15 years ago Jon spent 10 weeks bicycling east to the Atlantic Ocean. Now we have just spent 10 days bicycling west to the Atlantic Ocean.
We have seen southern France in the springtime from atop a bicycle. It is a beautiful, lush countryside with vineyards and fields of poppies, wheat and forests. From canals lined with giant sycamores to coastal pine forests, small villages to bike friendly cities, and a castle or two just to remind us of it’s rich history.
Now we have reached the next of our waters of France, the Atlantic coast. Unlike the Mediterranean it is highly unlikely there will be any swimming involved. Temperatures have dropped into the 50s, and we are wearing almost everything we brought.
We also would like to note that we used a lot of Google Street View in the planning of our route. For the most part it has worked out very well. But Street View does appear to leave a few things out … like torrential downpours, horrible headwinds, mosquitoes, and thick clouds of gnats!
As it is in North America, European prevailing winds also come barreling down on the westward cyclists with a ferocity that reduces us to nothing more than glaring back at the smiling joyful cyclists as they coast by at much higher speeds.
One thing we did learn from Street View, was that some of the bike paths in the sand are unusual, and we’ve already encountered them.
They are narrow strips of concrete, unfortunately not as smooth as shown here – but often decaying with large, bike-tire-eating potholes. After already losing our rear wheel – we were happy to learn that our route north will be mostly forest roads and will avoid most of these sections.
So tonight we rest along the shores in Carcans, and tomorrow continue our coastal journey north to the Loire.