La Rochelle to La Tranche-sur-Mer

May 27, 2019

Le Marais Poitevin

After saying goodbye to Marie-Claire, my lovely host, I rode first to the old port and then to the Office de Tourisme, because I knew La Vélodyssée passed nearby.

I wish I'd downloaded this route to my Garmin, but it seems I forgot and I can't do it on the road without a computer. Although this trip is the first time I've created routes and put them on Garmin, I rather miss having that pink line to follow. For this part of the tour, if I want to follow La Vélodyssée, I have to watch the signs!

The route exited the city mostly along a canal, or maybe a series of canals. Sometimes the canal was far below, sometimes the route passed through woods with no waterway in sight, but eventually it came to the Marais Poitevin. La Vélodyssée was also contiguous with La Vélo Francette until the two routes diverged near Marans and I turned into the wind. This was about 27 km into the day and the rest was mostly headwind!

On the edge of the marais. I see a lot of this cereal crop but I have no idea what it is.

I liked the name of this station. There must be a story if it means what I think it does!

The weather could have been better but it didn't rain all day. Really, just two rain showers that required a jacket and shoe covers. (It was too warm for rain pants.). At one point I met a German couple sheltering under a bridge and shortly after that, two French fellows chatting with a British couple on a tandem. I believe the young Frenchmen were on their first tour, while the Brits have done a lot of touring. They were doing 1700 km in 3 weeks, but on a tandem and not camping!

Near the edge of the Marais Poitevin. In the more drained areas, there were livestock grazing.

But the Marais was beautiful, and the headwind was merely brisk until I reached the coast. I stopped for lunch at Saint-Michel-en-l'Herme (I recommend Viand'Art; I arrived just at two and they still gave me lunch) and as I left town, there was a sign telling me that La Tranche sur Mer was 20 km away. I was feeling pretty good and well-nourished after my restaurant lunch--and then I turned a corner as the route met the coast and ... well, maybe another 20 km would be more then enough!

The main course of my lunch, a different variation on the chèvre salad. I ordered the salad, then when I'd finished, was told I could have it as part of the "formule". Dessert and coffee for just a couple Euros more--who could refuse?

Access to a sea of mud when the tide's out.

Arriving in La Tranche sur Mer, I searched for a campground first using my phone, picked one that seemed good, and then selected that one among Garmin's options. Trouble was, Garmin led me to the back wall! Why can't it understand that when you want to go to a campground, you generally want to go to the entrance!

Camping Bel is nice, but also expensive at 26€. I suspect that prices for accommodation are just high here; it's a beach resort, after all, and probably really dead for most of the year.

I decided to economize on dinner. After all, I'd already had a restaurant meal today. Unfortunately, I only got the the Super U a few minutes before closing (a Google search yielded no traiteurs or similar in the area) and there wasn't much left in the ready-meals category. I bought a small tray of sushi since it seemed more appealing than the other options. After all, I sometimes buy such a thing at home for a quick meal and it's usually not bad. Note to self: don't get French supermarket sushi again! It wasn't very good, it cost 12€, and I couldn't find chilled beer or wine to go with it. The 25 cl bottle of rosé might have been better if it was cold, but at least it was cheap. Lesson learned.

This doesn't include the 4 km I rode around the village trying to find a take-out dinner!

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Today's ride: 81 km (50 miles)
Total: 1,452 km (902 miles)

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