When planning the trip, we had always known that day 3 would be one of the most trying days. With my profoundly detailed spreadsheets telling me we had 60 miles to do, we made sure get an early start from Redon, and hoped to cover a substantial amount of miles done before the midday sun made the going even tougher. It was something of an unwelcome surprise then, when we passed 60 miles for the day, with at least another 15 still to do in order to reach the small town of Bouin. Totalling over 75 miles on the day, this was a long day in the saddle, covering around 25 miles by canal on a slushy, sandy towpath, a car ferry across the mouth of the Loire river; and then a series of long straights into a headwind in order to reach Bouin.
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| A rather bleak day across the Loire river |
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| Aboard the ferry crossing the Loire at Le Pellerin |
Upon reaching Bouin at around 5pm, weary to say the least, we enjoyed a fantastic meal at the restaurant Le Martinet, adjoined to our hotel for the night Le Domaine de Martinet. After passing vineyards for the first time as we entered the Loire region from Brittany, and approaching the Atlantic, the menu began to consist of more and more seafood. The countryside had flattened considerably, and although increasing winds presented a new challenge, we hope to have now left behind the hills of the past few days, and enjoy a less arduous ride along the coast as we approach Biarritz.
Distance: 75.4 miles (almost 120km !)
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