Climbing the wall.

August 17, 2018

The Mur de Bretagne is a spot famous to cyclists and at that mostly to the athletic type for its place in racing history and also as the major obstacle of the Paris-Brest-Paris randonneur event held every four years. So, being in the neighborhood, so to speak, I couldn't very well not visit could I? I worked out a route on mostly light traffic roads that got me out of St. Brieuc with some ease. Surprisingly enough this worked. I was soon in the country enjoying a fine sunny day. Only once did I miss a turn, and it was only one kilometer to backtrack to find my way again.

A nicely restored water mill I passed along the way.

About noon I entered the village of Quentin, which proved to be quite charming. There are some lovely medieval buildings in the town and there are some small restaurants so I linger for a bit enjoying a lunch of a big salad.

Going south from Quintin it more open countryside but with a gradual gain in elevation. Eventually I came to a nice long downhill which led me into a small valley and straight to the Wall.

Slate wall behind the house. About 60 meters tall.

The road leaves the valley and rises up. Quickly. I'm not even going to pretend I can climb like Alejandro Valverde (who's name was scrawled all over the road) but I did manage to make it to the top of the climb without putting a foot down. The village of Mur de Bretagne was still decked out from the recent passage of the Tour de France, but apart from that, it was rather ordinary as Breton village go. The only hotel was closed so the owners could go on vacation, and the rest of the village was setting up for a street festival of some sort on this Friday night, so I decided to continue on. I like festivals, but I like sleeping, too. There is a bike trail that goes through the lower reaches of the town and I got on it and pedaled my way to Loudenac. As Breton trails go this one was about average, gravelled not paved but no mud.

Loudeac is a much bigger town and I had my choice of hotels. I took the Hotel des Voyagers, which seemed appropriate. I set about the very important task of finding a place to eat, hopefully not a crêperie or a pizzeria.

This place had an interesting facade but the menu was sparse.

I decided to try the Bisquette, a seafood themed restaurant.

Goat cheese filled pastries for the entrée.

The main course was a supreme de volaille , but not as photogenic.

Dessert was a ganache with chocolate. Tasty.

Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 861 km (535 miles)

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