We left our campsite at La Perrier knowing that we had only a short ride down to the beautiful town of Saint Jean de-Monts where a coffee waited .

Being a weekend Saturday the place assumes a carnival atmosphere with a huge outdoor market and the many cycleway leading to town very congested with locals riding to market.

The trail now was mostly very close to the water , but a mix of roads , forest tracks , beachy Sandy paths but very nice riding . Perfect hot sunny weather had our ice box receiving the plaudits it deserved , serving up cool drinks which we had purchased earlier .

We stopped at a busy seaside sea food restaurant , no booking for the outdoor seating , but very happy indoors out of the sun , and still with a view of the bikes across the road . The risk of my rig being stolen , even by a hardened bike thief would be very low. It’s a bitch to move from a parked position and riding it requires a certain knack born of experience. We do need to more vigilant with Barb’s more knickable machine.

I had the salmon and Barbs a huge bowl of Atlantic mussels. Very enjoyable lunch .

We pushed on till 3 pm ish , our usual stopping time . Normally we now review our options at about 2 pm , make a choice from the campsites potentially available and set a course . On first arrival the priority for setting up the campsite is to get a clothes line set up as I wash my cycling clothes daily to guarantee a healthy saddle to sit bone skin situation . No exceptions to the rule . The tent comes next .

Was like a crowded beach resort , lots of cabins crowded together in intersecting rows like Atlantic sardines packed within the perimeter of a can . Came with a key to the secure gate for the beach so Barb was ready for her first Atlantic dip .

We took a chilled bottle of Rose wine , some fresh French Strawberries and ice cream down to the beach at about 8 pm to watch the sun settle in the west . Barbs enjoyed a dip despite jellyfish that were discouraging swimmers.