I think it would be a better idea to take a train to Nantes instead of St. Nazaire. If you start from St. Nazaire, you'll need to cross the Loire river. There is a very long and high bridge over the mouth of the Loire between St. Nazaire & St. Brevin. I suspect many cyclists would not want to try it. The following website (in French) gives alternatives and says it's "not advised" to bike across. There was a bike shuttle in 2024 from July 1 to Sept. 1, but that wouldn't help you if 2025 has the same schedule.

https://www.francevelotourisme.com/c...nazaire-a-velo

eta: Here's a link with info in English:

https://www.saint-nazaire-tourisme.u...%20your%20bike.

"Saint-Nazaire is linked to the Loire à Vélo route by the bridge which spans the Loire estuary. For safety reasons you are advised against crossing it on your bike."

"In 2024, the service is available from 1st July to 1st September, every hour from (9am to 12.30pm) and from (2.30pm to 7pm). In peak season from 15th July to 18th August, extra shuttle buses are added, running every 30 minutes.

Where are the stops located?

Two stops are served on each side of the Saint Nazaire bridge:

In Saint-Nazaire, boulevard des apprentices, at the corner of rue de l’aviation
In Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, Place Bougainville

For more info call +332 51 82 62 62

More information to cross the Bridge the rest of the year

The rest of the year the taxis on both sides by Saint-Brevin Taxi company (+33 240 27 23 07) can take you to the other side, as does a regular bus ‘Aléop’ (booking possible from Monday to Friday, +0033 969 39 14 14).

• Booking is required the day before travel at the latest, on +0033 969 39 14 14 (booking service open from 9am to 4pm from Monday to Thursday and from 9am to 12pm on Fridays. To make a booking for Saturday, Sunday or Monday, call before 12pm on the Friday before the planned date of travel).
• Number of places for standard bikes: 8 maximum
• Folding trailers only are allowed on the buses
• Owners remain responsible for their bikes and their secure attachment
• Consult the timetable: Line 317 Saint-Nazaire<>Saint-Brevin-les-Pins until june, 28 2024 and Line 317 Saint-Brevin Saint-Nazaire from June, 29 2024 to august, 31 2024
• I reserve my place: I click, select “Car” then “Loire-Atlantique” and “Request for information”.
• Indicate in the “Postal code and municipality” fields: 44600 SAINT-NAZAIRE
• NB: everything is in French, you can however leave a message in English to reserve or be called back."

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I've biked from St. Brevin to Nantes. Pleasant, but not more than that. The real delights in the Loire valley are further east. Cycling throughout the valley is easy. Very gentle terrain, a great network of minor roads with minimal traffic.

I see you're ending in Nevers. I haven't been there, but I have biked to nearby Auxerre as well as Bourges. Both are lovely towns, and I suspect they're more interesting than Nevers.

The 2 times I attempted to reserve bicycle space on a TGV I was unsuccessful. The first time we were told there wouldn't be enough time to get our bikes loaded. I later saw the bike car on our train and it was packed with freight but no bicycles. The 2nd time, there was only 1 bike spot remaining and there were 3 of us. We all were touring on our Bike Friday folders so we removed our pedals, folded up our bikes, and put each bike in a large plastic garbage bag we had brought for this situation. It worked out fine.

Taking your bike on a "TER" train is usually very simple. Roll-on, roll-off.