Kelly's Ventures

Kelly's Ventures in Life

Bicycle Ride to Île de Ré

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I rented an electric bike and rode to the beautiful Île de Ré for the day. While not the Tour de France, it was like a dream come true — bicycling through a beautiful part of France.

Ma bicyclette. It had an electric motor assist to help keep this old man going for the day.
Bike trail along the Atlantic coast between La Rochelle and the bridge to Île de Ré
Pont de l’Île de Ré
Along the way…
L’Abbaye des Châteliers; Île de Ré
L’Abbaye des Châteliers; Île de Ré

Biking 20km to Île de Ré made me hungry! Thankfully, there was a beautiful seaside village, La Flotte that offered choices of cafés and restaurants. I chose to eat at this one.

Restaurant Corner Môle; Île de Ré
Restaurant Corner Môle; Île de Ré. With a vue de la mer!
Delicious déjeuner!! Gave me premium fuel to pedal back to La Rochelle.
Riding my bike along a cute little street in La Flotte

On the way back, there was construction immediately after crossing the bridge, and I accidentally ended up on a freeway! I couldn’t turn around so I rode (as fast as I could!) to the first exit which wasn’t too far. But it felt humiliating and hilarious at the same time: me, riding a bike along a freeway as cars flew by, beeping their horns to let me know, “Quell un idiot!“

After I “exited” the freeway, I pulled over and laughed at that experience. I was just happy to have survived that unintended stunt. (I did purchase a health insurance policy for my time over here, but I hoped not to use it!)

Bridge to Île de Ré: It’s a lot longer than you think (2,926.5 meters, or 1.8 miles and is the 3rd longest bridge in France)! Thank goodness for the electric assist!!

I made it back safely, although my derrière was a bit sore. It was an amazing experience!

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