Day 15 – Josselin to Malestroit (click link to open route in new page)

Wednesday May 18, 2011, 26 km (16 miles) – Total so far: 517 km (321 miles)

Today was another fine day of cycling on nice quiet roads until we turned onto what seemed like a minor road. It was narrow and there were no road markings at all, but cars and trucks were flying by at horrendous speeds.

Mike stopped at a bridge crossing a canal. There was a path alongside it. Then two touring cyclists came riding along the path on the edge of the canal.

I said to Mike we should get off this horrible road and follow that path along the canal. Our conversation went something like this:

Mike: But it’s not the way we are going

Jo: Who cares, we don’t have a route anyway and it looks like a nice ride.

Mike: But the GPS doesn’t see it as a road.

Jo: Those touring cyclists just came along there – it must go somewhere

Mike: But what if it turns into a dirt track like the english canals

Jo repeats: Those touring cyclists came along there – it must be ok.

At that moment three buses go flying past at horrendous speeds.

Jo: I don’t care – I’m getting off this shitty main road – let’s follow it and see where it leads us.

Mike: ok

This is the beauty of not have a set route or a set destination – we can go wherever our mood wants us to go.

Turns out the path is a popular cycle way which follows the canal for over 300km from Brest to Nantes. What a bit of luck to have stumbled onto it.

It was wonderful flat cycling, not having to worry about cars, trucks and buses.

We cycled through the narrow streets of the Medeival town of Malestroit.

We stopped at an amazing campsite right beside the canal just walking distance from the village. This was another fine example of the better the campsite the cheaper it is. It only cost 4.85 euros, it had toilet seats, and even a table for us to use!

We wandered into Malestroit and picked up supplies for dinner – sausages, potatoes and mixed veg, beer, and a chocolate desert.

Today was a struggle to get moving as we had Sunday off (day of rest etc). We decided to move away from the coast as the wind coming off the English channel was freezing, so we headed south in hope of finding warmer weather.

There seemed to be endless hills on our route, and having left the chilly sea breeze behind us, we actually worked up a sweat.

The route was also on a busy road with big scary trucks. We headed off the main road and forced the garmin to re-route us onto quieter roads. The garmin got his revenge by sending us up the hilliest routes possible. He’s about as vindictive as the lady in our Tom Tom!

We did a meagre 30kms before calling it a day and decided to stop in a hotel for the night. The campground was another 20 kms away and we just couldnt be bothered.

The hotel was in the middle of hicksville. We said we would like to eat in their restaurant. At 7.15pm the phone in our room rings, summoning us for dinner.

We arrive downstairs to a plate of salad consisting of potatoes, mushrooms, avocado, some fishy things (looked like that pickled fish you get in a jar) and a selection of meats and breads. There was also a carafe of red wine. Please note we did not order any of this and we have no idea how much it will all cost. It was yummy and we ate it all knowing this was only a starter.

Then the main course came out. It was a big blob of meat, with noodles and lettuce. It also was really yummy – but very filling.

Then came the cheese platter with a large selection of cheeses. We figured we were not expected to eat all of this.

Then they bought dessert – and Mike took two. We still arent sure whether he should have taken the custard with his cake. Guess we will find out in the morning on our bill.

Day 9 – Dinard to Saint Cast-le-Guildo (click to display route in new window)

Wednesday May 11, 2011, 26 km (16 miles) – Total so far: 340 km (211 miles)

Cycling with a hangover is not much fun. We spent the last couple of days at Ali’s campground in Saint Cast. It wasn’t open till the weekend so she was able to put us in a luxury cabin with toilet, shower and full kitchen with oven. They call this camping!

We found a supermarket which sold beer for 22c per can and this is to blame for the hangover. Beer is cheap in France and would be a great place to live if you were an alcoholic. We are moving to France next summer to run a campground.

Ali was still in the process of getting the campground ready for opening so Mike helped to build a few barbecues. He built so many it is starting to look like one.

Day 3 Denneville to Gouville-sur-Mer (click link to view route in new page)

Our usual routine is to get up around 9am, Mike makes a cup of tea, I complain the water tastes funny, so he makes another one out of our bottled water. Then we have a big bowl of cereal with fruit, pack up our tent and stuff and be on the road by about 11am. It’s a perfect lazy way to start the day.

On the road the first priority is to pick up a baguette for lunch and a couple of pastries for afternoon munchies, and either some ham or cheese.

The trick is to get to the shops either before 12 or after 2pm as they shutdown for lunch.

We had another stunning day of flat riding.

At 2pm, after 35kms I decided I had enough. We found a perfect campground right beside the beach. The weather was deliciously warm. It was nice to thaw out after the previous freezing cold days. We grabbed our e-readers and sat on the beach reading for the afternoon and drinking beer we bought for 44c.

We cooked a delicious bacon and mushroom pasta for dinner, served with crusty bread.

We finished the day watching the sun set over the atlantic while sipping our 44c beer.