Day 11 – Tractor Man

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Google was mean again to us today.

We had planned to go to Chateaubriant which was 53 kms away. She started by sending us down a main road with big trucks barrelling past and no shoulder to cycle on. After about 15 minutes of agonising cycling I told Mike I would not be following this for the next 53 kms and we pulled over to look for an alternate route.

We’d met a couple of English cycle tourers at the camp the previous night and they said they are following a book which navigates them through picturesque paths off the main roads all the way to Nice. I wish we had’ve gotten details from them.

Anyway, I found a route on my phone which would take us off the main road. We just had to cope with another 1.5 km. Just before we turned off four big trucks rumbled by and I decided I would do whatever it took to stay off this road.

As we turned off Mike noticed a dead end sign. I didn’t care, I’d be doing whatever it took not to go back on that main road. I’d push my bike through fields of ticks if need be.

We cycled along a nice tarmac surface, no other traffic about. Then the road turned to dirt and we suddenly appeared to be cycling through somebody’s farm. I thought, here we go, dead end ahead. I stopped to take a photo of some horses in the paddock when I noticed up ahead that Mike had been pulled over by a man on a tractor.

I pushed my bike up towards him as the angry man on the tractor pulled away.

“We’ve got to go back,” Mike said.

“Back on the main road?” I said, remembering my vow not to go back there.

“Yes, this is private. The man on the tractor said we can’t ride through here.”

I showed Mike my maps. “But Google is sending us this way.”

“It doesn’t matter. This little section is private and he is watching to make sure we don’t go through here .”

I looked ahead and it was only 50 meters through their private property to the road on the other side. I heard voices to my left. There were two men inside the property talking.

“I’m going to ask those men,” I said, hoping they might be nicer to a girl. “Come with me to translate.”

Reluctantly Mike followed, constantly looking back, worried that tractor man would reprimand him again.

I explained my situation to the two men in my best English, showing them my map and how I did not want to go down the main road.

“C’est prive” he said in his best French. Clearly my best English wasn’t getting through to him. Mike then had a go in his best French asking if we could walk our bikes 50 metres through their property to the road on the other side.

“Oui, no problem,” they said.

Phew, we were out the other side and on our way.

It was far more relaxing cycling through fields of corn. We stopped in a small town and had a coffee at a restaurant overlooking a magnificent church with an intricate steeple. It donged while we were there and made our day.

It was one of those days where Google kept trying to send us back on the main road, and us fighting back. We decided to give up on navigating to Chateaubriant and navigate to a campground in the general direction we were heading. Just to be sure we were going the right way, Mike navigated on his Garmin and I navigated on my phone.

But this is where the problems began. Mike’s Garmin would want to turn us left but mine would want to go straight ahead. Then mine wanted to go right while Mike’s wanted to go left. Not only were we fighting with the gadgets, we were now fighting amongst our selves. Our phones were annoyed we weren’t listening to them and had turned us against each other.

After a few terse words backwards and forwards, we found solace on the church steps. We sat down for a break, ate our quiche Lorraine’s and regrouped.

Relaxed and well fed, or fed up, we took another look at where we wanted to go. It turned out we were both navigating to different campgrounds!

We both decided to go to my campground, but after about 10kms it told us to turn right. No longer trusting Google, we stopped and checked. Just as well we did and it was trying to send us back onto that stupid main road!

We ignored Google again and went straight ahead and were transported into a stunning medieval town. Why would Google want us to miss this? We sat and marvelled at the wonky chocolate rippled buildings, trying to forget that we were trying to head south whilst adhering to my vow earlier of avoiding that main road.

There was a campground about 20 minutes ride away but it was only 1pm and we decided it was too early to stop. We tried to find a route south, but all roads led to that dreaded main road. By this stage I was feeling exhausted and felt like an afternoon nap. Mike was getting grumpy because he wanted to keep moving.

After about an hour of procrastinating in this picturesque town, the bakery opened and I bought us a couple of pastries. These were like the elixir of life, giving us the boost we needed to make a decision. We decided to head to the nearby campground as it was now 3pm and a good time to stop for the day. Turns out it was the campground Mike was initially navigating to.

It’s a small municipal campground in La Guerche-de-Bretagne and is only costing 11 euros per night. A man keeps hovering around us and our tent, so if you don’t hear from us tomorrow, send help.

Morning coffee in front of the church that donged.

Day 10 – Back on the Road

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300 kms so far…

We spent a lovely two nights in Fougeres and felt really rested. As we cycled out of town, I stopped to give way to a car on the roundabout. The car behind me screeched his brakes and almost ran into me. Then he tooted telling me to go. I yelled at him and said ‘c’est la voiture’ and pointed at the car. Okay, I actually yelled ‘there’s a car’ but he wouldn’t have listened either way as he sped off past me when the car had gone. Very rude.

The morning was a drag. The road was busy and we had a head wind. It was one of those days where you put your head down and just want to get there.

We were heading towards rain clouds. A bunch of cows were sitting in a paddock indicating a 100 percent chance of rain.

Our jaws dropped as we arrived in the town of Vitre. A chateau loomed on our left and we cycled down the hill through medieval streets, stopping to take many photos.

We fuelled up on a pain au raisin and ham baguette before heading to our campground. On the way we finally found a shop that sold a blanket. Now I can finally use our picnic blanket for what it was designed for!

We set up camp and set up our awning with enough space to sit under if it rained. Thankfully we did as it started raining as we were cooking dinner. Tonight we had bacon and rice followed by blueberries and chocolate for dessert. A big day tomorrow, probably about 55 kms.

The lady had the campground made a big fuss of Mike being a kiwi and took a photo of him with his Nz passport and put it on their instagram page.

Day 8 and 9 – Fougeres

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The previous evening we crawled into our tent at 10pm and not long after, the rain we’d been expecting for days finally came, loud and heavy. I ignored the thought of packing up a wet tent and willed myself to sleep.

We awoke at 6am to glorious sunshine and headed to the monestery for a quick photo and drone shot, then packed up our wet tent and we were on our way.

The roads today were long and boring and my knee is still playing up. After 43 kms we made it to a scenic town of Fourgeres and booked into a hotel for two nights. We checked into our room at 3pm, and we both immediately passed out exhausted, and didn’t wake up until 6pm.

It is a public holiday in France today and all the restaurants and shops were shut. Thankfully we found a kebab place open. Mike had kebab, chips and salad, and I had the same but with felafel.

The next morning we had to move rooms in the hotel as our room was booked for that evening. It’s amazing how much we can spread out in one afternoon! We spend the morning packing up and moving, then did a tour around the town.

Fougeres is very old, with signs of habitation dating back to 5000 BC. It sits at the crossroads of two roman roads. The town initially had a wooden fortification which was replaced in the 11th century with a stone one and was enlarged and enhanced in the 14th century to try to stop the many attempts to override the town.

There is also a chateau here which we viewed from a distance.

After the tour, a handsome Frenchman took me into a little room and closed the curtain while I took my pants down. Okay, it’s not as dodgy as it sounds. The pharmacist was getting me to try on a knee brace for size. So I bought the knee brace and some anti-inflammatory gel and hope this will help.

We spent the rest of the day resting, hoping to get back on the bikes tomorrow.

Day 7 – Rest Day at Mont-st-Michel

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We got up early and walked 2 kms to Mont saint Michel which is a monastery in the middle of the sea. It was shrouded in mist this morning and it was threatening to rain.

We walked through the narrow streets until we found a cafe serving coffee and crepes. We ordered our usual espresso followed by crepe du pomme compote which was basically stewed apple on a pancake! It was delicious.

We meandered through winding staircases dating back to 957. That’s really old.

We reached the top and looked out over the mud flats where we saw a group of walkers making their way across the alternate route. They appeared to be stranded. You must do the walk with a guide as a false move could end with you sinking in the sand. Or the tide coming in and sweeping you out to sea.

We continued around the old monastery and Mike pointed out holes where the defenders might have poured hot oil down over attackers, or worse still, pissed on them.

There are a few hotels on the monestary and some people actually live in the village. As we made our way down, we noticed the people trying to walk across were still in the same place, apparently struggling to know which way to go.

We looked in the other direction, to the bridge we had walked across, to see hoards of people coming towards the monastery. We were glad we’d started early and avoided the masses.

As we walked back towards camp, we noticed the people who had been stranded were wading through the incoming tide, thankfully making it to safety.

It was threatening to rain all day but it never came. I spent the rest of the day sorting out some photos while Mike worked on a route plan.

We had dinner at the restaurant again as we have no decent food to cook and there is no shop.

Probably back on the bikes tomorrow, hope the rain stays away.

Day 6 – on the road to Mont st michel

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We had a wonderful night in our little cabin the previous night. It thundered and rained and we were pleased to be snug in our Mobil home.

It was a wonderful start to the day, riding along the beach front, the sun shining and the day was warm. It was one of those days where everything seemed perfect. Quiet country roads, amazing views.

We stopped for lunch overlooking the beach and mont saint michel. We made ourselves a healthy lunch of lettuce, cucumber, strawberries, eggs, and Parma ham. It was delicious, better than a restaurant.

In the afternoon my knee started playing up. I’ve had problems with it before, and I think it’s due to overuse. I tried peddling with just the other leg but the circular action was hurting. It was no problem walking.

We found a table and chairs overlooking Mont Saint Michel and I was able to rest it and gave the muscles around the knee a good massage and this helped heaps.

We passed a lot of pilgrims today, probably heading to the monestary. It’s a long weekend here and also a religious weekend so it’s gonna be busy!

We cycled 51 kms today and are currently camping near Mont St Michel which is a monestary in the middle of the water. Thunder is rumbling all around us and the skies are very black.

We had to wait until 8pm to eat at a restaurant and had burger and chips. I think we’ll stay two nights as need a rest.

Day 5 – Charming Villages and a Bed

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We both had a great nights sleep and started out with a quick espresso before continuing down the Atlantic coast. It was a great start to the day, cycling along country lanes and through many picturesque villages.

We decided to do our own thing today, ignoring both the Garmin and Mrs Google, and ended up at a charming seaside town that actually had a shop that was open. We stocked up on a few essentials like sunscreen, lip balm, snickers bars. I am still so hungry no matter how much I seem to eat. After stocking up, we cycled along the waterfront for a while. The day was calm, no wind, not too hot, just perfect.

We made our way to a large town called Granville. We had decided to stop the night in a hotel to look around the town as rain was forecast. We didn’t like the look of any of the hotels and the thought of carrying all of our panniers to our rooms sounded like too much effort. The thought of having a day off to look around the town seemed like a good idea, but the reality is, we don’t really like large towns. So we had a quick bite to eat and rode out of there.

We found a nice place to camp by the beach. Rain and thunderstorms had been forecast and we needed to do some work on editing videos and getting stuff charged up, so we opted for what they call a mobil home at the campground. It’s a self contained cabin with two bedrooms, a shower, toilet and full kitchen. We would have liked to have stayed for two nights, but it is booked out for the long weekend here. We’ll probably be stuck finding somewhere tomorrow night.

It wasn’t until we stopped that we realised how tired we were. But after a little rest, we headed to L’epicerie (grocer) and got some stuff to cook ourselves a decent dinner. We had Steak hache with a poivre sauce, rice, and a large salad. For desert we had yoghurt and chopped some strawberries up into it. It was delicious. Then we polished off a bar of chocolate. For some reason, I’m still hungry!

I also managed to get most of our first day’s video edited. The rain has now stopped, but will probably settle in when it’s time to leave in the morning. At least we won’t have to pack up a wet tent.

Anyway, it’s not 10pm and still very daylight out there. Might go and watch the sunset.

Day 4 – where is all the food?

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Today seemed like such hard work. The day started out freezing cold. We lay in bed waiting for the sun to come up and warm up our tent. But it was shaded by the nearby houses and didn’t get to our tent until 8am.

The tent had stayed reasonably dry overnight so it didn’t take long to pack up and be on our way. Our first stop, the local pub for an espresso. The shop was open today as well so we got a baguette, two pain au raisins and some ham.

Most of the day we followed the coast along quiet country roads with the occasional busy road thrown in to keep it interesting.

After 40 kms we were both so shattered so we’ve found a place to camp for only 11 euros a night . Still no toilet paper but they gave us some when we asked. It’s like France hasn’t bothered to change it’s bad habits since COVID. As well as having no loo paper, there is no hand soap in camp grounds.

We haven’t had a decent meal in the four days we’ve been cycling and I’ve been constantly hungry. Possibly why we are so tired too. Still no shop to buy food so we’re going to find a restaurant. It keeps spitting with rain so it might be a wet one.

Just got back from the restaurant and feel so good after a decent sized meal. Mike had a 300 gram steak and I had 3 large lamb chops with chips and salad. It was a huge meal and we ate it all.

Hopefully it won’t be so cold tonight as we still haven’t found anywhere to by a blanket or sleeping bag liner.

That’s it for now. Bon nuit.

Day 3 – Technology is Against Us

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Surtainville to Pirouette -53 kms

We had a much better sleep last night. I put our picnic blanket over us and it was much warmer.

We had only planned to do 35 kms today but the numbers reversed themselves and we ended up doing 53. As well as that, Google and Mikes GPS were conspiring against us, sending us down gravel roads and through paddocks full of sheep.

We started the day by navigating to a chemist which was 13 kms away as we needed bug spray. The sun was shining but it was a bit chilly. Then we hit the hills and we soon warmed up.

We arrived at the pharmacy and it was the first town we’d seen in 3 days that had shops. So we bought a baguette, pain au chocolate, Camembert, strawberries, and a tin of tuna. Then we sat and had a coffee.

Feeling refreshed we continued on, cycling through quiet country lanes with very little traffic. Then Google started being mean to us. Mike had been having trouble with his Garmin GPS so we were using Google to navigate. She sent us down a rutted gravel path. We noticed the Camino signs and the GR229 comes through here. It would be lovely walking it but not so great cycling it.

So we decided to sack Google and use the Garmin. He then proceeded to send us into a paddock. The trail was a narrow overgrown path. All I could think of was a YouTube video I watched of cycle tourists picking ticks off each other. But we made it through tick free and got back onto the main road.

Mike then gave the Garmin another chance to navigate us to a campground. But he took us to a camp that was closed! Okay, I guess that’s not the Garmin’s fault. But it was 4pm and we were both shattered. Thankfully it was only another 45 mins to the next camp.

We arrived in the town and were excited to see a butcher shop. I salivated at the thought of a juicy steak for dinner with a nice healthy salad. But the butcher was closed for a half day on Wednesday. And there was no other shop here.

We found the camp and By the time we set up camp had showers etc it was nearly 8pm. We Cooked some pasta and a tomato sauce and that was it.

We’re camping by the sea again. We considered watching the sunset, but it doesn’t set until after 10pm so we went to bed instead.

Day 2 – A Quiet Day

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Clairefontaine to Surtainville – 20 kms

We woke up in the middle of the night, freezing! Our sleeping bags are really only for warm nights. It didn’t help that it was still warm when we went to bed and I hadn’t layered up. I won’t make that mistake again!As a result, we slept in until about 9am and didn’t get away from camp until about 10.30.

We’d ummed and aahed about our coffee situation. First of all we’d planned to bring our portable Nespresso gadget. But decided at 500grams it was too heavy. So we then decided on a plunger. But it wouldn’t fit in our panniers. So we had to resort to instant coffee. It was disgusting. It might have been the brand we chose or the foul tasting water, we don’t know. So at the first opportunity we stopped at a restaurant for espresso.

Our coffee saviour was in a scenic seaside town of Dielette, just 4 kms from where we had camped the previous night. As we sat outside enjoying our espressos, dark clouds rolled across followed by some spots of rain. We scurried inside and decided to stay for lunch. They had moules frites on the menu so it would have been rude not to.

We ploughed our way through a huge bucket of mussels and an hour later the sun had come out again and we were on our way.

We have not passed a shop since Cherbourg and are in desperate need of healthy food and a few necessities we left behind, such as things for our behinds.

It was a leisurely ride for most of the day. There still seemed to be a lot of pushing bikes up hills, but the roads were quieter.

We rode only 20 kms today and stopped at another municipal camping ground. It’s 12 euro for the night and I think there’s a pizza place nearby. We’ll start our healthy eating tomorrow!

It’s now almost bed time (7pm). As we have no food, we had no choice but to try the pizza joint down the road. We walked for about 5 minutes when I spotted what looked to be a pizza food truck but looked to be closed.

As we got closer we were surprised that not only was it open, but it was a 24 hour pizza joint.

As we got even closer, our happy smiles which we’re looking forward to pizza soon turned to grimaces followed by a WTF expression.

‘This can’t be for real,’ I said.

‘I think it is,’ replied Mike.

‘I didn’t even think this was a thing.’

‘Looks like it is and we don’t have any choice.’

Mike then proceeded to place our order, with a pizza vending machine! This was such a hideous experience which I will not repeat!

We’re going to France!

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We got up at silly o’clock (5am) to get ready for our ferry crossing to France. Thankfully due to jet lag, this was our natural wake up time anyway. And the sun is up then too.

A coffee, followed by a quick breakfast and we were on our way. It is an 8 km ride from Bournemouth to Poole where the ferry leaves from.

It had been really cold the last few days so I layered up in ALL of my clothes, and 5 minutes later I overheated and whipped them off again.

It was the first time we’d ridden our bikes fully loaded and it was so much harder than I’d remembered. We’ll definitely be taking it slow to start with.

We arrived at the ferry in plenty of time and we’re ushered into a fast queue for check-in. A couple in the car next to us we’re getting agro with the car in front. They kept telling them to hurry up as they were fed up with waiting for them. We couldn’t believe it. As if the car in front could make the check-in process go faster.

The ferry crossing was 4.5 hours and so calm. Thankfully I didn’t need to take a tablet.

We docked in Cherbourg and found our way to the town. We spent an hour there trying to find my cycle gloves. In the main square I emptied all my bags, tried to repack them but now my stuff wouldn’t go back in. Mike started getting grumpy at me so I shoved in in as best I could. Still couldn’t find them dammed gloves, and I’d packed two pairs of them!

It was a long uphill drag out of Cherbourg. I hadn’t realised how cycle unfit I had become. Meanwhile, Mike was zooming away from me.

It was mostly road riding for the day with a fair bit of traffic. The French drivers are very polite and patient though, sometimes sitting behind us for a few minutes before they think it’s safe to overtake.

After 24 kms we found a nice Municipal camp for just 10 Euros a night, close to the beach. We thought we’d prepared so well for our cycle tour. We’ve bought so much stuff, new tent, sleeping bags and mats, chairs even, but we forgot the most important thing. The one thing you’ll never find in French campsites, or quite possibly anywhere in France. That’s right … we forgot the toilet paper. Thankfully the nice man on reception gave us a roll. We now have happy bums!

Mike took a bit of time setting up our new tent while I quickly set up our chairs and sat and watched him. The sun was shining and it was quite warm, I was down to wearing a t- shirt.

We went for a walk and found the Atlantic Ocean. There would be a nice sunset tonight and we decided to walk back to watch it later. We then went in search of a restaurant or shop but there was nothing. So we resorted to a packet pasta which was really disgusting.

We were so tired after dinner we crawled into bed before dark, completely forgetting to capture the sunset.

Goodnight!!