The next stage takes me out of Paris. I’ll follow the cycle way along the famous Seine river and bypass some very busy roads and crazy traffic before heading south west, following smaller roads and tracks south of Le Mans and on to Angers.
From Angers, I continue west through to Nantes and then travel south along the French coast to Rochefort and La Rochelle.
To avoid some serious traffic, I'm going to take seaside bike tracks around a large wetland to the town of Royan - and it is from here that I'll take a 7 km ferry ride across the peninsula where I'll have access to secluded biking areas and beautiful beaches.
This then also takes me on far safer route towards Bordeaux.
I may spend an extra day in Bordeaux doing the tourist thing - visiting some landmarks here that are on my list.
Leaving Bordeaux, I head further south to Hendaye, where I cross the border to the town of Irun (Basque Country) in Spain.
By now I will have been cycling through France for about 12 days and will treat myself to a rest day before continuing from Irun across the northern coast of Spain.
I expect this recharge time will be needed before I tackle the Pyrenees and one of the most mountainous segments.