France by Bicycle | PART 8: THE LOIRE A VELO: ON TO THE ATLANTIC

After Nadia and Victor left Nantes to go back home to Zurich, we continue on, following the Loire Cycleway as it makes its way to its final conclusion, the Atlantic Ocean. We decide against taking the Saint Nazaire bridge, and head straight for Saint Brevin where we commence our journey at the Serpent d’Ocean, a huge snake skeleton sculpture on the beach. Our first chapter of our France trip is over, La Loire à Vélo. Now it’s time to follow La Vélodyssée down the coast for chapter two. Who doesn’t love milestones?

Music:

Accordion and Glockenspiel Comedy – JK Productions
Pond Five
081716572-accordion-and-glockenspiel-com
a href=”https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/81716572-accordion-and-glockenspiel-comedy-short-version”Stock Music/a provided by JK_Production, from a href=“https://www.pond5.com/”Pond5/a

Aurealis – Stray Bandit
Epidemic Sound

Woodblock Print – Ennio Mano
Epidemic Sound

Little Fling – Colton Walls
Epidemic Sound

Got good signage for cycling plenty of psychopaths I would definitely recommend France tons of good food and wine so I’m talking about Thank you just getting ready to leave nant on a cool gray cool gray morning waiting for Juliana to just finish things up here we go all right we’re leaving town leaving non taste cold and gray morning cool and gray Juliana’s all ready for rain as you can

See I’m a little more optimistic I see Blue Sky ahead I think we’re going to get a couple of drizzles but should be about all we have today we’re riding to the Atlantic Ocean last time we rode to the Atlantic Ocean we are finishing our ride thank you

They’re always a plus you’re getting out of the city you always have all these sharp turns and confusing directions takes a lot of patience just keep working at it until you get It ultimately it’s a lot of fun very challenging thank God for commute really hope so much

Every city has its glamorous side and it’s less than glamorous side not was no exception great thing about surgery everything else too Reality baby I think we’ve left most of the city behind back to Shady little Villages still a little dense a little bit of industry but I think we’re uh in a much more relaxed place now it looks like our route has led us to a ferry who’s now just picking up

Passengers across the river so we’ll cross over the Loire here in just a little bit stop eating very strong now we’re on the uh south side of the river ever since we got that ferry over which is setting us up nicely for our trip to this house getting a little breeze

Coming up up the Atlantic I think a little bit of a headwind morning so we are headed for the coast and then from the coast we will drop down toward the Bordeaux region it’s so far really enjoyed our time with Nadia and Victor they are just incredible people incredible and

I go to travel with so it’s a beautiful day clouds are breaking up sunny it’s going to be a high of like 77 so it’s not as hot and humid as it has been so I think I think it’ll be a good day and enjoying this ride Hey Foreign last time we tried to go through a detour was back on the Erie Canal when they were chopping down trees couldn’t get through that time this time they just smiled and waved maybe it’s more that relaxed French attitude I don’t know some Canal or other along the lower who

Are road is much more signposted through here or else we’re finally back on the more traditional route I’m not even sure if the route is supposed to be on the south side of the river or the North Side through here Heading for the Atlantic 40 kilometers away what is that 25 miles maybe the most according to our sources that’s mistletoe we’ve been seeing it all along the trail ever since the bear we should probably kiss under one of them at least huh so as you know I’ve been rather intrigued with the same

Thing with these trees so I found one low to the ground to be able to get a close look at it Roland says it’s mistletoe and it looks like mistletoe growing right out of the tree and I’m not really sure how that happens but it kind of looks

Like a mistletoe it’s got little berries in it it’s got the leaf shape but now we know Definitely getting into some low country wouldn’t you say oh yes it kind of feels like Netherlands or something Such a Pleasant Road we’re taking just quiet as can be Shady it’s cool perfect riding Temps traffic no traffic it’s a quiet peaceful day and just loving it Kind of Crossing through a bit of a network of canals it looks like turning left here babe hmm pretty as can be beautiful day it’s gonna be a better day weather-wise it’s a gorgeous September weather that that low light going on through the clouds here and there cold and Light

We are uh stopped at a little rest stop we’re headed for scent for Ben and we’re having a good time it’s a good day we left Nadia and Victor last night and so now we’re on our own and we’re almost to the Atlantic and we’re just going to

Head south from there and take the coast down into the Bordeaux region oh yeah so much better after I have ice cream nice little Lunch hot tomato soup and a panini a little bit of ice cream and we are on our way decided to do crossover

To Saint nazer which will uh put us over a long bridge over the Loire yeah kind of a nice little Finishing Touch to the war River got ourselves a nice room I think all systems go we’re just finishing up the avello and we have already begun on the level Odyssey only

10 more miles till we get to the Atlantic it felt a bit lonely with just the two of us and we missed the company of Victor and Nadia nevertheless there are a few things more exciting than beginning a new chapter while the Loire was magnificent we were ready for new Landscapes and new

Experiences the ocean was calling us and we were eager to answer the call I love these little chateaus getting into some more busy industrial zones now As we neared the coast we found ourselves riding through increasingly crowded landscapes we rode through coastal towns until we were LED onto a dirt path that brought us into the sand and the seagrass and the canals of the Estuary of the Loire Another little bamboo forest please getting close to the Atlantic now maybe about five miles away and we’re across the country of France and then we’ll head south closing in on the Atlantic only a few more miles we can see that it’s almost there Bridge it looks intimidating very high very long and no

Doubt very windy up there but we’re tough tough as Nails landscape through here is Juliana was just saying looks a lot like the American east coast flat and grassy [Applause] kind of marshy maybe I’m excited to see what this next section is like on the velocity a new

Chapter getting ready to be experienced these docks are just for private boats do you suppose So we decided to skip the bridge the San Jose bridge in favor of a stay in some camping trailer park in San brevin’s so no bridge for today it’ll have to wait for another time so we’re on our way where we got maybe another mile before

We get to the official end of the Loire River and the official beginning of the Atlantic Ocean and then down into San brevin’s supposedly there’s a serpent sculpture Center you don’t see it is that indeed that is the serpent sculpture I know and so here we are at the end of the

Loire we’ve made it to the Atlantic and here is the famous serpent sculpture that somehow commemorates the end of the river interesting piece of artwork for sure I like it though very cool guy sticking his head in the mouth of the serpent her brave soul it’s very cool sculpture

We have finished our first chapter everywhere we go people stop Juliana to ask her about her to Brim everywhere we go it’s on any helmets I love it very good last year across the United States and then this year around France from Switzerland all over very very good you

Can fold it in half roll it up put it in your bag take it out thank you make you big enough to sponsor me the Atlantic Ocean this time from the other side Check it out Herman made it to the Atlantic once again damn you get around for a hedgehog Okay stop filming foreign You’re an artist yes I’ve got a card oh yeah do you want that yes yes please yes look how gorgeous this is what a beautiful piece of artwork this is you have her name yes I Come From The Basque Country oh yes okay from The Basque Country I’m trying

To think of how to ask if she does many different ones um other other artwork um [Laughter] I I don’t 10 French to English yes okay we’ll type it in it’s my phone oh it’s his her eighth one yes eight one yes where else only here only in France yes in France

Yes well done that’s beautiful I’d love it it says joy Liberty love peace yes and what’s the first one gonna in there and make your choice okay and the tide will wash it away yes yes I understand yes yes and see the uh it’s already starting to take it away

So you can see it’s starting to clean yeah I love the idea of making art that you don’t get to keep that you can’t hold on to you know yes it’s just a beautiful idea I I love this moment the the ocean right and it’s my yes they’re beautiful human Slowly riding through the town of somber van probably need to find a place to eat before too long it would be a great place for a to enjoy a bottle of wine and a sunset right there a beautiful little markets very artfully staged this ain’t no Safe Way

After finding no restaurants open we inquired at a market they informed us that around here you’ll never find anything open for dinner before seven o’clock a beautiful restaurant very nice but we eventually found a spot along our route even if their late hours put us on

The road to our BNB well past Sunset well we just had a lovely dinner at a beautiful little French restaurant I had salmon and Roland had duck I think he loves that recipe out here when you get out of the restaurant in this lovely woman came by and asked us in French do

We have a place to sleep here we are in the middle of France and there’s another Trail angel I tell you they’re just everywhere something to be said for Good Karma first times on this trip that we’ve actually had to use our lights and that we’re riding at night but we were

Granted a later check-in nine o’clock tonight it’s about 20 till and we’ve got a couple miles to go to get to our place I hope it’s as nice as it looked down the site it’d be great much appreciated foreign