Blain turned out to be a friendly little town!

The hotel was right next to the Church Square and the landlord of the Hotel/Bar/Restaurant, La Gerbe de Ble was most helpful and spoke English well. I had booked in for a very reasonable “etape soirée” deal which included the room, dinner and breakfast. After doing my daily battery charging chores I went down early for a drink and dinner and sat outside in the still warm sun. In the church square opposite there were a group of girls dancing and singing with a couple who were obviously Maman et Papa taking pictures.

Dancing to the Birdie Song was a bit of a low point but I carried on eating my excellent Tartiflette and watched “les animations.” Local people were dragged in and passing motorbikes were used for props. I decided I had to ask what was going on and went over to the square. It turned out that one of the girls is getting married and that this was a hen party. A photo opportunity not to be lost, Papa took the picture and I went back to finish my meal. It is hard to imagine this happening anywhere in the UK and it was all the more charming for that.

Bonjour et felicitations a votre marriage!

Another photo which is hard to explain, but the tandem was in the garden of the hotel and the landlord took the photo as I prepared to leave. Musical tandems are also rare in the UK. I can’t imagine why.

The route to St Nazaire was quiet and lorry free. The Garmin was faultless and took me by the quieter roads. Along the way I hit the 400 kms mark which is 1/3 of the official distance of the Velodyssey.

400 kms. 800 to go!

I also got my first view of the Loire and the mighty St Nazaire bridge which takes me south to the Atlantic coast.

Safely booked in to my hotel for tonight, I am now off to the station to investigate the bus which takes bikes over the bridge. You can ride over but my inner wuss is showing through.

And none of last night’s shenanigans!