Yesterday we had our first cycle ride on the island, riding from Le Bois Plage to Loix which was about 11 miles return and was Ray’s longest ride on a manual bike since the Achilles affair of December 2025. All went well and was helped considerable by a coffee and cakes stop at one of Rosemary’s favourite cafes in the centre of Loix. The Ile de Re is a relatively small island being about 20 miles long and 2/3 miles wide but cycling is complicated by the large number of salt flats covering a fair amount of the island as you will see from the map below.
We were struck by the very significant increase in e-bikes on the island which is generally very flat and probably e-bikes now outnumber manual bikes. Whilst the island is not that busy with visitors there are a lot of cyclists and evidence of grandparents on e-bikes, probably day trips from La Rochelle, looking after grandchildren.
The leg muscles needed a short rest when we returned to our apartment before we headed down the nearby beach, La Plage de la Gollandiers for our first swim in the sea. It was lovely; the beach was very quiet and the sea really warm but with some strong waves.
Back to the apartment for a dinner of quiches, cheeses and a baguette followed by a walk along the seafront in glorious evening sunshine. A lovely day!
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