The grand cycle touring circuit of Bretagne is finally complete! After twenty something days on the road, we’ve arrived back where we started at the tow-path (or Chemin de Haulage as it’s known around here) where we began back at the start of the month.
Like most best laid expedition plans, we had to adapt to and overcome any obstacles or unforeseen events as we came across them. Things such as adapting to the weather, choosing between two routes, or dealing with a government’s overnight decision to close or quarantine a border! There has been lots to take on, on this journey, not least the blistering heat, volume of croissant intake and the huge amount of kilometres to peddle (I’ll add up the final amount, from my note book later). Having had to bring our return date forwards, it soon became clear that we would require some assistance for journeying the final section. The irony was not lost on me, that in order to get back to the UK with time to safely quarantine, we’d have to do the most risky thing of the entire trip - get on a crowded train.
Two trains later, (one full and one with only me on board!), I arrived in the old town of Dinan. Unable to take my bike on the second, local train, I then set off on foot, in search of the car that we’d abandoned at the beginning of the month.
Thankfully, it was where we had left it, only half buried in leaves and a good layer of dust. The wheels had locked up, but released with a clunk, as I pulled away, remembering to join the right hand carriageway. By later on that day, the full expedition team and all it’s equipment were reunited and we even had time to nip to the local beach.
The river in town, despite being 10km from the sea has a huge tidal flow still. When we arrived yesterday, there was just a muddy brown trickle, but at high tide, the place was transformed.
The jigsaw puzzle of fitting everything into the car was completed with remarkable speed and ease.
Finally, it was time to begin the long drive back east. We broke the journey up by stopping for a swim at Port Moguer. We timed it perfectly with high tide and had a fantastic swim in the sheltered little bay. The water felt cold at first, but once in, we swam and dived for ages in the beautiful clear waters.
As the tide went out, we were able to scramble around the rocks to our own private bay, where we fell asleep in the sun.
The drive continued east past St Marlo, but on our way back from the beach to the main road, we stopped ‘in tour style’ at one final village square (Plouha), to soak up the last French village vibe. It’s so different arriving by bike - in a car, you miss so much. So it was a great finale to stop and take it all in...
Total Ride: 0.5km
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