Usually at least once a year my two brothers and I (The Three Tenners) do a decent touring bike ride carrying everything we need to survive the few days and nights - including tent and cooking stuff.
We booked to go to Brittany again - but alas a last minute work commitment arose for Mike so it was just Rob and I caught the Portsmouth St Malo Brittany Ferry on 18th April. It is an overnight crossing arrives early morning the next day. In the past we have just made do with couchette seats but this time we incurred the modest extra cost for a cabin. This meant the prospect of a better nights sleep - made more important because we were straight into cycling on arrival. (it was a good decision). We did have a beer though in the large bar. As usual there was a cabaret show of sorts but between acts there was a general knowledge quiz. We were reluctant participants but were given a buzzer. The one with the quickest response to the right answer got the most points. We were slow off the mark but got caught up in it. We eventually raced through the field but came second - ha ha!
There were two major differences this time. Rob was on an electric bike - and without Mike (who is brilliant at it) the navigation was down to me. First of all the electric bike. Rob does find the hills a bit tough especially with a laden bike - (camping/cooking gear etc). He has lashed out and bought a secondhand but mint condition Italian made bike called Basso. New they are over £7k. Rob got on with it very well and it made a big difference. It has a tremendous range and is relatively lightweight so he only had to use the electric help on the hills. However as an aside it is still my Dawes Super Galaxy that gets the admiring looks and comments. Old school - made in the late 80's or early 90's - ha ha!
As I said my brother Mike is tremendous at navigation and I have always relied on him. However Mike wasn't with us this time so down to me. Google Maps remains best. The slight complication is we wanted to use tow paths - back roads and bridleways. I made some mistakes but as with most things you improve from practice and in the end I became competent even confident - ha!
So our route - a circular route - straight off the Brittany Ferry and the short ride to the quaint ferry to Dinard across the other side of the estuary. The harbour is so picturesque with brilliant views of the walled town. It is Sunday morning - so quiet - but we find a little cafe in Dinard for coffee and pain de chocolat. The French do things so well.
Despite a non-descript starting point which was not easy to find we get onto the Rance River cycle path. Effectively we follow it and the Rance Canal for 2 days - with a first night camping at Dinan, It is beautiful easy and safe riding. It is so pastoral, so quiet, so unspoilt as we past small village after small village and the odd small town. Typically we stop for brunch in a Boulangerie and sit an eat it canal side. The sun is up - there is silence apart from nature. Sat here thinking about it now as I write. Very special.
I have not prebooked campsites. If possible I choose a Municipal camp site. French municipal sites are always of a standard - but also without frills or commercialism. They are typically about E8 for a night in a small tent. Perfect.
About camping and cycling as opposed to say taking up B&B. The down side - there is quite a lot to carry in the panniers, including gear to cook on. There is also the issue of weather. But we have been lucky again. The weather is great - no rain - not even a shower. When it is like that camping is a joy. It is the simplicity - it is so different from normal home life. You get drunk on fresh air - and there is the challenge of it all and getting comfortable. We each have little tents but everything we need. It is not wild camping but pretty close to it. I even smile and sometimes laugh when I crawl in and out of the tent on my stiff old knees. So undignified and a bit mad - ha!
At Hede we leave the Rance Canal and head for Antrain - and then on to Pontorson, Mont St Michel, Cancale and back to St Malo. In all about 150 miles over 5 nights including the ferry.
Every leg - every day was a highlight - even the couple of hours it took to cycle out and back from Pontorson to Mont St Michel. Rob hadn't seen is before. It was a fresh morning but still lots of tourists heading out on the causeway. We were content to view it rather than climb onto the ramparts.
What followed was lovely. A back route and coastal path to Cancale. Superb cycling. Beautiful scenery. Oysters are a relative giveaway.
Next day was a dawdle along the coast into St Malo where we camped for the last night to be ready for an early morning ferry back to Portsmouth. The municipal camp site in St Malo is excellent and as we arrived mid afternoon we had plenty of time to enjoy St Malo including the old walled town. St Malo offers so much. Great for boating and fishing. The seafood available is reason enough to make a visit.
Every time I go to Brittany I have the same thoughts. It is perfect. Depopulated. Unspoilt. Rich in history. Everything is maintained properly. Villages still have their boulangerie. The food available is so varied. Property is relatively cheap in land. It remains a mystery to me how a place with so few people living there is kept to such a high standard. How is it affordable - sustainable ? Wouldn't it be a great place to live? Apparently Brits are welcomed incomers because they bolster community numbers. However when you put your practical head on - a sensible head - you can start to think what life would actually be like in a rural (isolated) idyll. I think eventually I would become bored with it. But what a place to spend a few days cycling. I will continue to go back and my brother Rob has a rabid motivation to do so now he has supplementary electric power. We missed Mike but I am sure the Three Tenners will be setting off again together.
Here are some mob photos :
