Day 11 - Saint Gilles-Croix de Vie to Jard sur Mer: 39.3 miles

 


We had a slow start out of St. Gilles-Croix de Vie.  Lauran chose to meet in the lobby to brief us on the route.  Our hotel host, Eric, decided to give us a French lesson!  He corrected her pronunciation and suggested more colloquial terms.  Then he was nice enough to share his thoughts on places to stop along the way.  Needless to say, this lengthened the briefing quite a bit. We loaded up the bikes and were just about to head out when Betsy noticed that her rear tire was flat 🫣.  With the help of John and Pete, it was changed in record time. We were on our way at 10 AM!

It was another day of varied terrain and sights!  The trail surface was mostly paved or packed dirt and fine gravel…we rolled along at a fairly good clip.  However, Betsy once again needed to pump her tire every 20 minutes!!  Nevertheless we enjoyed the spectacular views.

John was the hero of the day when he noticed a bike repair shop that was actually open!  AND a cafe ☕️ next door.  The tire was repaired and the café creme was consumed in 15 minutes!  And the air held!

Sand art



We pedaled along beautiful stretches of coastline and through more marshlands. 



Because of our late start, we nearly missed lunch. Many French restaurants are closed by 2:30.  In the distance dark rain clouds threatened to break out fair weather record. We pulled into Les Sables d’Olonne just as drizzle fell.  Many of us were hoping for pizza, but each pizza place was closed🙁. We feasted on sandwiches, hotdogs, and fries under a covered pavilion.  By the time we finished we were under clear skies,!!


Scene in Les Sables 



We arrived at our lodging where Ann, Betsy, and John made dinner of salad, shrimp, and garlic bread.  Wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring. 

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