Distance: 139.3 km
Ride time: 7:34:56
Average: 18.4 km/h
Max speed: 45.0 km/h
Total: 56102 km
When I arrived at my camp site last night the reception was already closed. As I left at 7.30 this morning it was still not open – oh well, a free night then 馃檪
French villages can be rather sleepy in the morning (and during the day as well) but I found a small kiosk to buy a bit of breakfast. Then it was back in expedition mode, putting on my headphones to listen to my favourite podcasts as I cycled north.
I’m now following the Rh么ne river up towards Switzerland. I can see mountains on each side of the river, but the Rh么ne valley is nice and flat as I slowly climbed from 50 to 200 meters of altitude during the day. I have travelled a lot in Europe by bus, train, and plane, but I have never really noticed the network of rivers that cross the continent. Thats the beauty of cycle touring, you don’t miss these things.
My calculations show that I will hit 58000 kilometers before reaching Copenhagen – 2000 to go!
I kept cycling until sunset, clocking a respectable 139 km for the day. In the old medieval town of St. Nazaire I considered wild camping by the river, but found a cheap camp site instead. Now that the days are getting colder it feels nice with a warm shower in the evening.
The supermarket was already closed and with only one restaurant in town I didn’t have much choice for dinner. The restaurant looked fancier than any restaurant I had been to lately, but the prices seemed very fair. The French are serious about eating; on the wall I could see the chef’s diploma from a cooking school in Paris where he had specialized in Crepes. And boy were those Crepes good!
From here it’s a two day ride to Lake Geneva in Switzerland where I used to live for a year back in 2005. I’m looking forward to catch up with old friends there.
