Bilbao to
St Malo
The idea for the ride started to form shortly after I returned
from our short trip (France, Belgium, Holland) the year before. I chose Bilbao and St Malo because I could
get to/from both from one UK ferry port (Portsmouth). My son said he was up for it. Later, he asked if a friend of his could join
us. I said ok, provided he wasn’t a
whinger.
Planning
The Route
I still wasn't really aware that cycle touring/camping was a
popular activity so I started completely from scratch. France seemed straightforward. I started with
a Michelin road atlas. This was useful
for general large-scale planning for the whole route. I planned the general direction rather than a
definite route as it seemed we would be able to do the journey on minor D roads
and the plan was to stick to the coast as far as the ferry across the Garonne
to Royan. This appealed to me more than
going via Bordeaux. I became aware of
the cycle tracks through the Landes and Gironde Departments and thought they
were worth checking out; so, I also bought an IGN 1:100 000 map covering that
area, because it showed the tracks. From
Royan I planned going into La Rochelle then taking a fairly direct line to St
Malo. North of the Garonne was not
really planned in any more detail than that.
I then tore out pages covering the coast from the French border to
the Garonne and beyond that a page each side of a straight line up to St
Malo. Although I spent a lot of time
familiarising myself with the general route I kept an open mind, particularly after
the Garonne.
I was more concerned about Spain because I was aware the coast was
fairly lumpy and I had no experience of Spanish roads. I had a 1:400,000 map of Spain but it was no
use for touring. I couldn’t find any
suitable maps locally, so I went to Stanfords (The Map Shop, Long Acre, London) and got 3 sheet maps: a 1:200 000, covering the coast from Bilbao
to near the French border; two 1:50 000 maps (Nos. 63 & 64 of the national
series). All had contours. I plotted a detailed route staying fairly
close to the coast. I cut the relevant
sections out of the sheets to take with me.
Eventually
I discovered the CTC, became a member and sent off for several guide sheets - this
was pre-internet (at least for me and the CTC!). I recall a general one on touring and another
by a guy who’d cycled by tandem with his son between the same ports. Some
useful background but didn’t influence my route.
Campsites
I
borrowed a book from the library and made a note of several sites (6 in Spain
and 22 in France) along the likely route.
These were mainly for reassurance as I was confident we'd find them
fairly easily, at least in France. I
also obtained a Camping Carnet from the CTC* to avoid having to lose sight of
my passport at campsites.
*Something
the CTC no longer offers.
How Long Would It
Take
I
really didn't know. To be on the safe
side I booked three weeks off work. I
assumed we'd be able to catch the ferry back from St Malo without booking.
Equipment
The Bikes
My bike was the 1993 Shogun Trailbreaker 2. A fairly heavy (17.7 kg, -i.e. 39lb- with
racks) steel rigid "mountain bike"; it had a 28/38/48 chain set and a 13 - 28 screw hub. Brooks
Champion Flyer saddle and slick road tyres.
Not everybody's ideal touring bike but I
carried on using it (though with evolving modifications) until 2008 (later
butchering the Bear Valley, below, for components). A very comfortable, stable bike.
Seth's
bike
was a Marin Bear Valley mountain bike.
Lightweight rigid steel frame with a 22/32/44 chain set and a 12 - 34
cassette (although I hadn’t really appreciated the significance of this at the
time). I fitted road tyres.
Dave's
bike
was a pretty reasonable rigid mountain bike, though I can’t recall details,
except he wouldn't mess it up with road tyres!
Luggage
carrying
On my bike I used the same rear rack and
the same three-piece "pannier set" (all from Halfords) as the year
before. The main problem was that the
panniers were secured to the bike with straps which were fiddly. On the front the same (high) platform rack
with the two-piece pannier set linked at the top with canvas. Pretty basic stuff but I knew no better! I also used the basic (crude) bar bag secured
to the bars with straps. I added some
copper pipe with each end inserted into the bar ends which formed a semicircle
in front of the bag; very Heath Robinson but provided additional support to the
sagging bag of last year - it also turned out to be useful for holding the map
in place.
Seth had the same rack as last year but
we bought another cheap three piece nylon pannier set from Argus. On the front I fitted a low rider rack (I was
learning!) to which I attached 2 small army surplus bags (these were mainly to
carry the two sleeping bags).
Dave had a rear rack and the same Argus
pannier set.
I was under strict instructions not to
over-burden the little darlings so I ended up carrying all my clothes, spares,
tools, cooking equipment/plates/cups/cutlery, gas burners and spare cylinders,
and the tent. In other words everything except their clothes (and the sleeping
bags)!
Camping
Equipment
·
The Tent: the three-man tent
from Millets, which I’d used last year.
About 4 kg.
·
Sleeping Bags: I bought two Vango
microlight 700, 1 season, bags which weighed 700 g each.
Dave brought his own, a bulky one not really intended for cycle touring.
·
Sleeping Bag Liners: two cotton liners.
·
Sleeping mats: an ex-Army foam mat and a cheap lightweight foam mat from Millets.
·
Cooking equipment: I replaced last year's mess tins with a cheap nest of three aluminium pans
and a kettle. I supplemented last year's
Epi gas burner with an additional Camping
Gaz (206) burner. 3 each plastic
plates and mugs. Knife fork and spoon
sets. Army can opener.
Clothing
Hardly any of our clothing was
"cycling specific"; mostly it was a collection of stuff we had
available. For cycling we had standard
T-shirts, long sleeved T-shirts, sweaters, shorts, tracksuit bottoms. Seth and Dave each had a pair of trainers; I
had a pair of boots. We also had
"evening wear" such as shirts and trousers (mine were jeans!). I had a pair of sandals and Dave an extra
pair of shoes. (Dave had what must have
been about 21 pairs of underpants to see him through three weeks - I don't
think the idea of washing them appealed!).
Prior to the trip I discovered padded
cycling shorts and I'd bought a pair. I hadn’t
worn them for day rides, at that time, but had a feeling that I might need
them!
We also had waterproof jackets, though,
they were not in any way ‘breathable’.
Miscellaneous
·
Camera: Olympus OM10
·
Lights: front and rear cheap Halford's
lights for each bike.
·
Wash bag: soap, disposable razor,
toothbrushes, toothpaste.
·
Towels: small
camping towels
·
Cycle helmet
Tools,
spares and accessories
A
puncture repair kit and some very basic tools (e.g. Allen Keys, couple of
open-ended spanners, pliers). (Cassette
hyper crackers, chain splitters etc were still unknown to me!).
I had a cheap D-Lock.
Getting Fit
I put a fair bit of effort into getting some miles in (well at
least for me). I started midway through
April and I was doing a hundred miles a week for a few weeks. Between the middle of April and the trip in
June I did 737 miles (but it was in Essex!).
I doubt very much that Seth and Dave did anything more than use
their bikes to get about locally.
Probably didn't do many rides over 3 miles although I seem to recall Seth
riding out to Stansted airport from Chelmsford (unless that was some other
time).
Getting to Bilbao
I
booked tickets on the Portsmouth - Bilbao ferry for 3 foot passengers (bikes
free) and a four berth cabin. I checked
out the price of the train to Portsmouth but the cost was dearer than taking
the car and parking not to mention the hassle of taking our collection of bikes
and bags on the train (and across London).
I booked secure parking close to the ferry terminal at £50 for two weeks
(plus £2 a day thereafter).
I
didn't book a return ferry because I didn't know when we’d need it. I assumed it would be easy to get them on
arrival at St Malo.
Saturday 22 June
1996: getting to Portsmouth
We
shoved the three bikes and the luggage into my Astra estate and arrived at
about 4 pm but the car park didn't open until 5 pm. They needed cash up front so paid £62 for 2
weeks 6 days. It was a multi-storey car
park with lockable cages for each car.
Felt pretty secure. We went across
the road to the terminal. When called,
we were directed on our bikes to a lane which had just one other cyclist. We went on before the cars, cycled up the
ramp and along the deck to the front of the ship and secured the bikes with
thick ropes. Set sail at 8 pm.
Sunday 23 June
Up
early, breakfast, sauna, swimming pool, fitness room, Jacuzzi. Sun blazing down; Bay of Biscay calm. I had a few quiet beers and read my book all
afternoon. The others wandered around
spending money! A pleasant evening meal
but a very long day. Expensive business
this boat (with teenagers); not much change out of £150.
Monday 24 June
Up
early for breakfast and disembarked at about 8 p.m. The Port of Bilbao at the mouth of the estuary
is some 8.5 miles away from Bilbao itself and we would not be visiting it;
instead we wanted to cross the river and head east. I'd heard about the Transporter Bridge, the
first crossing point and it looked like our best option but I wasn't sure it
was still open or whether it took bikes.
We saw it from the ship, about a mile up river. We disembarked and soon
got amongst busy commuter traffic; we made our way to the bridge and found it
was free for bikes, in fact, we were waved ahead of the long queue of commuters
straight on to it. A Spanish motorcyclist
asked which way we were going and advised us on the most suitable route - this
seemed to involve the motorway all the way to France!
Built in 1893, it is apparently the world's oldest transporter bridge. The only time it has been out of service was
after the top section was blown up, during the Spanish Civil War. (In 2006, it was made a World Heritage Site).
Coming
off the bridge, we headed up river on a very busy (it was rush hour, of course)
road away from the port; lots of trucks spewing diesel fumes - this traffic
wouldn’t have come from the boat because that wouldn’t have used the
transporter bridge. Road potholed in
places. I was leading, suddenly a crash
behind me, Dave had hit a pothole and was off.
Trucks were overtaking, inches away.
Being responsible for two teenagers hit home. He dusted himself down, though, and we were
away in seconds.
Through
Asua, then passed the airport. It
drizzled for half an hour. Seth's
pannier ripped below the zip; so much for buying cheap. Busy traffic with heavy lorries stayed with
us as far as Larrabetzu, where we headed north on a much quieter road. Then we hit the hill. We managed to reach the top, pleased with
ourselves or rather I was pleased with myself!
Nice downhill BUT we weren't at the top!
It was a long way up but we made it; then a nice 7 mile downhill. Arrived at Guernica at 12:45. I'd specifically included Guernica on the
route; Picasso’s painting in response to the town being bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1937 during the Spanish civil
war was probably the first painting that had really got to me.
It was market day but it seemed quiet. All travel websites refer to an old saying in
the town "lunes gerniqués, golperik ez", which they all go on to say
is roughly translated as "not a stroke of work gets done on
Mondays". Apparently the Monday
market has long been considered as a holiday in the town. Perhaps everyone had done their shopping and
moved on to the restaurants and bars. We
bought a nice loaf of bread, some cheese and tomatoes in the market. Then we were off out on the 638 for a few miles and stopped to eat
it with a brew. Countryside lush and green.
Another
steep long climb. In bottom gear for
miles but I managed to get to the top, though I worried my knees would be
rubbish the next day. Along the ridge,
then down into Lekeito. We went straight
through town to the Leagi Campsite. It was on a hill, up a very steep climb and
once we had gone through the gates another even steeper kilometre to the
reception. Only Seth bothered to cycle
the last bit. It was 18:30.
Cooked
up three packet meals and loads of pasta I’d brought with me. After eating I
sorted out camping arrangements while they walked down to the beach. I went to meet them at 21:00 but didn’t see
them so walked along the beach then back to the campsite and into the bar. They were already there; they’d got a lift
back up the hill (a foreign country, getting into cars with strangers; I'm not
sure their mothers would have approved).
After
a scary start this had been a really good day’s cycling. I'd surprised myself by cycling up all the
hills.
Distance: 44.4 miles
Cycling time: 4:28:24
Average: 9.9 mph
Max: 32.5
Tuesday 25 June
Up
at about nine, packed, then it pissed down. It’d rained the previous morning,
too. No wonder it’s so ‘lush and green’!
Sheltered until it stopped, then off at
10:30. Followed the coast road, which went up and
down along the cliffs, but not as tough as yesterday. Bought supplies in Ondarra and ate alongside
a smelly river. After Deba another long
hill, hard work but we’d had worse. Sun
was beating down. A long fast downhill into Zumai; along the
coast to Zarautz; up and down and hard work.
Starving by the time we got there - we'd not eaten properly all day - so
we filled up on ice cream, cakes, doughnuts, croissants, Mars bars, and
pistachio nuts!
Decided
to camp at Orio. Instead of taking the
flat route into town (about 1 mile) we stupidly went over a high steep hill
(probably an extra 5 miles, too).
Arrived at the campsite at about 18:00.
I strolled into town; they went for refreshments and some chips. We met up then cooked biryani, pasta, rice
and mushrooms, and meatballs (more packets I’d brought with me).
Distance: 36.7 miles
Cycling time: 3: 31:
52
Average: 10.4 mph
Max: 38.0
Campsite: Camping Orio.
Municipal campsite; very clean and modern. 1545 pesetas (£7 40). http://www.campingseuskadi.com/orio
Wednesday 26 June
I
was up at 6:30 and into Orio for bread.
Breakfast, then we set off at 10:00. Stopped at a supermarket then headed up the
river. For some reason I started to feel
faint. Even though we’d done hardly any distance I thought maybe I was running low
on energy so I had the contents of an army rations pack (treacle dumplings!)
which a colleague at work, who was in the TA, had given me before we left. Did the trick, though I can’t really have
been low on fuel so soon after breakfast.
After nearly bypassing it, and faffing around on a dual carriageway, we
decided to go into San Sebastien.
Managed to get caught up in four lanes of traffic but finally got to a
quietish square with street cafes near to the pedestrianised old town. Took it in turns to sit at a street café
close to the bikes.
Arrived
at Irun at about 17:00, a bit of shopping and got to the border at 18:10. We’d arranged to stay with Dave's relatives
who were at a campsite a short way over the border. After the border we turned right off the
motorway slip road up a very minor road.
Some stiff climbs in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Then made a map reading error; instead of
going directly to the D4 we took a right turn straight up a hill. A very, very steep hill which seemed to go on
forever. I could hardly turn the pedals
but managed to keep going in short bursts.
I thought my lungs would explode. Before the trip I had assumed I’d walk
up a lot of hills but having managed the hills in Spain which I thought would
be the worst I’d kind of challenged myself to a no walking policy! I was dripping with sweat. At the top was a dead end at the municipal
water works! Looking at the "Chemin de Filtre" on bikeroutetoaster it averages over 15%
for nearly a kilometre and for one short section was over 30%. So we went back down and it was an easy ride
to the campsite.
On
the fast descent Dave nearly came to grief: a car was approaching on the very
narrow road; it braked on seeing him but left no room for him to get through on
his side of the road so he went through the slightly wider space on the
left. It scared the driver witless. When I went by she was tapping her head in
what I took to be the international sign for "Nutter".
A
pleasant evening in the campsite with Dave’s relatives; a few drinks and a nice
meal. Slept in their awning.
Distance: 38.4 miles
Cycling time: 4:10:15
Average: 9.2 mph
Max: 31.4
Thursday 27 June
Up at 7:00; slap up breakfast. S and D went for a swim, I made use of the
washing machine and tumble dryer. We set
off at 15:15 after lunch. A very hot
day.
Via Ascan to St Pee then to Cambs-les-Bains and
up the D932. This
was busy so at Ustantz we crossed the Nive, a tributary of the Adour,
and took minor roads up to St Pierre d'Irube where we stopped at a
supermarket. We had intended going into
Biarritz but leaving it so late it seemed better to stick to country roads. We touched the edge of Bayonne, crossing the
river Adour (which rises at the Col du Tourmalet, apparently) on the D810 and headed for
the campsite at Lou-Ptit-Poun, on the north-east of the town.
Another nice campsite.
Pasta with basil and tomato sauce plus mashed potato,
sweetcorn and burgers. Beer at the bar.
This had been a nice easy ride. We hadn’t done great distances (only 150
miles in four days) but it had been fairly hilly terrain. The next few days, though, should be easy.
Distance: 34.7 miles
Cycling time: 3:10:00
Average: 10.9 mph
Max: 35.6
Friday
28 June
Up at 7:00, packed quickly but still didn't manage to get
off until 10:15.
Into Tarnos for the bank; didn't find one but managed to
change pesetas at the Post Office. Then
Ondres, Labenne, and into Capbreton, where we saw a bank. Bought food and ate by the Lac d’
Hosseger. North through the forest and
then followed miles of cycle track. We
were keeping pace with Hugo a French cyclo-tourist with an amazing moustache
and on an incredibly heavy bike, with an enormous untidy load. On the back of his bike was a metal board
showing his "Tour de France" route around France. He was moving slower than us but didn't stop
so frequently.
Into Vieux Boucau les Bains, sand everywhere, the whole place
seemed to be built on it. Another few
miles of piste cyclable up to Contis les
Bains where we camped.
Kidney
beans in tomato sauce, pasta and onions, burgers, sausages and beer. More beer in a blues bar, pancakes then bed.
Distance: 54.8 miles
Cycling time: 4:44:44
Average: 11.5 mph
Max: 31.3
Campsite: Camping Lous
Seurrots 111.60 francs
Dave’s pannier ripped
Saturday 29 June
Up at 7 but not off until 10:20. We
decided to start off by taking the road to up-the-pace a bit.
It was a very long straight boring road into the wind but we still did
the 20 miles to Mimizan, where we stopped for food, at over 14 mph. Very light drizzle turned to rain as we
headed to Pontenx-les-Forges. We arrived
at the town square as the sun came out and stopped to eat.
On to Parentis-en-Born, then north-west to Biscarrouse where we withdrew
more money and Seth bought a padded saddle cover. We passed and then were re-passed by Hugo, also
heading to Archachon. We went east of the Lac de Biscarrouse then swung west of
the Étang de Cazaux et de Sanguinet. Going via Navaron we joined the D83 and then
took a cycle track. We rejoined the road
(now the D218) and went past the Dune du Pyla.
A few undulations - nothing drastic but we'd forgotten about hills for a
couple of days!
The Great Dune of Pyla on La
Teste-de-Buch is
the tallest sand dune in Europe. 107 metres
above sea level (but I think it fluctuates to as low as 70m); 500m wide from
east to west and 3 km in length from north to south. Apparently a popular tourist attraction with more
than a million visitors per year. We
didn’t stop! The dune is progressively
moving inland, slowly pushing the forest back to cover houses and roads. http://www.dune-pyla.com/english/welcome/index.php
Through La Teste and round
Bessin to Gujan Mestres where we went to the Camping Municipal, ate baguettes
and patisserie then went for a drink.
Walked miles before we found anywhere; and they were stricter about age
restrictions than we’d encountered further south and in Spain (the waitress
fetched her mum to explain - loudly!).
So, I had a beer then back to the campsite for some frites. Not impressed with what I'd seen of the
Archachon Bassin; perhaps we should have stopped near the Dune, where it looked
a bit livelier.
Distance: 64.4 miles
Cycling time: 5:18:21
Average: 12.1 mph
Max: 35.0
Campsite: Camping
Municipal Gujan Mestres. 86FF.
Sunday 30 June
Set off at 10 a.m. Breakfast at Biganos then on round the Bassin. We took the cycle track after
Andernos and that led to the forest.
Fantastic cycling but lots of Sunday cyclists, including a large group
of naturists. I managed my usual cool
‘Bonjour’, but there was less dignity exhibited by my companions. Mind, it didn’t look comfortable.
This was
our 3rd day following the cycle tracks through the forest. The original
tracks were constructed when the Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications were
being built by the Nazis between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of
France as a defence against an Allied invasion of the mainland. The concrete
paths enabled the watchtowers to be reached by motorbikes and bicycles.
After the war people started using this network of paths for recreational rides. The coast also became a popular holiday destination for German and Dutch tourists (partly, in the case of the former, as a result of ex-soldiers extolling the beauty of the area). They often took bikes with them, increasing the popularity of the tracks. Recognising the potential as a tourist attraction the local tourist bodies promoted it and started maintaining the network. Most of the original concrete tracks had been asphalted. They did vary: wide asphalted fire tracks, narrower asphalted cycle tracks, and some of the original narrow concrete tracks. A superb resource.
The tourist boards had created several marked loops aimed at families. We didn’t actually see many cyclists, especially away from the small resorts where there were car parks.
After the war people started using this network of paths for recreational rides. The coast also became a popular holiday destination for German and Dutch tourists (partly, in the case of the former, as a result of ex-soldiers extolling the beauty of the area). They often took bikes with them, increasing the popularity of the tracks. Recognising the potential as a tourist attraction the local tourist bodies promoted it and started maintaining the network. Most of the original concrete tracks had been asphalted. They did vary: wide asphalted fire tracks, narrower asphalted cycle tracks, and some of the original narrow concrete tracks. A superb resource.
The tourist boards had created several marked loops aimed at families. We didn’t actually see many cyclists, especially away from the small resorts where there were car parks.
There were miles of sandy beaches
popular with surfers but most of them were deserted except close to the
conurbations and the naturist areas. The coastal cycle track went for miles
without crossing a road because the few roads lead down to car parks to the
east of the track.
.
Arrived at Lacanau-Ocean at about 1600
hrs. Took a while and lots of poor
attempts at the language to find the campsite and when we did it was the most
expensive yet and very crowded (but nice and lively); lots of people there for
the surfing. There were thousands of
tents and ours had to be tightly squeezed between others. S & D had a swim then went into town and
later I followed suit. Pleasant walk
back along the sea then I went to the campsite bar. I entered the bar just as several hundred
Germans seated in a semi circle facing me leapt to their feet shouting and
waving their hands in the air. For a
moment I thought it was for me but I’d entered from behind a television and Germany
had just equalised against the Czech Republic in
the UEFA final. The others were already there discussing the
finer points of the offside rule with some German girls.
Quite a raucous
evening. At some point we went back to
the tent and ate chilli chickpeas and rice (and hamburgers), before returning
to the bar. Got to bed late. “What about the clothes on the line?” “Leave ‘em out, no chance of rain”.
Distance: 47.3 miles
Cycling time: 3: 58:
15
Average: 11.9 mph
Max: 25.3
Campsite: Les Grands Pins, Lacanau-Ocean. 186FF.
Monday 1 July
Woke to rain at 6:30! Seth and Dave feeling a bit fragile. Set off at about 11:00, rain had stopped but
overcast. Soon we were off the road on
to more cycle tracks. After Hourtin the tracks
deteriorated and were in a very poor state: the original concrete about 1 foot
wide with soft sand each side. The
concrete, which anyway had a fairly rough surface, was badly broken up in
places. The pans in my front pannier
warned all for miles around of our approach.
We had to concentrate not to drop off into the sand. At Montolivit we bought bread and cheese
which we ate in the forest. At Soulac I
bought a disposable camera because mine was on the blink and got some money
out. Then set off for the ferry across
the Gironde, taking the cycle track for the final part. Popped into a supermarket then arrived at the
terminal at 19:40, ferry scheduled for 20:30; it set off at 20:10.
Drinking coffee in the bar on the ferry I felt
a warm glow; I realised we were about halfway to St Malo. It had gone really well and the last 4 days
through the forests had been every bit as good as I’d hoped.
In Royan, followed signs to a campsite and
arrived there at 21:00. Because we were
so late he let us have it for the ‘special’ price of 90FF rather than 199
FF. Cooked a meal and early to bed.
Distance: 51.8 miles
Cycling time: 4: 34:
54
Average: 11.3 mph
Max: 24.8
Campsite: Camping Royan La Triloterie, 44 Avenue Aliénor d'Aquitaine, 17200 Royan. 90FF.
Tuesday 2 July
It’d rained heavily in the night but was fine
when I got up at 7:30. We packed and had
breakfast but didn’t leave until 11:00. Rather
than go towards La Rochelle we decided to stay on country roads, heading in the
general direction of St Malo. We, first went
back into Royan for the bank then took the road north. We set off quite fast averaging nearly 15 mph
for the first 20 miles.
At Tonnay came up to an amazing old suspension bridge,
which went very high above the Charente river. It
was, perhaps not surprisingly, closed to cars! The surface consisted of wooden
boards, laid across the carriageway, which rattled as we rode over. It was built in 1841/42 but reconstructed in
1884 after failing a load test in 1883.
It was renovated in 1935. The
main span is 90 m and the total length 635 m. The bridge starts on the low ground
on the south side and up to the main span is supported by 48 Gothic style
pillars. On the north side there are
just 2 pillars because it finishes at a higher level. When we went over it was open to cyclists
(or so we assumed!) and pedestrians. It
would seem it closed fairly soon after that (see Google Street View http://g.co/maps/43qrc).
Footnote*However, it was
apparently restored in 2007/9 and is again open to pedestrians and cyclists (http://www.bridgemeister.com/pic.php?pid=740).
We left Tonnay on the D117 through
Muron. I started to feel a bit bad -
chest pains and a tingling arm - thought it was a heart attack; a Mars bar and
a Bounty cured it so I guess I was just short of energy but long on
imagination. We got to Bouhet (now on
the D116) at 16:00 and stopped at the shop for supplies; it didn't open until 16:30
so we hung around. We ate on the road
just south of Benon. Carried on until
we'd done 60 miles then looked around for a campsite; found a good one, only 44
FF. Good showers. Caught up with some washing.
Seth's wheel was playing up; not
properly true in the dropouts. I
corrected it then noticed the valve was damaged so replaced the tube. He’d already had 2 punctures on previous
days.
Walked around the village then went back to eat.
Distance: 64.8 miles
Cycling time: 5: 00:
48
Average: 12.9 mph
Max: 30.3 mph
Campsite: 10, rue des Hérons, 17170 TAUGON. 44FF.
Wednesday 3 July
It’d rained in the night; it was okay when we
got up but it rained again after breakfast. It was still raining when we set
off but the wind was now South-South West.
We got soaked but dried out a bit during the breaks.
Stopped at Hermenault for bread and pastries
but didn’t eat it until we got to St Martin Lars where the rain held off while
we ate. We stopped at Chantonnay
for the supermarket and again before we left town, for les frites and drinks.
For some reason, which makes little
sense to me now, we deviated from the most obvious route (the D137) on to the
D39. We went to the campsite in Les
Essarts, arriving at about 18:15; it was a municipal site and only cost 26.80
FF (but he may not have seen Seth who was outside fiddling around with his
bike).
It rained from 7:30 onwards. We cooked in the rain. Early night.
Distance: 46.6 miles
Cycling time: 4: 13:
44
Average: 11.0 mph
Max:
32.2 mph
Campsite: Camping Municipal du Patis, Les Essarts, Vendee. Nice
site with excellent showers. 26.80 FF.
Thursday 4 July
It rained for most of the night until about
6:00. We were up at 7:45 and set off at
10:00. Didn't stop for a proper breakfast
but kept buying patisserie. Rather than
skirt round to the east of Nantes I suggested heading for the city and camping
there (I'd made a note of a campsite in the north of the city). All agreed it would make a pleasant change.
We went up the quiet D7 as far as
L'Herbergement; then it was the D17 which became the D12 to Vieillevigne; we
turned north at St Philbert-de-Bouaine; and our final approach to Nantes was
through Pont-Saint-Martin, beside the airport and then through Reze and across
the Pont des 3 Continents on to the ile de Nantes.
To get from the ile de Nantes we headed
for Pont Haudaudine, which looked the quietest way into the city. We messed up and found ourselves close to the
Pont General Audibert, a dual carriageway bridge and a lot of traffic. We held our nerve and made it right into the
centre of town with no problem at all. A
handy tourist information sign with a detailed map showed us exactly where the
campsite was and off we went through the city.
We’d arrived at the centre at about 14:00 and the campsite before 15:00.
Set up camp and took the tram into the
centre. I followed the other two around
for a while but soon got fed up looking at clothes and ‘shades’ so we separated. I
wandered round had a coffee and a snack and then found a vegetarian restaurant;
not something you come across very often in France. It didn't open until 19:30 so I explored some
more, bought yesterday's Guardian and went for a couple of drinks.
The restaurant turned out to be rather
good; probably the best vegetarian restaurant I'd ever come across, anywhere. I arrived quite early but it was soon packed
out. As far as I could gather most of
the patrons were not vegetarians but recognised quality when they saw it. An excellent meal with a nice bottle of red.
Caught the tram back at 10:15. I noticed a couple of undesirables eyeing me
up and when I got off they jumped up and followed me. I was close to the campsite and quickly crossed
the road and kept close to another group going in. They didn't bother following me and turned
back to the Tram Stop. I got to the tent
to find the other two in bed and clearly a little anxious about where I'd got
to. Made a change!
Distance: 45.2 miles
Cycling time: 3: 55:
19
Average: 11.5 mph
Max:
27.3 mph
Campsite: Camping du Petit Port, 21,
Boulevard Du Petit Port, Nantes 75FF.
Good facilities with a tram service to town.
Friday 5 July
Awoke to persistent steady rain. I'd slept through it but it had obviously
rained all night. There were holes in
the ground sheet and water was coming through; nearly everything was wet. To cheer ourselves up we went into town for
breakfast. Went to a launderette to dry
clothes and sleeping bags. We were eager
to get off so they were still a bit damp.
We departed at 14:30. A straightforward route out of town on to the
D69; at Nort-sur-Erdre we shopped at the supermarket. We followed the D121 to Nozay and then the D124
to Marsac-sur-Don, where we camped. Very
tatty campsite but a good location. Not
very good facilities.
Weather turned ok, in fact quite a pleasant
evening. We ate late.
Distance: 38.9 miles
Cycling time: 3:30:19
Average: 11.0 mph
Max:
25.4 mph
Campsite: Camping Municipal la Roche, Marsac-sur-Don,
Pays de la Loire. 36FF. Not very good facilities.
Saturday 6 July
Light rain in the night but sun was
shining as we woke. I was up at 7:00 and we made our earliest start yet at
9:05. But we went round the houses
getting away from Marsac. Bought
breakfast at Grand Fougeray. Made good
progress up very rural roads and were expecting to reach Rennes by 14:00, where
we thought we'd find a campsite and duplicate the Nantes experience.
We crossed the D772 and got onto a
network of roads which were mostly not on the map. We kept heading north thinking we'd soon
reach a D Road but the road became more and more "minor". At that point it was still asphalted but
fairly long grass was sprouting through the centre of the track; we should have
turned back. For some reason, I have an
irrational thing about turning back, always thinking I'd find a way through and
it's often lead to long detours! So we
carried on. The narrowing road became a
mud track and then we had to cross a stream into a field which we traversed until
we came to a 5-bar
gate. Through the trees I could see smoke coming
out of a chimney and knew there had to be access to a road. But the gate entrance was a quagmire having
been churned up by cattle. We struggled to
open it just wide enough to get the bikes through but couldn't avoid getting ankle
deep in mud. We pedalled across the
field towards the house. The only way we
could go was through the back garden; we entered via a gap in the hedge. We could see a garden path which went beside
the house through to the front. A
yapping dog rushed from the house and alerted the occupants to our presence in
their garden.
A gobsmacked couple and teenage son came
out just as we entered the front garden.
Could have stepped straight out of a film set in rural 1930s
France. As the others went to the front
gate I thought I ought to stop. I
couldn't think what to say so I said good morning and asked the way to
Rennes. They directed me to go out of
the gate, up the track and then follow the lane round to the right (or
something like that; it was mostly sign language).
As I approached the gate I could hear a
big dog barking, growling and snarling in the track. Once on the track I could see Seth and Dave had
stopped about 100 yards away looking back, pointing at the enormous Alsatian
type dog, which was trotting back towards me, and gesturing me to hurry. It stopped beside the gate to a much larger
house and waited, quietly growling. I
cycled steadily hoping to get by it on the opposite side with no trouble. I thought I'd made it then suddenly it launched
itself at me and I pedalled like I've never pedalled before. Its yellow fangs were inches from my ankle; I
was convinced it would take a chunk out of my leg. From the other side of the
hedge was the sound of laughter. To
shouts of encouragement from the top of the track and fuelled by adrenalin I
managed to outrun the dog but really only because it slowed as soon as I was
beyond its territory. The laughter
really irritated me but there was no way I was going back to remonstrate, despite
the adrenalin coursing my veins!
We turned into a lane which led to the
D51 and were back on track to Rennes. We
were still on very quiet roads, but hilly. This had been a very hilly day, certainly the
hilliest since the first day in France.
Seth noticed his rear tyre was bulging
so we reinforced it with gaffer tape. A
little later it punctured. We repaired
it and put more tape on. Fortunately we passed
a bike shop at Chartres-de-Bretagna and managed to buy a new tyre and tube (142
FF). It was a knobbly mountain bike tyre
but that hadn't seemed to disadvantage Dave.
As we left town it started to rain, in fact it poured down. What with the tyre, the deviation through
farmland, the dog and the rain I was feeling a bit miserable. Then I heard Seth singing at the top of his
voice; snapped me out of it!
Just as we arrived at Rennes, Seth rode
over glass and his front tyre burst.
Repaired it and eventually reached the city centre. A typical, inviting French city centre with
pavement cafes and restaurants and I looked forward to spending the evening
there. Found a tourist information sign
with a map but there was no campsite marked.
As it was getting quite late we decided to carry on north out of town
hoping we'd find one in Rennes itself but comfortable in the knowledge we'd
find one, once we'd left the city.
A kilometre before the ring road we
stopped at McDonald's where they had burgers and frites and I had frites. Rather than continue on the N137 dual
carriageway and the intersection with the ring road we made our way across to
the D82, which looked like a reasonable rural route to St Malo. Just after the ring road we passed the Brit
Hotel Le Villeneuve and I jokingly said we could always stay there. They became enthusiastic about the idea and I
agreed to go in and ask the price. It
was 210 FF. I asked if that was for two
rooms and he said no but they could do a second room for 150 FF. Could three people go in the 210 FF
room? “Non”. I said it was too dear and left. The other two were not happy as they trudged
behind me! As we were getting on the
bikes the manager came running out and said he could do two rooms for 210
FF. I accepted! We couldn't take our bikes inside so we
secured them around a pillar right in front of the main doors.
Too far from the city centre so while
Seth and Dave watched TV in their room I went to the bar, after a very long soak
in the bath, and read the Guardian, which I’d picked up in Rennes. No restaurant but I survived on bar snacks and
red wine.
An interesting day all in
all, certainly full of challenges!
Tomorrow we would arrive in St Malo, all going well, and it'd all
be over. That would be just two weeks. I
felt a bit disappointed it was nearly over; I thought we should probably have
spent more time in the better climate south of the Gironde perhaps by taking a
more convoluted route although I wouldn't have missed the cycle tracks of Les
Landes and Le Gironde. I’m not sure my
aching legs would agree, though.
Distance: 54.0
miles
Cycling time: 5: 29:03
Average: 9.8mph
Max: 33.7 mph
Hotel: Brit Hotel Le
Villeneuve, 6 Rue Saint-Vincent, 35760 St
Grégoire, France
Sunday 7 July
We all awoke very refreshed and left the
hotel at 9:00. We bought food for
breakfast at Melesse and stopped along the road to eat it. A strongish, northerly wind made it tough
going. There were some very long,
straight undulating sections, where the road stretched out for miles ahead. My legs which had felt tired for days were
now hurting. We stayed on the D82 until
Combourg and then the D73. At Le
Tronchet we deviated onto the D75 to avoid entering St Malo on the main road.
This was probably a more convoluted route; certainly it seemed to go on
forever. We finally entered the town by
crossing the D301 onto the D126, which we followed most of the way to the
port. This had been a hilly, windy day
and my legs certainly knew I'd spent two weeks cycling. In fact they ached almost constantly. Every time I set off I had pains from the
lactic acid.
At the port we bought tickets for the following day, 630
FF for the three of us. Then we found a
campsite overlooking the harbour; it was just across the Anse de Sablons bay
from the ferry terminal.
We found a nice secluded spot, inaccessible to vehicles,
beneath the remains of some World War II defences. Because of its strategic position overlooking the River
Rance the Germans built an artillery battery, with 32 bunkers linked by a
system of tunnels deep in the granite as part of the overall heavy defences in
the area. Despite 3 days intensive
bombing a small number of German troops held out against the US infantry
assaults. They only surrendered after a
P38 managed to drop napalm directly into an air vent, starving the underground
system of oxygen; as a result of an immediate white flag the rest of the air
attack was called off.
We wandered
into town, had some more patisseries, and then went for a slap up celebratory
meal.
Afterwards we walked along the beach and
came across an interesting looking bar, which was very lively, especially for a
Sunday night. Had a few drinks and reminisced
about the trip. L'addition came to 132
FF; we only had 129 FF and a few cents!
We spent ages searching every pocket to get that together. Grovelled at the bar and they said "no
problem".
Distance: 46.6
miles
Cycling time: 4:47:22
Average: 9.7
mph
Max: 32.2
mph
Campsite: Camping Municipal de la Cite d’Alet.
Monday 8 July
Up at 7:00; packed and off by 8:00. Visited the boulangerie for bread and
patisseries, which we ate near the beach.
Then, to the ferry terminal,
where we boarded at 10:30.
Distance: 2.9 miles
Cycling time: 0: 29: 00
Average: 6.0 mph
Max: 16.0 mph
Total
distance in France: 676.8 miles
Quite a few cyclists on the ferry returning from tours of
the region, several had been touring the Loire.
This time the bikes were parked in a separate room on the car deck. We were still released first at Portsmouth
and more than a dozen cyclists swooped down the ramp, several whooping at the
tops of their voices. Felt good to be on
a bike.
GPX tracks of
route
These tracks were plotted some
15 years after the trip based on a few tracks I’d recorded on the maps, the
notes I made and memory. They are mostly
pretty accurate but don't take account of some minor excursions and detours in
error or to find shops etc. Also some
roads have changed since 1996!
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