It’s time to get up to date with Matt Krog as he cycles along the Eurovelo 6 from Nantes to Budapest.

Saturday 14th July
Nantes to Ingrandes: 4 hours, 68km

“Breakfast came included with the hotel price and so I decided to take advantage by helping myself to 4 croissants. It would be my only meal of the day and if I had known that I would have had more. For unbeknown to me, the 14th of July is Bastille day, a serious public holiday in France, which means that there are very few places open. I knew that on Sundays the French towns were notorious for being ghost towns, but I wasn’t expecting such desertedness until, well Sunday! To be fair there were places open in the morning, but again I didn’t foresee any problems at the time.

Anyway, after leaving the Quick Palace Hotel, I went searching in vain for an Orange dealer to buy a Sim card. I arrived at the place where google maps said there was a store, only to find nothing. Oh well, I would try again some other time. I popped into a nearby bike shop to get some bolts and my pedals tightened as you need a special tool to do this. I also had to buy more chain oil, after mistakenly leaving my can back in London. A mistake that cost me €9.95!

With my confidence restored in the sturdiness of Jenny, I found my way onto the path that runs along the Loire River. Passing many cyclist and lots of families sharing lunch in marques, the thought struck me; After many months of talking and planning, I was finally here! Riding in France, pedalling the pedal, on my way to Budapest!

A note on the French cycle paths and roads. They are brilliant! In Nantes (the 6th largest city in France) there were cycle lanes on virtually every road. The Eurovelo 6 along the Loire river is superbly sign posted putting the Sustrans national route 4 to shame (the one I followed from London to Fishguard). The D roads are relatively quite in terms of cars, but cycle traffic is high. I was having to say Bonjour to passing cyclists at least every 2 minutes.

I arrived at the campsite du Port. It lies on the shores of the Loire just across the river from the town of Ingrandes. It cannot be missed if travelling along the Signed EV6 route. A fairly cramped site sharing with caravans, but well-kept with clean facilities. For a nights stay it’s a modest €4.

Going to bed early, so I can be up early to catch any shops that might be open on a Sunday. My search for a sim card will resume on Monday.”

Matt Krog

Read all of Matt’s posts on his website. All of posts about Matt on CyclingEurope.org can be found here.