Day 43: Marcheprime to Léon | 120km
14 July 2026
It was time to hit the road for real again. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, I felt motivated to reach the Atlantic coast after cycling inland for the past thousand kilometers. I hadn’t seen the ocean since crossing that storm barrier in the Netherlands, and something about the vast farmlands and lack of water across France had worn me down. Riding along the coast, you always have a real sense of direction, and looking into a blue horizon is relaxing. Water, as I’ve discovered on this trip, generally means a better supply of food, people, and prettier roads. This was true riding along the Loire Valley, but the road often took me away from it and into small towns and neighborhoods where the only water I saw was covered by a layer of green or brown sludge. Not exactly where I’d go for a refreshing dip.
It was relatively flat today, so the kilometers passed quickly. About 40 or 50 km into the ride, I finally reached the Atlantic Ocean. The beautiful bike path, the EuroVelo 1, snaked alongside the coast through pine trees and a couple of campsites nestled in the dunes along the beach. I’ll be sticking close to this coast for the rest of the 2,500 km until the end, so in a way, it felt like it marked the beginning of the end. Still, there’s plenty of ground to cover. The rest days had done me well, and I felt a new sense of joy in riding that I had lacked since I rode with Irene. The pleasant paths, slightly milder temperatures, and more people around made every pedal stroke lighter in a sense.
I stopped for lunch in Contis, a small but picturesque beachside town with cafés, surf shops, restaurants, and vacationers. I loved the atmosphere in town, and seeing all the young couples and families there on vacation was quite the contrast to what my holiday looks like. Instead of pedaling 100 to 150 km a day, they seemed to lounge aimlessly in the sun, strolling between cafés and taking surf lessons. I’ve promised myself that my next vacation will be a relaxing one.
I lingered in a café for a while to call two of my closest friends, currently living a working nomad lifestyle in Japan. They’ve already been away for four or five months, traveling around Korea and Japan, working remotely while exploring the countries and cultures. Again, I thought that doing these things as a couple or with a close friend is surely the best way to explore new places. Being with someone who gives you comfort also provides confidence to connect. No matter what anyone says, walking up to a group of people by yourself to make conversation will always feel more awkward than doing it with someone else.
After my break, I continued the final 20 km or so to a campground outside Léon, where the very friendly owner showed me to a spot I could pitch my tent. She also gave me a chair and a little table where I could relax. Even something as simple as a plastic chair can feel like a luxury when you’ve gotten used to just sitting on the ground. After sitting down for a while to plan my route for the next day, I slowly assembled my tent and camping gear before heading to a pizzeria just a stone’s throw away to fuel up.
Waking up so early every day lately has made my days quite strange. Since I’m usually finished with my daily distance by lunchtime, I have many hours to kill but usually not much to do. I tend to do things very slowly and methodically just to make time pass. I guess this is one of the boredoms I was looking forward to before the trip. I filled my Kindle with books before this trip, thinking I’d have so much time to devour books that had been on my reading list for years. But similar to my diminishing consumption of podcasts and music, I rarely have the energy to dive into literature.
I slowly ate my pizza before returning to my plastic chair to watch Spain play in the World Cup, but the connection was so weak that I only caught the sound every couple of minutes. There wasn’t much I could do about it, but I heard the loud cheers from a nearby Spanish campervan whenever they scored or something dramatic happened. That was enough entertainment for me tonight.