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Ceri: It’s funny how easily a mistake can change our direction. Last night I scoured Booking.com and AirBnB for accommodation with bike storage in Saint-Jean-de-Luz but failed. Neil looked too. No luck. Then suddenly Booking.com offered up a beautiful “palace” hotel and I was totally seduced. Neil agreed. Book it!! So I did. Done! But only then did it occur to me to check its exact location. It was 100km away in SPAIN!!!! And slightly off piste. Oops!

Initially we thought we’d brave it and cycle the 100km. Then common sense prevailed and we decided to catch the train to Hendaye on the Spanish border. Even the Tour de France cyclists have a rest day and this became ours. Just 17 miles to the station and 4 miles to the hotel. Easy.

Well not quite! St Vincent de Tyrosse station has 2 platforms separated by a huge bridge of steps for the double decker trains and we needed to be the other side. No Groan. My bike is particularly heavy, but at least we had an hour to get to the other side. Neil rather heroically carried both bikes across and from then on was plain sailing. We enjoyed a picnic on the platform, the bikes stored easily on the train and the passing scenery was beautiful.

Now we’re in a beautiful historic hotel (Obispo) with a bath and huge fluffy towels. Bliss. I must confess I did feel rather guilty today about using the train, but now we are relaxed and rejuvenated, ready for the Pyrenees … eeek!

PS. Just back from exploring Hondarribia. What a stunning medieval Basque town it is buzzing with life. It’s steeped in Spanish/French history. We’re so glad we came. 

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Neil : A truly lovely day cycling nearly all on dedicated cycle paths . Good tarmac often away from any roads . We are part of Velodyssie or EuroVelo 1 which runs all down the west coast of France from Brittany to Biarritz we are also seeing many more signs for the Camino now . We drop into some lovely beach resorts as we go . More cyclists too on the route too . As each day unfolds everything gets simpler . Cycle – eat- sleep repeat . Everything else fades away . How are the legs ? That left knee seems better today , must drink more water, need a beer . We pass though an area I know so well with countless holidays when my children were younger . We can see Spain in the distance now !

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Ceri: What a day!!! Before we’d even left the B&B, Neil discovered I had a flat tyre, so set to and fixed it (my hero!). The cycle path which followed an old train track seemed endless, so we stopped at Andernos-les-Bains for coffee. It’s a pretty town on the lake and it happened to be market day. There’s absolutely no room in my panniers to buy anything…. but I could drool at the beautiful clothes I couldn’t buy.

On we continued following Neil’s app ( THAT APP again 🙄) and found ourselves walking over grassy paths and sandy lames…. again! Then after a while we found ourselves on a fantastically wide empty road. Bliss. The sun was shining, the wind behind us and not a car in sight. Far too good to be true. At the end of a few easy kilometres, it ended with a long sand lane. Not again 🙄!! And even when that ended, we had to cycle/walk along miles of atrocious surface. Once we were safely out of that, we decided to play safe do the next 20 miles on the main road. It started ominously well! The main road was empty with a perfect surface. Definitely too good to be true! Soon we were faced with a massive set of contraflow road works. We queued a long time with the cars and lorries. When the green flag waved, every vehicle seemed determined to make up for lost time. But there was no room to pass us so, after letting many through, we just had to cycle as fast as we could to the end. The road surface was horrible and cycling unpleasant. Eventually it all calmed down and Neil became desperate for a beer so we stopped at the first available beer stop. Boy it felt good to simply sit and watch the cars go by. We finally arrived at our hotel at 4.30 and boy, that shower felt amazing. We ended our day with the most delicious kilo of moules frites in a lakeside cafe watching the sun set.

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Neil: In 1959 Dinah Washington sang: 🎵What a difference a day made, Twenty-four little hours, Brought the sun and the flowers, Where there used to be rain🎵

and so that’s how today went … mostly . The cycle ways in Les Landes are simply the best . For the most part tarmac and away from roads . A good start to a perfect day is to have the sunshine to match . A little chilly to start and then shirt sleeves with a following wind . No need to map read, easy to chat side by side . 20 km takes us to Hourtin Plage and a huge Nutella crepe. A few surfers challenging good waves. Another 15 km takes to an inland lake and a swim . How can two days be so different! Always a caveat though . My bible ‘ Outdoor active ‘ mapping software shows a short cut across a lake of 10km . All goes roughly well for 2km then track deteriorates into sand . I have to walk and push with my thin tyres whereas Ceri attempts to cycle, slide and push her heavy bike through the sand. We plough on .. literally! It’s a stunning wetland walk anyway. Then back to fabulous tarmac trails through endless pine forests . Still a lovely day though . Tonight in average B and B in Le Porge

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Gosh what a long day! The little ferry we had planned to take us south had mechanical problems, so we had to back track 18km up the island to cycle out of Ile d’Oleron. It was a stunning beachfront ride despite the rain, but the long bridge taking us to the mainland was full of deafening lorries belting past us.  On we cycled past endless oyster beds and shacks, then another long bridge, then more long glorious beaches towards the ferry at Royan. The sea was right there, but it was too cold and wet to even consider a swim. In summer they’d certainly give Australian beaches a run for their money, but today felt more like winter. After the ferry to Pointe de Grave, there’s a glorious 300km cycle path all the way down the coast to Biarritz. Normally it would be full of cyclists but not today. Rain does have its advantages. We’d been cycling over 8 hours by the time we arrived at Montalivet and it ended really well. We’re in a beautiful, peaceful, comfortable beach cabin away from all the bustle and campsites. I cooked supper and I think we’ll sleep rather well tonight. 

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Neil: As Brain Clough once said , “ Football is a game of two halves “ today was such a day . My turn to navigate today . Flat flat flat , winding small roads in dappled sunshine. We meet a young girl who is cycling to Morocco with a huge amount of kit . Even for us she is a little slow so we part after 30 mins of franglais! The whole area north of La Rochelle is crisscrossed with bike tracks . We drift down to the. ‘ Vieux Port ‘ Heaven is Moules and frites with a glass of Muscadet . I do love ferries so we take a late afternoon one across to Ile d’ Oleron . Ceri had her finger on the booked website ticket to show the lady as we get on the ferry . Inadvertently she moved her finger and pressed the delete button…and it doesn’t appear in her deleted e Mail! Only by showing the bank statement do they let us on . Still 20km the other side and it’s getting dark. It’s cold now and lots of cars . We arrive by 8pm with lights on the bike to our room in shared house . Bryan Clough was right . It was 1-1 !

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Ceri: Today has been the best day yet. Starting from a beautiful chateau certainly helps. Neil suggested I chose the route today so I led our way through tiny villages avoiding large towns, undulating countryside and vineyards. The sun came out, the rain stayed away and the wind was in our favour. What could be better?

But we did have one mishap. Neil, cycling a distance behind me, called out that he needed water. I turned around and headed back to his parked bike. No sign of Neil… which isn’t unusual. So I sat on a nearby bench and waited for him to appear. But he didn’t. I heard the occasional banging and presumed it was some workmen nearby. And so I waited. After a while I headed back to our bikes to look for him and the banging got louder, followed by a desperate shout “I’M LOCKED IN THE TOILET”. Honestly, you couldn’t write this stuff! I could barely open the door I was laughing so much. I’m still giggling as I write this. It was a stupid system which defies logic. He could enter to toilet but couldn’t unlock it from the inside. Poor chap was stuck there for a good 5 minutes if not more. He keeps reminding me how traumatising it was, but it doesn’t help the giggles. 

Anyway, on we continue in perfect conditions and arrive too early so enjoyed a beer in a cafe while we waited. One of many things I love about Neil is his spontaneity. We had planned on staying in La Rochelle tomorrow night, but suddenly I find myself agreeing to catch a ferry to Ile D’Oleron instead. Minutes later, I’ve booked the ferry and we’re on a new route. This trip is so much fun. 

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Neil: Every day is the same really cycling, however there are certain landmarks that form part of the way . The Loire is one. Just 16km to get there in good sun . However it looks terrible to the west . The Loire can be crossed at several points near the mouth . St Nazaire looks death defying with huge lorries. Nantes is a big city . So we chose the delightful free ferry to cross. As we cross the heavens open, we just run into a cafe on the other side. All done in 20 mins . The route we have chosen is very rural no tourists or heavy lorries. Lots of the lanes look like Devon . Lunch is down a small lane, avocados nuts and the last of the mini cheddars . No bread as all closed . Why so much detail over lunch I hear you ask ? Well I start to “ bonk “ ….a cycling term for low sugar . I realise as Ceri is some way ahead. Werthers originals and some Cadbury fruit and nut chocolate bar and blood sugar restored! Roads dead straight… next landmark is La Rochelle . Staying tonight in a lovely chateau. A bit like “ Escape to the Chateau “ only it’s all tip top . No other guests and we are promised a lift to a restaurant nearby 

Ceri adds: waiting for the ferry, under blue skies and sunshine , I commented that the skies to the west look black and threatening and it was coming our way. “No no”, says Neil. “It won’t rain. Look at my app”. I did and I had to agree, the app said no rain. “But look at the sky” says I.  “We’re going to get drenched”. Neil persisted. “It’s not going to rain”. Boy did it rain, and there was little shelter on the ferry. We both agreed it was time for a coffee. I’m married to an eternal optimist. 

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Ceri: So far, the days have felt rather similar to our normal days cycling at home in Devon. Nothing as yet has been particularly extraordinary. We’re happy and relaxed, gently cycling around French rural countryside. We love the small cafes, the coffees, the villages, the churches. But today we have felt rather annoyed with ourselves.  We are completely underestimating how far we can cycle each day when booking the next night’s accommodation. Today we could easily have reached the Loire by mid afternoon, but we couldn’t cancel our accommodation which is an hour’s ride short of the Loire. Ah well. We’ll learn. So we stopped for a long leisurely break and picnic  at Blain along the banks of the Brest-Nantes canal. Can’t complain really!

From the start of this trip the weather has been rather chilly. We’ve been dressed in our warm clothes which never even saw the light of day on our long journey last year. But today at the canal side, the sun finally came out, we discarded our extra layers and embraced its warmth. Sunshine makes such a difference to the day. But alas, it was fairly short lived. In the end, we felt very lucky to have arrived at our destination so early. As we settled in, the heavens opened and rumbled with thunder. 

But the trouble with too much spare time is that Nerdy Neil loves to discover and share every single detail from his new Outdoor Active cycling app: elevation climbed and fallen, distance covered, average this that and the other, and a load more. Arrrgggghhh!!!!!

I have to add that we’ve just returned from a hilarious evening. It’s absolutely pouring here, so we both wore flip flops, rolled up trousers, bike jackets and bike helmets to keep our hair dry… under which Neil wore a head scarf and I wore a clear plastic shower cap purloined from a hotel. We must have looked a sight. I’m amazed the rather posh restaurant we’d found even let us in! The food was absolutely delicious. We even had the cheek to ask them to fill our water bottle with milk so we could have tea with our breakfast. All in all it was a thoroughly successful evening!

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Neil: This is our second very long trip now . The first few days are agony particularly if there are hills . The legs scream at you to stop or go slower . Gradually though it gets less . So day three feels a lot better . This part of Brittany is just rolling hills and small market towns. Not many pictures. Countryside pretty but not spectacular. In terms of cycling , pretty ideal , no wind and grey sky. Always rain about but none falling on us . Maybe St James taking a hand !

      Over many years cycling I have poured over maps trying to decide which way to go . Mapping software is so sophisticated now that you can specify what sort of route you wish . We took the road bike option today . Lots of traffic to start with but eventually fairly traffic free . Early to bed early to ride . Works well

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