Cycling on the Loire à Vélo

Loire à Vélo: Saint Nazaire to Nevers, France

Reflecting on the Loire à Vélo

Late one night in the winter of 2014 we left work, forever.

Two days later we flew to France to cycle the Loire à Vélo, our liberation ride. A 1,000 kilomètre journey from Saint Nazaire on Brittany’s Atlantic coast to Nevers in Burgundy, following the Loire, one of the last untamed rivers of Europe

A 65-kilometre warm-up ride along the coast. Past lighthouses, fishing huts built on stilts high above the water and a procession of French families carrying fishing nets, brightly coloured beach balls and striped towels. We stopped at Saint Marc sur Mer to pay homage to Monsieur Hulot and then cycled on through the salt marshes to the medieval walled village of Guerande.

Riding back in the warm twilight, our spirits soared as we cut through fields and forest trails. Our more-experienced cycling companions, Patricia and Paul, declared us Loire à Vélo ready and early the next morning we set off towards infinity and into a beautiful green valley listed as a world heritage living cultural landscape.

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Mt Sonder lit by the red light of dawn

Larapinta Trail, Central Australia

The Larapinta Trail takes the walker deep into the astonishingly beautiful red-heart of Australia.

Following the spine of the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges, the Larapinta Trail traverses the land of the Arrernte people. Their songlines tell of ancestral beings who travelled this country, bringing its flora, fauna, waterholes and landforms into life. The trail extends for 225 kilometres, from Mt Sonder to the desert town of Alice Springs. It weaves its way through spectacular gorges, climbs over rugged peaks, drops into green oases and follows the meanderings of ancient rivers. 

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A pilgrim and the sweeping vista of the meseta

Camino Francés, Spain

In the autumn of 2005, inspired by our friend Robert’s stories of walking the Camino Francés and in need of respite from the clamour of our lives, we walked out of St Jean Pied de Port on an 800-kilometre pilgrimage to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela.

A candle, lit in the cathedral in Santiago; a hand placed on the same marble column that pilgrims have placed their hand on for centuries; a relic, a piece of the true cross (plastic or otherwise); and that we travel well together. These were the entreaties from friends we carried with us as we walked across northern Spain. What follows are notes from our diary of 30 extraordinary days on the Camino Francés (literally, the Camino from France).

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