After talking to the helpful tourist information office in Challan, I decided to ride the more scenic route from Challan to St. Jean De Monts. There is a private trail most of the way.
It was a beautiful choice, but a choice that cost me a lot of time. After taking the train in the morning from Paris it was already almost 3pm and instead of an 18km ride directly to Noirmountier I ended up with two rides of about 18km.
St. Jean De Monts
After reaching St. Jean De Monts I rode north on a dirt trail in the woods on the Eurovelo 1 until I reached the area around the bridge to Noirmontier.
I had a lot of trouble finding the path that led across the bridge. It’s a woodsy area and there are a lot of paths that lead to the beach where you can see the bridge, but can’t access it. On the trail in the woods you can’t see the bridge. I think I rode an extra 10km searching.
When you look on a map and see a small island off the coast it seems like it should be a short ride to get to the island – maybe 2kms. It’s 18kms from the bridge to the town of Noirmountier.
On my first day that I thought was going to be an easy start turned into a super long day. I arrived at Noirmountier at 10pm very tired. The upside is there was no attendant so I just set up my tent in this beautiful beachside campground – Camping Indigo Noirmountier.
Budget is $30 US a day
All future $ in euros – $300 in pocket to start
Day 1 and night – $10
$10 groceries in Challan –
Raisins – pear – baguette –
including $3.79 for 2009 Bordeaux
$0 lodging in Noirmountier
The total spent to-date is $10 and the average to-date is $10