Day 10: Long day

We left Riex with the intention of following the canals down towards Nantes. The friendly bike tourer from a couple of days ago had told us that it is not only beautiful but flat. It certainly wasn't the most direct route but if it's flat you know you will make good progress. I wasn't 100% sure this was the best way to go, but as it was a tip from a fellow cyclist, and Lucy wanted to follow the canals, that was the way we were going.


Again, absolutely stunning. I'm not entirely sure what my expectations were in terms of what France would be like to cycle through, but whatever they were, they could not have been anywhere near what we have seen in terms  beauty and culture. Every town we pass through has been stunning, and everyone we have spoken to has been extremely nice.

The cqnql paths led us all the way down towards Nantes, and was a joy to ride. Alright it may have been a bit uneven at times, but nothing the bikes couldn't handle. We got down to Le Pellerin and used the ferry to cross the Loire, which was free.... yes, something for free! Needless to say we were stunned!

Once off the ferry we headed towards Nantes to where we had been told there was a campsite. It wasn't forthcoming and as we went on the evening started to draw in, Lucy was getting hungry and we still couldn't find anywhere. Lucy wanted to go back becausr she thought we might have missed it, which led me to utter the words I said to myself time and time again when I was cycling the coast of the US; "What do we do if we can't find anywhere to stay?.. We just keep going. It sounds really patronising when you say it outloud, although wasn't mean't to be!

Anyway, 5 minutes later we found the campsite, which was full. Allegedly; but as we entered Lucy said to the receptionist that we cannot go any further and he kindly put us in the corner that wasn't really a space, opened the showers for us that had just closed, and was generally super helpful.

58.49 mile on the clock, the best so far.

Lucy's quote of the day; "I've got a new invention..... socks" Hmmm, how I laughed (and to be fair I didn't let her finish what she was going to say after that as it made for a great quote for the day!)