September 28, 2021
Blain to Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire
We did it! We made it to Nantes! Technically, we skirted Nantes and made a beeline for our desired campground in Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire. We never saw Ecluse 1 of the Canal de Nantes à Brest, as La Velodyssee, for whatever reason, makes a U-turn just short of it. We could've gone. Maybe it was the most festive lock of all. We'll never know. To be honest, I was planning to take a shortcut to avoid the two kilometers of out-and-back that the route mysteriously makes just before it leaves the canal for good, but I missed the turn. It was of no consequence. I think that subconsciously, I didn't want to leave the canal either, although we were decidedly bored by it at this point. It was a codependent relationship, and it had to end some time.
Let's rewind to Blain. We left the campground through the back gate, only to experience the majesty of yet another chateau we didn't know even existed until we saw it:
I looked up its web site and they appear to have one of those escape game/haunted house things going on. I figure that if they have to resort to gimmicks, perhaps it isn't the most interesting place on earth. It looks great from the outside, though!
There isn't much to say about the last few kilometers along the canal. Once "back on dry land", the Velodyssee is composed of a bunch of doglegs through back roads and dirt paths. The church at Sucé-sur-Erdre was our designated meeting point with Michel. He must've gotten an early start, because he met us along the trail instead. We greeted one another, and after a few niceties about the weather, we were on our way to an outdoor market where we could lay our hands on some desperately-needed human fuel. Over the course of the meal, we all got to know one another a little better. Michel's affable manner put us at ease very quickly. I've been on Cycleblaze since pretty close to the beginning of its existence, and we've never met any fellow cycle tourists through it. It seems that we had to go to France to make that happen. And twice! And the tour isn't even half over yet!
Michel took a couple of photos of me and Sunyoung together, an opportunity we don't often get:
After lunch, Michel guided us to Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire and our campground. Along the way, he showed us one point of interest you're unlikely to find on any tourist map:
We agreed to meet again tomorrow morning for a two-and-three-wheeled tour of Nantes.
The campground is top-notch. They even offered us small cups of wine as a "welcome drink" to bike campers (we dipped into our pastry supply to accompany it):
Thanks to the shortcut around Nantes, we had time to take care of vital errands. First, topping off the stove fuel canister (I'm trying premium unleaded this time, just for fun). Second, grocery shopping for the next two days. Third, and oh-so-importantly: laundry! We'll wash our cycling shorts by hand, but the rest of the stuff just piles up until we can't stand it any longer. We celebrated our biking and domestic successes with a couple of tasty Belgian ales:
I guess we've turned another literal corner, as we'll start heading east on Thursday!
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 1 | Link |
3 years ago
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,341 km (833 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQXPH-GXhOg
3 years ago
Un grand “bonjour” à mon ami Michel. The most important thing about “bonjour” is to say it. Don’t worry about your accent, everybody has one. But it would be very impolite to not say it to anyone you meet for the first time that day, shopkeepers, passers-by, and friends alike.
Cheers,
Keith
3 years ago