The following day was a rest day so there was no rush to get up and get ready for anything so with a slow start we all got up and slowly prepared some breakfast and coffee and chatted about bikes, routes and whatever else our limited abilities at each other’s respective languages allowed. As Frank was heading off that day he started packing his stuff away and I realised that I was going to miss this guy…funny how just a few hours before I was thinking the worst and now after getting to know him had grown fond of his company. Totally humble and proper salt of the earth he is and what little he had he shared with me without question or demand for anything in return. As Frank had no phone or address this really was goodbye, bonjour and bon camino. And so, with a man hug we parted ways and it was a bit emotional…see ya Frank.

After Frank had left I got ready for a day in the city and then set off for Nantes after midday, taking it nice and slow along the mighty Loire.

I didn’t really do much in Nantes to be honest, I kind of cycled around, checked out the architecture, tested out the cycling paths in town and had a couple of beers around town. It was while I was having a glass of strong Belgian beer just before heading back to camp that I noticed two big guy’s pull up to the store next door to the pub. They had cyclo-cross style bonies with the kit strapped on, bike packer style. I overheard them speaking English and recognised strong northern English accents. One of the lads disappeared into the shop to buy some cold drinks and I greeted the fella waiting outside and we got to chatting. It turned out to be two brothers and they had lost the Eurovelo 1 track in town and were looking for some directions. The lads joined me for a beer and I explained that I knew of a camp site not far out of town and I could show them if they were interested. Paying a favour back and all that…

The lads were tired of a hot day in the saddle and the talk of a hot shower was too much and they duly accepted the offer so we sank our pints and I showed them the way, all along the Loire, out of town to the campsite.

By the time I got back we had a new set of neighbours – the Dane had departed and on the other side we had a campervan pull in – they were German, a family of Papa, Mama und daughter. I greeted Papa in German and we had a nice conversation, me with my dodgy German, about cycling, where I’m going, where they have been and live in Germany etc.

After that it was time to start preparing some dinner. The lads and I each cooked up something and we shared the results once done. After cleaning up Papa from next door came over and gave us 3 slices of delicious sweet melon for dessert!

The stars were out again that night so I grabbed my camera and rode back out to the river to play some more with my camera. Was a beautiful evening, so quiet and apparently there was a meteor shower due to start that night…and I was lucky to see a couple of shooting stars, when last did I see one of those!

Unfortunately, my camera skills are still very basic so results aren´t great. I´ve posted some of the results but as they say, practice makes perfect!

And so, it was my last night in Nantes.

Enjoy the few pictures I took – check out the video on my YouTube channel

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