We rode out of Nantes this morning with the city’s bike commuters streaming in from every direction. The bike infrastructure here is incredible — dedicated lanes made it easy to find our way. It took about an hour to work our way across town and out to the estuary, and from there, we aimed for the coast.

A DIY lunch from the supermarket (baguette, ham, cheese and fizzy pop) fuelled us for the next leg. EuroVelo 1 followed the coastline and led us all the way to our hotel overlooking the beach at La Bernerie-en-Retz.

Dinner was at the hotel restaurant — a few courses, a bottle (or two) of wine — and no rush, because tomorrow, at our next hotel, we’ll stay for two nights and take a day off. We are on holiday, after all.

After two days and more than 160km along the canal path, it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves detouring through the countryside to reach Nantes, our stop for the night.

Thankfully, the route into the city was well signed, and we rolled straight to our hotel with time to spare—enough to wash a few things and head out for a look around. We did a bit of sightseeing and reflected on the journey so far, including an unexpected run-in with a goose along the way.

Somewhere between the canal and the cobblestones, we also replayed how I ended up with a rather severe haircut from the night before.

Compared to our previous stops, Nantes was buzzing. A few drinks at a café and a good meal later, we’re feeling ready for the next leg—out to the coast and our first night by the sea.

Day 3 took us from Lodeac to Redon along the EuroVelo 1 – the route that will eventually carry us to the Spanish border. We rode most of the the 100 km route along the Brest to Nantes towpath. Mostly tarmac, with a few gravel sections, it was blissfully flat after yesterday’s climbs.

With the sun shining, Robyn said it actually felt like a holiday. We passed through a few beautiful old towns along the way, arriving in Redon nice and early – plenty of time to explore, have a few drinks, and find something good to eat.

Tomorrow, we continue toward Nantes, still on the canal path – so we’re hoping for more of the same.

Day one in France kicked off with an 8:15pm arrival in Saint-Malo and a 110km ride to Loudéac. We followed the estuary south, then stumbled upon the medieval town of Dinan—a nice surprise, since we’ve done almost no planning beyond booking our hotels.

From there, a 60km cross-country stretch on quiet, empty country roads led us to a final rail trail into town. With the sun on our backs and tired legs, it was a cracking way to start the trip.

We’ve arrived in England and kicked things off with a test ride—from Mum and Dad’s place in Bracknell to see Louise and Rob in Harpenden. The ride out was fab: sunshine and trafic free paths along bike route 61. The return trip the next day? A little more “character building” thanks to the Chilterns and a solid dose of English rain.

Everything’s working—legs, bikes, and gear. We even managed to back up after a night of great food, good company and too much wine. A promising start for our 3 week cycle to Spain.

A few more days here with the old folk, then it’s off to Portsmouth and the ferry to France on Sunday.