Up and out by 9:45 after a nice meal and a good sleep to catch the ferry.
I had no idea of the ferry times or exactly how I went about getting a ticket. As I rode towards the port I could see the ferry heading there too! I needed to get on that one or it would most likely be over an hour until the next one. I rode as fast as I could on the undulating road towards the port and got there with about 10 minutes to spare.
There was a group of motorcyclists who had come from Shropshire, they had arrived in Royan last night after riding for ONE DAY! I told them that I was on day 14. They were heading for Spain and one said he was starting an 8 week European tour.
So for the second time in my life I took the bike onto a ferry.
The 35 minute crossing gave me time for a coffee. Setting off from the other side the route took me into the pine forest. The cycle track was very smooth tarmac and made for a good pace. Apart from a few kilometres the remaining 70 were on good surfaces through the pine forest. Now I don’t mind a pine forest but the first 10 thousand hectares is much the same as the second, third, fourth and so on…
I could hear the sea whenever I stopped and did find one spot where I could cycle to it. The graffiti covered German WW2 sea defences gradually disappearing into the sand.
After more forest tracks I arrived in Maubuisson on the banks of the huge Lac d’Hourtin. I decided to get a small cabin as the weather forecast gives very heavy rain and strong winds tonight and tomorrow. I’ll see what the weather looks like tomorrow but those routes won’t ride themselves! A bientot!
