July 7, 2011
After a late and a late start I set out for the Arcachon Basis around 1. The route was very flat and very boring! Well at least for the first 80km of the trip. The last 20km was close to ocean so that was nice.
Once I got to my campground I was tired so I strolled around town and ate.
I want to say thanks again to Robin, Baptist, and Sara for being so great to me! I will never forget you generosity.
July 8, 2011
Today I took my time biking around the Arcachon basin. I eventually settled in the town of Arcachon and went to the Dune Du Pilat. It the largest sand dune in europe and is located 8km south of Arcachon. It stretches north and south for 3 km and it reaches around 115m high. The dune is moving at 4.5m a year to east. This movement has allowed it to envelope trees, a road junction and a hotel.
The hike to the top provided amazing views of the ocean and dark green pine forests as far as I could see eastward.
July 9, 2011
The camping has been expensive in this area cause it is very touristy! I was hoping it would start to get a little but cheaper for me today but it only did a bit.
After packing up I set out to the tip of Arcachon and my bike and I tested our sea legs on a quick ferry ride over the Arcachon basin to Cap Ferret. The town of Cap Ferret was also very nice pinned in between the crashing waves of the Atlantic and the tranquil basin. I went north from there to a beach called Truc Vert and checked into a campground who was nice enough to lower their rate for me. The last couple days have been very cloudy and not exactly beach weather which is too bad considering where I am. It is also raining pretty much every night while I'm sleeping. Since I'm so close to the beach everything is sandy and it's getting everywhere... Makes such a mess.
July 10, 2011
I set out north from Truc vert today and stuck to the coastline. There was a bikepath that stretches all the way from Biarritz in the south to point de grave north of me. The path started out very well and it was nice smooth asphalt. But, all of a sudden, with no warning, it fell into complete disrepair. The path was completely broken down save a small strip barely 3 inches wide. It was super rough and I never should have been riding on that crap. There was no way off of the path unless I backtracked around 20km and I only had a little to go to my next town. The bikepath is there for forestry service and really isn't for a road bike. I should have asked someone what it was like, but this is the first time this trip I've come across a bike path that's unrideable. Once I reached the next town which was lacanau ocean I peeled away from the road (after truing my wheel) and went back with the cars. I continued heading north along inland lakes and summer camp like towns.
I settled in a campground covering about 85km on the day. When I checked in though the campground was full. The lady at the front desk told me I could stay on her plot, which was both a little weird and very nice of her.
July 11, 2011
After getting a good start I stopped for another ferry at point de grave. After reaching the other side which is the town of Royan i approached a couple other touring guys who appeared my age. They turned out to be from Plymouth in England and were doing pretty much my route northwards. I asked if they wanted to ride for the day and we set out. We went through some cool fortified towns and settled in Rochefort which used to be a big naval base for the French! We set up our stuff and had a small barbecue which was awesome. Tasted so good.
July 12, 2011
It rained fairly hard over night and in the morning so we took a rest day. The town of Rochefort has some good museums we checked out and we also went out to ile d'aix which Napoleon once stayed on. We checked out the house he stayed on while on the island which is now a museum.
We took the evening easy and got prepared to ride again tomorrow.
July 13, 2011
We hit the road by 9 and after working our way out of the city we continued along the coast. We passed through the beautiful centre ville of la Rochelle and kept heading north.
The coastline in this area wasn't the prettiest I've seen. I hope it gets better soon. We tried to stay more inland for the afternoon. We settled in a small town about 100km away from Rochefort!
Traveling with some companions has been great. So nice to talk in the evening. Nathan and Charlie are both in their early 20s and just finished school like me. They're easy to be around and it's a nice change for me.
July 14, 2011
Bastille Day!!!!
On this day in 1789 the masses took to the streets and stormed the Bastille. The French Revolution had begun.
We departed and rode 80km up the coast to Les Sables D'Olonne and stopped at the tourist office. We chose to stay another 15 or so km in a campground close to a couple medium sized towns.
For the evening there were festivities happening in town so we cruised into town and watched a cover band play a concert. It was a fun evening!
Tomorrow I set out on my own again.
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