Eurovelo 6 - Day 21 - Nantes to Saint-Nazaire (final day)

Mission accomplished.

 

 

We arrived in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins and dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean, after riding across France, east to west, from Mulhouse, near the Swiss border. We still had a short ride to Saint-Nazaire where we will spend the night and travel to Paris by train tomorrow.

We've travelled over 1,300 km in 21 days, including 3 rest days in Nevers, Orleans, and Amboise. We experienced some of the best that France offers its visitors; cultural experiences, fine wines and food, and a glimpse of its history and heritage.

 

Today's ride ...

 

A few blogs I've read about the stage between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire described it as being a bit boring, however we found it great. Very diverse landscapes throughout the 65 km journey.

 

We started this morning with stands up at 9.00am, cycling back towards the Eurovelo 6 route on the northern side of the river. The traffic was chaos to us, however by the looks on Nantais' (natives of Nantes) faces it was all normal. There were hundreds of cyclists on bike paths that crisscrossed the city. It's obviously an important mode of transport in France's 6th largest city.

After a few kilometres of playing dodgem cars and bikes, we found ourselves in the quieter port area of Nantes which itself had a 3,000-year history! The area was very industrial however it wasn't long before we were back onto forest riding trails and country roads.

 

The day was meant to start with showers, however they passed before we started our ride, and the day looks to have moderate temperatures. The challenge will be the predicted 20 km headwinds.

 

We pass a few small villages along the river and canals and pull up for a coffee just as a restaurant opens up. We're a third of the way through today's ride, and the roads and bike paths have been excellent. We finally get to travel on our first car ferry of the trip ... and free of charge!

 

Suddenly the promised 20 km per hour headwinds hit us. We were to battle on for a couple of hours along the river banks before finally arriving at Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, and the Atlantic, our destination.

After taking the obligatory photos at the end of our journey, we then needed one final adventure ... getting across the Loire River to Saint-Nazaire where we'd hand back our rental bikes, and pack and repack for our train travel to Paris. To get across the river we need to cross over on the Pont-de-Saint-Nazaire, the Saint Nazaire Bridge. It's a beast - 3 kilometres across (3,356 metres to be exact) with heavy traffic, and high buffeting winds at its apex, on a bike lane that was added as an afterthought and about shoulder-width wide. Just to top it off, it's not level. You need to climb a decent grade, with a fully loaded bike, to the bridge's apex, before the descent. It would have been hair-raising if I had hair. We did all survive ... but vowed never again!

 

After a ride through Saint-Nazaire's port area and industrial district, we arrived at our hotel for the night. Dinner was a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, before heading to our rooms to repack one last time on the trip. 

So what are some of my more novel takeaways from this trip?

My favourite word in the world is now Bonjour. Everyone greets you with this, even ride cyclists wearing lycra! But it's more ... it's the way it's spoken. It always feels genuine and warm ... it's almost sung rather than spoken. Bonjour!

French drivers are very courteous. There just seems to be a culture of respecting cyclists here, and it's been wonderful.

The French respect history. It's old. The investment into restoring and maintaining its heritage buildings is significant. Perhaps the French take the beauty of its architectural wonders for granted, however, for the visitor they are priceless and leave you in awe.

The French seem to work to live rather than live to work. In the early days, travelling through regional areas, I was perplexed by how many shops were closed or had limited hours. In part, we're now at the end of the tourist season, but mostly it felt like many smaller retailers just did what they needed to do to have the lifestyle wanted, not expected. This was different to the larger cities, as with all cities, where perhaps we've forgotten what is important in life. I came to appreciate this less hectic way of life.

An important, if unusual,  observation - never ever wave or signal to get a French waiter's attention. You'll be last served, if at all. Just wait, smile, and they'll eventually get there.