30.06.2026 Day 20 - La - Tranche-sur-Mer - Niort. Final day, flat! and meeting my dear brother and sister in law.

Surprise - this was the flattest of all stretches, including the Netherlands. No bridges and dikes here. First part, still the EV1, was through huge fields of sunflowers and corn. After reaching Marans, I left the EV 1  😪 and continued a long a river on old tow paths. Finally arrived at camping La Venise Vert in Coulon in Coulon, close to Niort, minutes before Jaap and Brigit. Great timing.

La-Faute-sur-Mer, cycle and pedestrian bridge.

Typical for thhe first part of the trip. Flat and endless fields

I used to be enthusiastic about the quality of the bike tracks, but increasingly there are bumpy stretches like this

Very large farms here, but also deserted houses

I saw this field of pink flowers. Not sure about their purpose but colourful 

My final farewell with the Eurovelo - for this year at least

After Marans, I follow the river Le Sèvre Niortaise

Found a nice blue table for lunch, while a tourist boat passed

Quite a few fishermen. Once a fish was drawn up right in front of me, with a lot of "parådon"

And now it's over for this year. A bit wistful, could easily continue - on the other hand, it will be nice to come home again also. France has really been a great experience for cycling, After all, they are the nation of cyclists!

Final stage was 87 km, used 7:30 hours, 5 hpurs active cycling. Total distance ended at 1729 km.