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Wednesday 31st August 2016 Nantes to St Nazaire Well it was fairly hot today – not as hot as last week but mid+ 20s and clear blue skies so we were a bit hot and sweaty by the time we finally made it to St Nazaire.
We had got away from Nantes at about 9.20 and had no trouble getting clear of the city, using its excellent, well-marked cycle-ways. We soon reached the Loire then held to the north bank and followed the official Loire á Velo route as far as Coueron. The Loire á Velo crosses the river to the south bank at this point and carries on to its termination point at St Brevin les Pins. We needed to be in St Nazaire to get our train home and as there is no easy way of crossing from St Brevin to St Nazaire with a bike we had decided to make our own way there from Coueron along the north bank of the river. Both the Loire á Velo as far as Coueron and the subsequent Alan á Velo routes were smooth, level and with little traffic and we rolled along at a good speed, pausing at La Promenade café in Coueron for a coffee.
After that the stopping places proved lacking in suitable lunch provision until we reached Donges. There we pulled in to a cafe, the Cafe de la Paix, and had, inevitably, a cheese omelette and frites. Suitably fortified by this we pressed on but as we closed in on St Nazaire the Alan á Velo route sadly foundered, ending up on a major road with uncomfortably fast and heavy traffic.
We escaped onto a side-road and after one false-start which ended up in an industrial site dead-end we managed to ad-lib a way into St Nazaire. Even so it took a long time as we passed through interminable housing and industrial areas before eventually arriving at the Gare de St Nazaire. Outside this station was the BRIT (the chain name) Hotel Korali, which is where I penned today’s notes, in room 210 at 18.55 French time. The hotel room was on special offer at €65 plus the usual €10 each for petit dejeuner, plus a euro or so for local taxes. €87 in all.
After a shower I had a walk round but everywhere seemed very modern, with no interesting ‘old town’ areas, or at least not where I went. St Nazaire is a big place though so maybe I didn’t walk in the right direction. In the evening we walked into town, pretty much the same way I’d gone, but this time a bit further, all the way to the sea/river front where we took a photo or two before retreating to a nearby square for a pizza between the two of us and a beer. Then another beer, and a couple more, and crib.
Tomorrow the journey back. Average speed: 10.9 mph Miles today: 49.2 miles Total miles: 436.6 St Nazaire elevation: 19 ft (as at 2nd floor of the hotel) | ||||||||||
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