The house in Arcachon came with 7 ordinary bicycles, admittedly of varying sizes and quality, some had no brakes, some had brakes only on, some had only 1 gear but, to a greater or lesser extent, they all worked. The house owners also had 2 electric bikes that they rented to me and I added 1 extra electric bike from a hire shop, so we were all mobile without needing to go anywhere near the BBT.

Pedal power either end and electric in the middle – but everyone happy.

Less happy about the quality of their bikes, apparently no racing tires on any of them!

It was such fun scooting about on bikes, as Arcachon has the loveliest cycle path network, all along the coastline and through the woods too. Just a great way to get from a to b & back again. We even took all the bikes on a boat across Arcachon Bay and explored Cap Ferret for the day. it doesn’t get any better than that. More general findings include:

All bicycles should really have baskets

You can’t underestimate the effects of a good bell

If you want to arrive at a restaurant for dinner fresh and not sweaty, travel by electric bike