May 3, 2023
Blain to Frossay
Sunny Spring day and Loire crossing.
Today we need to find a route from Blain, south to St Pellerin for the Loire crossing, where we join la Velodyssee. Ann finds a route that will take us on quiet roads to Fey de Bretagne then through the marshland area to the ferry.
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Beyond the forest we take minor roads heading pretty much directly south. There’s little traffic and by lunchtime we’re at Fey La Bretagne.
From here, the marshland trail passes through countryside similar to the Camargue and around Arles. The landscape is a patchwork of lush grasslands bisected by deep waterways.
Suddenly with no great ceremony, we round a bend and there’s the queue waiting for the boat that’s halfway across. The current is moving fast and the water is murky grey. When we cycled La Loire in 2016, it was chocolate brown, just after floods. We walk our bikes on board and wait for someone to collect money. They don’t. It’s a free ride. The powerful motors have us and a number of vehicles over quickly.
Once over we pick up the Velodyssee and head west along the Loire’s southern shore towards Frossay, our accommodation for the night. It’s a beautifully warm afternoon, delivering sensations of other warm days in France. Off come layers of clothing. We’re in no rush, so when a bookish young chap hails us and asks if we might complete a survey on cycleways we agree. It’s a bit of a bureaucratic jumble, but presumably someone intelligent will collate it.
Our good deed done, on we go, noting one or two nautical points of interest along the way. We stop for a drink at a trail side cafe and chat to a young French student who tells us he’s cycling to Norway. So many cyclists out already!
Frossay has an excellent cycle path for a small town and we follow it to the local supermarket for supplies, then head off towards Le Moulin. One of many moulins in France. It’s a comfortable place with cooking facilities of which we make the most.
Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 551 km (342 miles)
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