Tides

It's true. Unlike my other long rides in France, before beginning this one I did very little reading about the regions I would be passing through. No history books, no memoirs, no travel guides. And no excuses or explanations offered. Plus, this region of France was not embedded in my memory in high school or college classes the way that other regions were. I tell you that to admit that often I do not have a big picture view of quite where I am, geographically. That knowledge is not so needed, because the ride, day by day, brings immense pleasure and its own challenges.

When I arrived at the bridge above, Monique and Pierre were there, cyclists I recognized from the previous night's camping. I was puzzled by the scene in front of me and asked, essentially, what happened to the water in the river? They said: the tide is out. And wow! What tides they are. Not the strongest in France, that honor goes to a region further north, but close. It wasn't so much a river as an estuary, we were so close to the ocean.

I stopped not much later, and enjoyed lunch with this extraordinary view.

The day got long, by happy chance I saw Monique and Pierre again, and they graciously included me in the search for a camp site for the night, stopping at corners to make sure I saw the route and let me catch up.

At the campsite another rider we had seen the night before, Jean-Louis, arrived a bit later, and we enjoyed a filling, impromptu, dinner sharing what we each had to eat.

The next morning we set off for the Passage du Gois. For me it was totally amazing and such fun. I had no idea such a road could exist.  When we arrived we waited for about an hour for the tide to drop.

The Passage de Gois was first mentioned on books in the 16th century. But it has been travelled on  since long before that. It is a stone-paved causeway (now also sometimes asphalt) that is flooded twice a day by the tide. Passable only for 3 hours, 1-1/2 hour before and after low tide, the rest of the time it is covered by 5 to 13 feet of water.

Signs advise travelers to seek safety on the towers if caught unawares by the tide.

Seaweeds attach to the roadbed and even when I was there at very low tide the water crept up the roadway.

Residents venture out to collect shellfish.

I had no idea what the day's ride would bring ... such a delight!

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