Vélo-Rail — Attraction in Les Sables-d'Olonne

We booked for the 4 hour rental which gives you time for a picnic at the turnaround. The ride out (its 9.8km to the turn) was fairly easy going, the track is well shaded and there is only a very slight slope to the track. You have to operate the barriers at the road crossings yourself although they are very easy to lift. The cars themselves fit 4 of us comfortably (although only 2 can pedal at once), they say they can take 5 but I think one would be standing if you did. The last stretch to the picnic stop was a long (although very shallow) climb. Once we reached the stop we were ready for the break. Be warned though there are only a handful of picnic tables and some bins here, no other facilities! We had been told we would have to wait for the next group to arrive before we could set off back to the start, as it is only a single track with no passing places if you meet someone coming the other way you will have to back up and the only way to do this is push as there is no reverse gear! After a wait a whole string of cars arrived, turned around on the turntable, and set back off towards the start. The long climb now became a very easy run back down the track, somehow it seemed to stretch all the way to about 2km from the start when it levelled out again, only the last km seemed to be back uphill to the end. A great little adventure through the countryside. The kids enjoyed themselves, we got a bit of exercise to burn off the holiday excesses, and it filled a slightly cloudy afternoon. I wouldn't want to go here in the rain or if the temperatures were too high as I don't think you'd enjoy it as much, we went on a cloudy but warm day and it was just about right.

Although we had no issues it is advised to book, we spoke to some others at the picnic spot and they told us it was their 3rd year trying to go but every other time it...

Velo Rail is fun, unique and interesting for the whole family. We were a family of four, with 8 and 3 year olds. It was interesting at first but the novelty wore off and they got bored; and my wife and I were exhausted before after half the first leg of peddling.

We reached the turning point, and most people ahead of us were already waiting, so we had little time for rest.

For the second leg of the journey back, we decided to change tactics - what I call an "alternating 10 sec sprint between riders with a 20 sec sandwich rest" (if I could patent this technique, I would! It seem to work wonders on the leg back).

The tactic basically involves each rider cycling hard for 10 seconds, then letting the velo bike run on momentum for 20 seconds, then the other rider rides hard for 10 seconds, then rest for 20 seconds, and this continues back with the other rider, etc. This method effectively gives each rider 30 seconds of rest in between, while maintaining the momentum of the vehicle. It will conserve energy and increase efficiency. We asked our children to be the coach/coordinator - to time/swap the three riding technique. This kept them occupied and motivated.

Comparatively, for our first leg where we faced exhaustion, both riders were peddling furiously without efficiently sharing the workload and not necessarily going much faster.

In short, be prepared for excitement, exhilaration and some exhaustion (if you have the right technique and method to manage the 11km journey). Otherwise, you may find yourself faced with a lot of unnecessary pain, perspiration...

Great fun but can be hard going in places. You start at the station and leave in order. The ride out is 7km and the last 1-2 km is slightly uphill so quite hard going. We opted to choose a cart in the middle of the line up so we were neither leading or ending. Once you get to the end there is a turntable to turn your cart around and you head back. Those that were at the end are now leading and vice versa for those that were leading. This can mean the last cart in has very little time to rest before doing it all again. There is nowhere to sit at the end and very little time for a rest. We took a picnic with us and just about had time for half a sandwich and a bottle of water.

The cart itself has two seats in the middle that fit two adults/3 kids or any combination of adults/kids and plenty of room to take a coolbox or picnic bag. There is a basket at the side for storing other items. The riders sit on the outside of the cart to pedal. No steering is required.

There are several crossing that require someone to leave the cart and open the barriers and one crossing is light controlled.

The route takes you through shady areas so even when very hot there is a chance to escape the sun.

The cycle back is easy going for the first few Km as it's downhill and you can easily coast along with little effort and get up quite some speed!

All in all we had a great time and enjoyed our day out. Ideally we would have preferred cooler weather but having to book in advance meant we were at the mercy of the weather and it ended up being a very hot day!

Take lots of...