Les Ponts-de-Ce_Bouchemaine_ France
More heavy rain for another short day
8 miles (13 km)
Total so far: 1,688 miles (2,717 km)
Ascent: +279 ft (85 m); Descent: -307 ft (94 m)
- World > Europe > France > Pays de la Loire > Les Ponts-de-Ce – map
- World > Europe > France > Pays de la Loire > Bouchemaine – map
We made sure to check out that the market in Les Ponts-de-Ce was open Sunday morning before we left. We made our purchases for the day in the event that nothing would be open along the route. It was raining in the morning and so we got a late start.
Rain again!
We didn’t really have a destination in mind because we have enough days to get to St Nazaire without rushing. The route was prettier than yesterday as it follows along the Loire.
As we have seen throughout France, especially in western France, the bicycle paths are in variable conditions of enjoyment. Some are extremely rough. Some are very smooth. Today we had smooth riding, but it did not last long.
We came into Bouchemaine which is an interesting and charming little town and they were having quite a festival for the day on Sunday.
Les Ponts-de-ce-Bouchemaine-kayak festival
As we continued on, the route deteriorated in quality and there was a serious hill to climb. We only made it to La Pointe before Anne’s chain broke on the steep hill. She put too much pressure on the pedals to get up the gradient, which the book described as a slight hill. It was not slight; it was at least 15% and it was long.
Les Ponts-de-ce-Bouchemanine-the unexpected hill
At any rate we had no tools to fix chains so we retreated back to Bouchemaine where there was a lot of activity on the Sunday at the campground on the river. We hoped even though it was Sunday that we might find some bicyclist who had tools to fix the chain. We were incredibly lucky.
As we came into the campground, a French family noticed Mike pushing the bike and came out to inquire what was wrong. He had the tools necessary to fix the chain and so we laid the bike down on the ground and proceeded to repair it.
Our mechanics!
About a half an hour later, the heavens broke loose and we had a torrential downpour. Luckily, there was a wonderful parking lot underneath the bathroom building where we could hide from the rain until it finished. We only went 8 miles that day but we enjoyed the route and met some new friends and stayed for the night at Bouchemaine. The campground was closed officially. But there must have been 50 vehicles camped at the site. The power was still available to use, the bathrooms were open; there was just no showers. A strange combination for a closed campground.
