Day 27. St Jean Pied de Port to St Palais. 32.64 kms cycled. 2.01 hours cycling. 46.55 km/h max speed. 16.13 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and warm.
Not much to report today. Basically I think the effort of crossing the Pyrenees took its toll on me because once I started cycling today I had absolutely no energy.
Thankfully I had planned an easy day, because the 32 km trip to St Palais was as much as I was up to.
The French countryside looks magnificent at this time of the year, with everything green, blossoms everywhere and it seems like everyone is enjoying finally having some good weather after a long and cold winter.
I guess my news for the day relates to the route I have decided to take to Nantes on the Loire River , the starting point for my west to east crossing of France
After using skype in a café prior to leaving St Jean Pied de Port, two French brothers (sorry I have forgotten their names) approached me and asked where I had come from/was going to.
We ended up having an interesting discussion about cycle touring and more importantly as it turned out, the best route for me to take north to Nantes
By all accounts there is a specific walking and cycling track that opened about two years ago that virtually goes the full length of the Atlantic coast from Biarritz in the south to near Nantes
And according to the brothers it is a magnificent route free of traffic and extremely picturesque. So rather than continue on roads and battle with traffic for the 400-plus km trip, I have decided to give it a go.
As a result I will now head to Hossegor on the coast where I will hopefully be able to obtain information from the local tourist office and maps specific to the track.
Apparently there are a couple of ferry crossings along the way to get across large inlets (in particular the one that goes down to Bordeaux
Also, there are apparently camping areas along the track specifically set up for walkers and cyclists, so it sounds just perfect.
While I would miss cycling through the French countryside and seeing all the old villages along the way if I use the track, I reason that I will see more than enough villages etc once I do the west – east crossing.
Maybe some of my Australian-based research assistants could do some internet detective work to hopefully find out some more details about the track for me. If you can find any info either email it or send me the link, thanks.
I have booked into a council camping ground for the night and will hopefully be feeling more energetic tomorrow for the trip to Peyrehorade, with Hossegar now the target the following day.
caption: My French friends who suggested the coastal route to Nantes
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIts called the Euro Velo Bicycle Trail, I am sure if you go into any Tourism office they would have a map of the trail. It goes for 60,000km from Scotland down to Portugal. I can't find a specific map for you, but as you say there is definately a trail along the atlantic coast.
Happy cycling xx