Friday, 14 August 2020

Condemned to Quarantine


Awoke to some disappointing news this morning. If we want to get back to the UK and not have to undergo a mandatory two weeks of quarantine, then we need to get to the tunnel by tonight. We knew that this could have happened and with a bit more notice, we could probably have done a mega cycle day to get there. However, we are too far away (and probably too fatigued anyway) to get back to the car (and then safely drive back to the tunnel, where chaos seems to have ensued). It’s been hard to find the ‘official’ guidance and the tunnel website seems overwhelmed as well. Given the tight time frame, there’s not really much we can do except keep calm and carry on peddling as per the plan.
We had breakfast in the shade while looking over all of our options. The temperatures have returned to a much more civilised level and I even put my jacket on for a few minutes, just to have justified carrying it this far!



There’s an overall feeling accumulated fatigue. We’ve now totalled almost 500km of bike travel and need a bit of rest; not a sprint on main roads to the tunnel (especially with no guarantee of a place on the train). The next campsite is only 20km away, so we decided to head there and see if we can get some rest. But first, an early lunch of crepes by the lakeside helped to perked up the mood and energy levels.





Ham and egg crepes were followed by sweet ones, which was followed by a lie down in the sun. A swim in the lake woke us up enough to get psyched to for the ride. Our legs felt heavy when we set off, into the wind  along the slight incline, but otherwise conditions were good for riding. 



Slowly but surely the miles ticked by...



Then after what seemed like an age, we arrived at the campsite in Gouarec. Thankfully, it’s much more chilled here and we’ve got a quiet shady space to relax in. Once the tent was up, we left the bikes and enjoyed a short walk into the town, which was equally chilled. It’s not the most covid aware place, but they’ve done well with the hanging baskets. 



We did managed to get another good sized ‘plat d’jour’ at a restaurant and got there early so to avoid any busyness. It’s been the first place where not many people were wearing masks and people were greeting each other in the traditional French style of a kiss on each cheek. We kept away. 



We were back at camp for a brew and sleep soon followed. Think we’re going to need another day of this! 

Total Ride: 22km




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