September 25, 2021
Glomel to Pontivy
Fog greeted us again this morning. We're becoming accustomed to it. It dampens our rainfly but not our spirits. We rigged up a way to have breakfast "in bed" by placing the stove dangerously close to the tent. It was well worth the risk.
Back to the trail, only this time in reverse. Instead of a tiny climb at every lock, there is a tiny drop. It doesn't make any difference. The rest of the towpath is flat flat flat. Only the surface matters. It alternates between what I assume is crushed limestone, and a pebbly asphalt. The limestone is preferable. Both are fine.
So why stop at 70km for the day? It's mainly a matter of campsite availability. Strangely, it seems that the municipal campgrounds are more likely to have longer seasons in this region. It's not what we encountered on the Veloscenie, but it makes sense: if you run a private campground, you might as well shut down when it's no longer profitable. The municipal campgrounds, I assume, are open to support the tourism industry, and are therefore considered a cost center. We personally aren't putting much money into the local economy wherever we stay. I think tent-based cycle tourism falls under the category of "street cred". Maybe they view at as good publicity and/or a way to receive grant money. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this is by far the most eco-friendly, and one of the more public-health-friendly, modes of tourism. There's still the big carbon-heavy plane trips that we'll never be able to make up for, so I can't exactly get all smug about it.
Another reason we don't travel too far every day is that we're simply very inefficient with our breaks. Shopping takes time, finding a good spot takes time, eating takes time, digesting takes time. I need to remind myself that this isn't a competition, but I do compare it to previous trips in which we averaged 50-60 miles per day. I also want to stay somewhat on schedule. One of my unspoken goals was to make it to Bordeaux entirely by human power. With new information about the state of the Canal du Midi, we will probably have to hop straight over to the Garonne half of the route. This disappoints me. Maybe there's a road route we can take instead.
For now, I'd like to focus on this stage. Despite my eagerness to rack up the kilometers, we are exactly on schedule. It's a wonderful trail. Today we spent some time on a rail trail, as the canal gives way temporarily to the Lac de Guerlédan. It had that same half-up, half-down profile we enjoyed yesterday riding out of Morlaix. We bought lunch in the town of Guerlédan, expecting to find a good place to picnic there. The one picnic table in front of the market was occupied. We rode back down to where the canal picks up again, and finally enjoyed our meal at one of the locks at 2:00. That's pretty late for us.
Today's real story is this camp site we now occupy. Covered bike parking, covered picnic tables, a murmuring stream that separates us from the car campers, and free wi-fi provided by the city, all for the low low price of 9 euro! We keep thinking that there has to be a catch, but so far we havent discovered it.
Tomorrow's goal is 75km down the canal at the town of Malestroit, which we both agree sounds like a spooky place, but I bet is going to be lovely, like just about every place we've visited so far. Although it will probably rain tonight, and it will probably rain tomorrow night, they predict a break during the day plenty long enough for us to ride in relative dryness. Fingers crossed!
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Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 1,107 km (687 miles)
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