Anticipation, trepidation, challenge and excitement filled the tent at 05:45 when the alarm went off. By headtorch, we struck camp quickly and efficiently. Breakfast would be taken later, once the sun was up and we’d got some distance under our belts. We rolled out of camp in the pitch black with our bike lights on. It was barely any cooler, despite the cloud cover. During the night, a dramatic storm had passed through with long peels of thunder and multiple flashes of lightning that lit up the tent. Some rain fell, but not enough to cool the air. Still, it felt magic to be up in to quiet stillness of the early morning. We saw no one for hours, but did see this funky little church as our bike lights began to get overtaken by the daylight.
After an hour, the sun began to rise, but the residual storm clouds kept the heat off us. We stopped for breakfast by the river, only to find that (inevitably), the yogurt had curdled. We settled for a banana.
We over took a barge, but apart from some herons and another kingfisher, had the place to ourselves.
Until we met an Otter. We watched it swim and dive about. It didn’t seem bothered by our presence.
By 8am we had covered over 20km and arrived in Redon as the baker was opening up. We had two of the freshest pain au chocolates you could get and devoured them on the steps of the Mayor’s office, probably a bit too fast.
The Nantes-Brest Canal, that we will be following north crosses through Redon and there is also a lovely port here. It seemed a shame to move through too fast, despite a slight sense of urgency to keep moving. Luck was on our side, as the morning sun broke through the clouds, we parked up on the dock, across the road from another bakers. This time we had fresh yogurt, pastries and a cup of coffee. It was a real ‘moment’ and all lasted like nectar.
To get away from the heat of the ‘interior’ we’ve decided to detour from the original plan and see if we can get to the Atlantic Coast. It’s looking cooler there - it’s just a long way off by bike! We got back on the trail and peddled away...
We reached the estuary at Roche Bernard, which was a very busy river port. Cafes and car parks were packed, but we managed to sneak past the crazy tourist area on our bikes and found a shady bench to rest on by the Harbour Masters office. We took our shoes off, had a feed, a rest and a cool down before setting off again feeling almost like new.
The town of Arzal is at the mouth of the estuary and marks the end of the ‘Green Way’ cycle route. We crossed the bridge feeling like we’d just won the Tour de France. To celebrate, we found a cold drink in the cafe outside the Church of St Martin. It tasted so good. We’d just hit the 80km mark and our bodies knew it.
We almost had a snooze by the church, but after a chat in French with an old lady (who I think was offering us the use of her shower?!), we pushed on through the final few kilometres out of town to get us to a rural Canpsite, where the friendly owner directed us to the most quiet and shady spot on the site.
After dunking ourselves in the small swimming pool, we spent the next few hours replacing calories and even treated ourselves to a delicious cold drink. What a day! Over nine hours on the road in blistering heat and our longest ever day on tour. We were buzzing. The weather was much more manageable and the coast, only a short ride away. We could be swimming in the sea tomorrow?.... Sleep came early and easily.
Total Ride: 83.3km (500m ascent) +30°C
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