5 hours before and after. So I have to pedal fast to reach the 70km there in time. Then there is a construction site on the bridge that leads to the island and then a detour. But the time window fits and I am currently at the 'Passage du Gois'. It is something special to ride through the 4.5km there, the road is still wet but easy to ride. There are many cars next to the road in the sand, people put on boots and walk away with baskets, I assume they are looking for shells or frog legs or seaweed? At high tide, the road is flooded about 2-3m deep. There are safety towers along the road in case someone is late for shellfish hunting. Spending the night in a B&B thatched cottage is something different, a bit remote. I haven't forgotten to buy something to eat before.

20.5.2022 In the night I hear thunder and rain once. Breakfast is brought to the cottage on time and tastes great. Everything is packed and off I go. It is actually drizzling lightly, I put on my rain jacket, but no other rain gear. Fortunately, it stops after about 5km. I ride to Pornic about 30km, a town with 15,000 inhabitants and a train connection. I take the train to Nantes because I have already cycled a large part of this route when I was cycling along the Loire. I even manage to buy a ticket at a machine, 8.40€ with my senior card for a 1-hour train ride. In Nantes, I go straight to the hotel to soon take a city tour. On the island, I visit the 'Machines de L'Ile', https://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr. The audience favorite is the Elephant, it is mobile, very impressive, and takes a round trip on the premises. In between, it sprays the children with its trunk. I also ride around the city a bit.

Route Taken