Nothing like the sound of motorized window shutters and bright florescent bulbs to force the start of the day upon you! 7am local time and it was time to wake up and peel ourselves off the floor of the ferry. We'd made the road trip to Plymouth and managed to get on the boat, so now began the real trip.
Eager to get off the ship, David jumped on his bike and started pedalling immediately.
He was then sternly reminded by the ferry staff you are to walk the bike off first! To the front of the passport queue for a quick scan of the identity and away we go. So does anyone speak any French? Oh dear...
"Baguette!" - David
The route started surprisingly hilly, going between secluded residential and farmland. I had of course previously been told it was mostly flat, what had I let myself in for.
"Sorry, I thought the contour lines on the map were WiFi hotspots" - David
Starting near the coast, we had some great views of the water.
As we followed the route it became more hilly and unpredictable, at one point all but entering the local river shingle, with the sign encouraging you to enter the water. On closer inspection the path did actually continue around the river wall and boats. The weather by this point was chilly and blustery, but over the day it really improved to be warm but with a good breeze.
An hour or so in and we are hungry and short on cash. A local town with a hulking great cathedral (and more importantly open bakery) proved a successful stop for food and water.
Big old cathedral, making a safe assumption it's for St Paul as the town is named.
Chris sampling the local delicacy of croissant and almonds. Taking care not to inhale powdered sugar...again.
We did at this stage assume which direction the cycle route would take out of St Paul's. This made an ass out of both of us and we were forced to rely on technology to get us back on track. A small number of u-turns and the main road awaited us. This was a welcome change from the trails we'd had so far.
The main road took us toward a town called Morlaix, which we used as a stop for lunch. The main feature of this town is the huge viaduct running across the valley it sits in.
The viaduct. I liked to think the top was for trams, although none were seen. Sad face emoji.
After a stop for lunch, it began to become apparent that the French are not keen on oat based snacks. No flap jack in sight. Concerning to say the least. I eat enough to power a small town when I'm not even exercising. A week without is going to seem like forced withdrawal... Watch this space. We got a couple of sandwiches and portable pan-oh-choc-a-lars.
Carrying lunch and eager to press on we left Morlaix and got back on the cycle route. This again took us out on the roads, before briefly scaring us into thinking it would include a motorway. This was not to be the case, we could instead have repeated hills to climb in order to keep crossing over said motorway. Not sure if that was better or worse... One big hill then back onto overgrown country roads but best of all with no traffic.
"Also we had lunch and Chris tried to meat-poison me with an egg sandwich that also unknowingly included fish. Wtf France you weirdos" - David
As we came into the afternoon the route utilised a disused railway. A fantastic long straight but started with a subtle but steady incline. Every now and then we came across the no longer used train stations. We stopped to inspect one that had fallen in to disrepair.
Various views of the disused rail station. Although it did have a working toilet in a separate building, this was given some product testing. Holes in the walls allowed David to launch flora at me during... Helpful.
"Pahahaha" - David
Back on the railway line and adding up the miles. The next stop was a local river, giving David the chance to do some photography. Pretty impressive photos with just his phone.
"Flattery will get you...everywhere" - David
I sat and had a rest (and snack). Being my model like self...
Other highlights of the railroad trail included another two disused stations. However these had been reclaimed and were much nicer. One had some useful tourist information (if you spoke French) and the other had a small zoo.
"Wasn't he the bad guy in 'ReTuna the King'?" - David
Got your goat (on camera).
To pass the time a few action shots were taken:
By this point we were both looking forward to the campsite and getting off our feet. We had about 5 or 10 miles to go and were thinking of dinner. A Lidl enroute yet again provided a lack of flap jack. Worrying. We settled for bread based goods and good things with which to fill the bread.
We arrived at the camp site to find a mountain bike event happening. 1st July seems to be a popular day in France for cycling events. The start of the tour de France, this camp site, and most importantly our camping trip. We paid our combined nine euros for the night and got to literally pitching a tent.
"Better than metaphorically" - David
At this stage some impressive innovation was required. One end of the scale being solar charging, the other being a clothes line tied between a tree and a bike.
Showered, fed, and a quick snoring power nap for Chris and time to write the blog! That took a good 45 minutes so it's now time for a beer.
Eager to get off the ship, David jumped on his bike and started pedalling immediately.
He was then sternly reminded by the ferry staff you are to walk the bike off first! To the front of the passport queue for a quick scan of the identity and away we go. So does anyone speak any French? Oh dear...
"Baguette!" - David
The route started surprisingly hilly, going between secluded residential and farmland. I had of course previously been told it was mostly flat, what had I let myself in for.
"Sorry, I thought the contour lines on the map were WiFi hotspots" - David
Starting near the coast, we had some great views of the water.
As we followed the route it became more hilly and unpredictable, at one point all but entering the local river shingle, with the sign encouraging you to enter the water. On closer inspection the path did actually continue around the river wall and boats. The weather by this point was chilly and blustery, but over the day it really improved to be warm but with a good breeze.
An hour or so in and we are hungry and short on cash. A local town with a hulking great cathedral (and more importantly open bakery) proved a successful stop for food and water.
Big old cathedral, making a safe assumption it's for St Paul as the town is named.
Chris sampling the local delicacy of croissant and almonds. Taking care not to inhale powdered sugar...again.
We did at this stage assume which direction the cycle route would take out of St Paul's. This made an ass out of both of us and we were forced to rely on technology to get us back on track. A small number of u-turns and the main road awaited us. This was a welcome change from the trails we'd had so far.
The main road took us toward a town called Morlaix, which we used as a stop for lunch. The main feature of this town is the huge viaduct running across the valley it sits in.
The viaduct. I liked to think the top was for trams, although none were seen. Sad face emoji.
After a stop for lunch, it began to become apparent that the French are not keen on oat based snacks. No flap jack in sight. Concerning to say the least. I eat enough to power a small town when I'm not even exercising. A week without is going to seem like forced withdrawal... Watch this space. We got a couple of sandwiches and portable pan-oh-choc-a-lars.
Carrying lunch and eager to press on we left Morlaix and got back on the cycle route. This again took us out on the roads, before briefly scaring us into thinking it would include a motorway. This was not to be the case, we could instead have repeated hills to climb in order to keep crossing over said motorway. Not sure if that was better or worse... One big hill then back onto overgrown country roads but best of all with no traffic.
"Also we had lunch and Chris tried to meat-poison me with an egg sandwich that also unknowingly included fish. Wtf France you weirdos" - David
As we came into the afternoon the route utilised a disused railway. A fantastic long straight but started with a subtle but steady incline. Every now and then we came across the no longer used train stations. We stopped to inspect one that had fallen in to disrepair.
Various views of the disused rail station. Although it did have a working toilet in a separate building, this was given some product testing. Holes in the walls allowed David to launch flora at me during... Helpful.
"Pahahaha" - David
Back on the railway line and adding up the miles. The next stop was a local river, giving David the chance to do some photography. Pretty impressive photos with just his phone.
"Flattery will get you...everywhere" - David
I sat and had a rest (and snack). Being my model like self...
Other highlights of the railroad trail included another two disused stations. However these had been reclaimed and were much nicer. One had some useful tourist information (if you spoke French) and the other had a small zoo.
"Wasn't he the bad guy in 'ReTuna the King'?" - David
Got your goat (on camera).
To pass the time a few action shots were taken:
By this point we were both looking forward to the campsite and getting off our feet. We had about 5 or 10 miles to go and were thinking of dinner. A Lidl enroute yet again provided a lack of flap jack. Worrying. We settled for bread based goods and good things with which to fill the bread.
We arrived at the camp site to find a mountain bike event happening. 1st July seems to be a popular day in France for cycling events. The start of the tour de France, this camp site, and most importantly our camping trip. We paid our combined nine euros for the night and got to literally pitching a tent.
"Better than metaphorically" - David
At this stage some impressive innovation was required. One end of the scale being solar charging, the other being a clothes line tied between a tree and a bike.
Showered, fed, and a quick snoring power nap for Chris and time to write the blog! That took a good 45 minutes so it's now time for a beer.
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