The End of the Ride

Although we reached the mouth of the Loire yesterday, our ride was not quite over. We still had one more solid day of riding to reach our final destination of Le Croisic. The final day of any extended ride is always filled with mixed emotions. Although it is something of sense of relief to complete the challenge that we set ourselves that is always tinged with the sad realisation that our wonderful adventure will soon be ending.

One of the final highlights of the ride was reaching the amazing medieval, walled city of Guerande. Not only is the city surrounded by huge walls, but it is also surrounded by a fully functioning moat. It was the perfect place to stop for our final afternoon tea of the ride.

All too soon we were back on the bikes and riding through the expansive salt flats that mark the outskirts of Le Croisic. We rode through the town and on to our hotel, where we dismounted the last time.

As is usual there were lots of hugs and kisses to mark the end of the ride. That evening we celebrated the completion of another successful trip by having a meal at the large seafood restaurant, situated right on the beachfront. The memories of that evening will last a lifetime.

Throughout our ride, Maggie had been staying in a B&B on the Isle St Louis, one of the two famous islands in the centre of Paris. While we were cycling, she was having a great time exploring the city that she had waited her whole life to experience. On the final day of our ride, she caught the train from Paris to Le Croisic and joined the rest of the group.

Tomorrow morning the group will break up to make their own ways back to Australia. Maggie and I will now begin our own adventure - exploring France for the next month.Read more