La Rochelle to Pornic, France: Biking into Brittany
31 March - 3 April 2019
La Rochelle to La Tranche-sur-Mer (31 March 2019, 72 km, 44.7 mi)
We were up and ready to go before sunrise today. It’s not that we were feeling particularly ambitious. Our early start can be attributed to the fact that we didn’t know France would be switching to daylight savings time during the night. In the morning our alarm went off an hour earlier than yesterday, but we didn’t quite realize what was happening until we were already heading out the door. Neither one of us felt like we missed the extra hour of sleep, so it all worked out just fine. It was great to get such an early start to the day.
Even better, it was a beautiful day for a ride. Once the morning mist had lifted, we cycled under a cloudless sky. The winds were light, and it even warmed up into the mid-60s F (18 C) in the afternoon.
The route today was a study in canals. Heading east out of La Rochelle, we followed a wooded towpath next to the Canal de Rompsay. But for most of the day, we were back in the open, treeless areas of the Marais Poitevin, the second-largest marsh in France. In one of the wooded areas we heard our second Common Cuckoo. The sound of it’s call was just as much fun to hear the second time as it was the first. Even though we tried, we still haven’t been able to get a sighting of the bird.
The magical morning light on the Canal de Rompsay, Périgny, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
The Marais Poitevin is a huge area of mostly-drained marshland, now protected by a sea wall. It’s actually the remnants of the Gulf of Poitou, where the land was originally under the sea. The eastern third is maintained as a semi-natural area, cross-crossed by lots of drainage canals. Boating on the canals is especially popular, leading to the area’s nickname of “the Green Venice.” We cycled for several hours along the berms lining the canals.
An old - probably inoperable - lock in the Canal Maritime de Marans à la Mer. Two boaters in kayaks approached the lock, then turned and headed back in the opposite direction. Marais Poitevin, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
The western two-thirds of the marsh are known as the “dry marsh” because they’re more heavily drained, and cultivated extensively for agriculture. In fact, as a result of intensifying agricultural use the marsh lost its status as a regional natural park in 1997. Attempts to regain the label began in 2002, but a new management plan has yet to be adopted.
Just over 30 km into the trip, we entered the historical region of Brittany on the far, northwestern coast of France. Brittany has a strong, cultural identity that stems from its early population by several large migrations of Celtic people from the British Isles. It was an independent nation until the 1500s. The other thing Brittany is known for is its cool, damp climate. We’ll be experiencing some of that as we go further north.
We stopped for lunch at a picnic table in a pretty little park in Saint-Michel-en-l’Herm, a town that lies within the Marais Poitevin, France. It’s delightful to see the spring flowers in bloom. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Just around the corner from our picnic was something you would only find in France: a baguette vending machine! I certainly hope the baguettes are replaced with freshly baked loaves every day. Saint-Michel-en-l’Herm, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
After lunch, we took some time to work on our bikes. The locking mount for my steer-stopper had come loose, and needed to be re-installed. Saint-Michel-en-l’Herm, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
After lunch, on the far-western edge of the marsh, we cycled around an unusual geological feature. The small community of La Dive sits atop a limestone outcrop that was once an island far out in the Gulf of Poitou. It’s now a picturesque bluff, rising out of a sea of agriculture.
This is what an island looks like when you drain away the sea. The limestone bluffs of La Dive, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
A Black-Winged Stilt searches for lunch out on the marsh. Marais Poitevin, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
A cycling tourist (me) searches for Black-winged Stilts out on the marsh. Marais Poitevin, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Just after passing the La Dive outcrop, we reached the sea wall that keeps the ocean from reclaiming the marsh. In the photo above, you can see the sea wall where our route dead-ends into the ocean-front road. This area is similar to places in the Netherlands that have been drained and diked to create more arable land.
The Atlantic Ocean’s just over there, on the other side of this sea wall. That’s how the Marais Poitevin Marsh is kept from being reclaimed by the sea. L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Tiny, colorful fishing boats lined the waterways of the estuary we passed, after reaching the Atlantic Ocean. L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Just a quick 15 km after reaching the coast, we arrived at our destination for the night. La Tranche-sur-Mer is another, quaint, seaside village that hasn’t quite come to life for the season, yet. Many businesses were still closed. Fermé! Our hotel had just opened two days ago, and they hadn’t turned on the central heat yet. So they didn’t realize it was broken until we checked into our room and couldn’t get any heat out of the radiator. It was a Sunday afternoon, so there really wasn’t any hope of getting the heat fixed. Luckily the proprietor was able to move us to another room that had its own, in-room heater. We were the only guests at the hotel, so moving rooms was not a problem.
We were worried that getting dinner might be a challenge with so many businesses - including the local supermarket - closed. But miraculously, there were TWO restaurants open, right next to each other, just a few minutes walk from the hotel. We ate dinner at one - our second crêpe meal for the trip. Delicious. I even had a crêpe for dessert, although PedalingGuy opted for ice cream.
We then ordered a take-out pizza from the other restaurant to take back to the room for breakfast. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about finding food in the morning.
Dessert at the crêperie in La Tranche-sur-Mer, France. I thought it was a little chilly for ice cream, but PedalinGuy went for it anyway. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
La Tranche-sur-Mer to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (1 April 2019, 82 km, 51 mi)
As of this morning, we both officially have a head cold. I woke up with a sore throat and a very stuffy nose. PedalingGuy is five days into his cold, so he’s starting to feel a little bit better. But we’ll have to be careful about pushing ourselves too hard for at least another week.
Fortunately, we had wonderful weather today. So, even though we had planned a long day in the saddle, it was a pleasure to be out on our bikes.
We spent the day cycling along forested paths that stayed close to the coast. Although the overall route profile was level, there were numerous, short and steep hills that would leave you huffing and puffing after a 20 m (60-70 ft) climb. Most of the route was on dirt and gravel, with some fairly bumpy sections. All of the bouncing around was tough on our pannier hooks, which have started show signs of wear and tear. Along the way, I lost a piece on one of my pannier hooks. We had heard previously that an insert in the Ortlieb hooks is prone to slipping out as the bags get older, and that’s exactly what happened to me.
Thankfully, PedalingGuy had put some spares in our repair kit. The inserts come in a variety of sizes, so that the correct sized insert helps the pannier hook hold on tightly to the pannier rack. The spares had come with our panniers when we bought them, but were a size too big for our racks. As a result, the spare insert was a couple of millimeters too wide for my pannier rack. That was easily fixed with some duct tape around the rack. We made the repairs in a picnic area by the side of the trail.
Violà! A little duct tape around the pannier rack, and my new pannier insert (which is 2 mm too wide) should work fine. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
The route along the French Atlantic Coast continues to be lusciously scenic, from picturesque farmhouses to the rugged, rocky coastline.
Old, roadside farm building. Saint-Hubert, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
WWII bunkers on a prominent bluff overlooking the sea. It’s amazing how many of these concrete structures were built along France’s coast over a pretty short period of time. Pointe de Cayola, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Puffer, admiring the rocky seashore. It’s his favorite type of coastline. Le Châteu-d’Olonne, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
The mouth of every big river seems to have its own fortification to protect the entrance to the city and its port. We cycled past the Tower of Arundel, at the mouth of the Vertonne River. It was originally part of a larger, 14th century castle, and now hosts a maritime museum. Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
A sense of deep history seeps from the stones in these old, farm buildings. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We arrived in Saint-Giles-Croix-de-Vie early enough to go to a nearby bike shop and look for some spare parts. They didn’t have the pannier inserts we needed, but I was able to get a new kickstand. Unfortunately, the new one is more than twice as heavy as the original BV double-leg kickstand. On the bright side, it’s incredibly sturdy - it’s made to be strong enough to hold up a heavy e-bike. So it should last for a while. Furthermore, the bolt that attaches the kickstand to the bike is much longer and easier to keep tight. Maybe that will reduce the likelihood that the bolt casing will get stripped, like my last one did.
My beefy new kickstand (ErgoTec Double Flex 3). It’s big and heavy, but it’s also solid as a rock. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We both also took a hard look at how we had positioned our panniers on the racks, and decided that repositioning the hooks on the racks would probably reduce the strain on the hooks during bumpy rides. So we adjusted the hook positions on our back panniers. Hopefully that will help keep us from losing any more of the inserts.
Saint-Giles-Croix-de-Vie to Fromentine (2 April 2019, 37 km, 23 mi)
The weather forecast today was not too appealing. It was chilly with a very strong headwind, and showers forecast for the afternoon. We decided to make it a short cycling day with hopes of arriving in Fromentine before the rain.
The ride itself was wonderfully scenic. The route hugged the coast, except for a couple of dips into maritime forests. Even though it’s now April, the seaside towns are still dormant. We passed through many villages where we saw very few people.
Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
With the early start, we arrived in Fromentine by noon - a bit soon for checking in to a hotel, but we had beaten the rain. We discovered that the hotel we had planned to stay in did not have anyone staffing the reception desk (fermé!). Without other options, we went next door to another hotel. The second hotel was a bit run-down, but hey, it was open. It also ended up having better wifi than we’ve seen at other hotels lately. As a general rule, the speed of the wifi in French hotels has been truly awful, especially compared to Spain and Portugal. So having decent wifi was a nice bonus that we hadn’t expected.
Just as we were checking in to the hotel, rain started to fall. A check of the weather outlook in the evening was not very encouraging. A front is moving in, and it looks like we can expect colder weather with rain showers over the next 4-6 days. As a result, we’ll be trying to time our cycling to avoid the rain as much as possible.
Fromentine to Pornic (3 April 2019, 43.3 km, 27 mi)
A blustery rainstorm awaited us when we woke up this morning. At first it was just a light rain. But just as we were getting ready to leave, a steady downpour started. We decided to wait it out in our hotel room. Once the storm had passed and the rain stopped, we hopped on our bikes and hit the road.
Based on the weather forecast, we had a window of just a couple of hours before the rain would probably start up again. For nearly 30 km we cycled into a northwesterly headwind, but we were grateful it wasn’t raining.
Since time was of the essence, we decided not to take the official EuroVelo 1 route to Pornic. That section of the trail twists and turns through marshes and woodlands, mostly on dirt and gravel paths. Instead, we took several major roads that parallel the trail (D-22, D758 and D-213). This not only kept us out of the mud, but it also reduced our cycling distance for the day by nearly 30 km. Both D-22 and D-758 had low traffic volumes and were relatively scenic, too. As we got closer to Pornic on D-213, the traffic became much heavier. But some stretches of the road had a shoulder, making it rideable, if not as pleasant.
All’s quiet on La Taillée Canal. These carrelets (fishing shacks) sit idly, waiting for the fish to run. La Barre-de-Monts, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Nice scenery along the D-758 through-road. Most of this region is very rural. Beauvoir-sur-Mer, France. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We were making great time, and thinking we might actually avoid the rain. But with less than 10 km to go, it started to drizzle. Then, the rain started coming down hard. We were being pelted with the big raindrops that were being driven by the strong winds. There was even a bit of sleet and BB-sized hail thrown in to make it interesting. We were getting very cold and wet.
Just in the nick of time, we approached an exit ramp that led to a MacDonald’s restaurant. Hallelujah! We pulled off the road, parked our bikes under an awning, and sloshed into the MacDonald’s, where we had lunch, warmed up, and dried off (mostly).
After a good rest and hot meal, we were ready to tackle the last 5 km push to Pornic. The rain had died down, but it was still pretty windy and chilly. So, we hustled to the hotel and arrived early in the afternoon.
One reason we had chosen the Hôtel Le Mauritia was because of it’s proximity to a Decathlon sporting goods store. After cleaning up and drying off, we headed over to the Decathlon to pick up a few things. Everything we bought was stuff to help keep us warmer: a pair of gloves, a pair of warm socks, and a lightweight sleeping bag for PedalingGuy. His Revelation sleeping quilt (which is supposed to be a 20 F quilt) just hasn’t performed that well at temperatures below 45 F (7.5 C), which are still likely for us on this trip. When it’s cold, he’ll use the extra, lightweight sleeping bag as a blanket over his Revelation quilt, to provide more insulation. That’s going to help us feel more confident about camping down the road.
