Mutiny on the Terre de Sel

Although we have already completed the famous cycling route known as the Loire a Velo from Nevers to St Brevin, our riding was not quite completed. Before we could climb off the bikes for the final time, we still had one more day to complete. Our ride will take us all the way to the little ocean front town of Le Croisic, about another 55km further on.
Before we could begin the ride, we had a huge obstacle in our way - the St Nazaire Bridge. This massive bridge was opened in 1975 and was, at the time the longest cable stayed bridge in the world. At over 3 km in length. Because of its height, it is speed restricted to only 70 kph and there is no way any sane person would consider riding a bike across it. Fortunately we have faced this problem on all our previous trips, and the solution is to transport us and our bikes by motor vehicle across to the northern side.
After meeting in the car park at 8.30 am and checking that Paul had not lost anything overnight, we were ushered into three taxis for the trip to the Gare de Saint Nazaire, the starting point for our final day's ride. As we travelled across the Loire for the final time, I think we were all thinking back over the past few weeks and how much our lives had revolved around this famous waterway. Now we were seeing it for the final time.
Soon we were on the bikes and navigating a very circuitous route. I have to confess something at this point. When we rode this section back in 2019, we noted that there were several places where the route could be shortened by taking a series of carefully executed shortcuts. Was this cheating ? Maybe. This time the team all wanted to do the right thing and ride every km of the set ride. So that is what we did.
Although we were not following a river, this really is a delightful part of France. As we got closer and closer to Brittany (Bretagne), you can see the culture and architecture start to reflect its historic British heritage, You even ride through small hamlets of thatched roof homes. The only thing we didn't see was any place to have a morning tea break.
To recognise that this was the final riding day, all those who had taken a turn in leading the group were given a chance at the front of the peloton. A huge thanks to David, John, Paul and Catriona for their help in this regard.
Our first (and only) opportunity to stop for lunch was at the famous medieval walled city of Guerande, about 13 km from the finish line. We happend to arrive right at noon, with the church bells peeling happily to announce our arrival. There was also a market set up in the centre of the town, selling the usual array of Chinese shoes, cheap spanners and assorted foodstuffs. We took a 90 minute break here to eat and watch how quickly the stall holders dismantled their stands, once the closing signal was given.
The final highlight of our ride was the famous salt flats between Guerande and Le Croisic. These are used to harvest salt from the ocean water by evaporating the water in large shallow pools. The salt is then collected into piles, purified and packaged for sale. The region is known as "Terre de Sel", literally the "Land of Salt". And that is exactly what it is.
As we meandered through the evaporation ponds, we formed a long conga line of cyclists while I shared the benefit of my sparse knowledge about the salt harvesting process. After some time I realised how quiet the group had become. Maybe I had bored them to sleep. I stopped and dismounted, only to find that there was no sign of anyone else. I was standing in the giant salt pan all by myself. That was strange.
I waited for some time, wondering what I should do, before I eventually saw the familiar yellow and pink shirted riders finally appear on the horizon. When they finally arrived they explained that they had stopped to eat handfuls of the free salt. Apparently they didn't know what salt tasted like and had to test it for themselves to see if it was really nice.

With the peloton reformed, we continued the ride the remaining few km to Le Croisic, When I saw the familiar hotel come into view I knew that this time the ride really was over. What had begun so many weeks and so many hundreds of km earlier had now come to an end. It was a time to share hugs and smiles and congratulate each other for their achievement. For some it was the first time they had ever undertaken such a challenge and I reminded them of how proud they should feel at that moment. It is an experience that very few people ever get to share, so I hoped that the moment would last for the rest of their lives.
Our home for the next couple of days is the beautiful Hotel Les Vikings, right on the Atlantic Coast, with ocean views from every room. This region is known as the Cote Sauvage (Savage Coast), but at that moment it didn't look savage. It was almost mirror smooth, without a wave or a breath of wind. It was sort of like every other day of the ride. All that gear we bought along for cold, wet weather riding never did see the light of day.
In the evening we gathered for dinner at the Bistrot de L'Ocean. The views out to the setting sun were spectacular, as was the meal.Read more