September 24, 2021
Morlaix to Glomel
After so many days touring the countryside, we were eager to get out of the city, but not before visiting a boulangerie that opens at 6:30am! The croissants were so fresh, and baked to perfection! After that, packing was not so difficult, and we managed our earliest departure time yet.
The expectation of a climb out of every city held true today. Once over that hump, we found ourselves on a nice rail trail. It was half uphill, half downhill, but all at grades that a locomotive can handle. The surface was mostly good. The mist that had started the morning had turned into a drizzle that was just enough to make us feel clammy. I opted to wear full-finger gloves, made possible by today's super easy navigation.
In fact, there were only four places I needed to navigate: getting out of Morlaix, making our way through the outskirts of Carhaix, transitioning from trail to towpath (more on that in the next paragraph), and getting to our campground. This is the kind of touring I was really looking forward to. I could soak in the scenery rather than worry about where the next turn is.
I knew that we were going to meet the canal just after Carhaix, but wow, it was so sudden! The rail trail continued to the left, over the canal, while we descended on the right, made two quick lefts, and all of a sudden we were in a different world. The surface was paved, the water was to our right, and lush vegetation surrounded both banks. The pavement wasn't great, but it quickly gave way to smooth hardpack. The locks flew by quickly, a short uphill surge in the towpath marking each one. Many of the locks have keeper's houses. I couldn't tell if they'd all been sold off to private citizens, or whether some of them were still manned by lockkeepers. It seemed to me that they no longer open the locks in this section, rendering it suitable only for watercraft that can be portaged. There were signs that indicated put-in points for them. There was no one on the water today. I'm sure that will change as we continue south, and the weekend unfolds. That is, if the weather holds up.
So far, the towpath reminds us of our Erie Canal tour ten years ago, and our London-Belgium-Netherlands tour seven years ago. When you're next to water, everything gets easier, since you can usually squeeze under the bridges that cross the canal rather than stopping and checking for traffic all the time. When boats are on the water, there's even more visual interest.
One thing I'm hoping for is some villages and towns that came into existence servicing the canal. We haven't encountered any yet. Glomel is about 2km off the trail. We did find a little snack shop that serves crepes. That was nice!
Both Komoot and Google wanted to keep us off the main road that goes into Glomel. We followed the first turn across the river on a pedestrian bridge, and quickly found ourselves in a big pool of mud! The singletrack that lay beyond didn't look much better. We turned around and took the D3 regardless. It was fine, although we're no longer desensitized to having cars whiz past us so fast!
The main question tomorrow is whether we decide to risk camping in the rain (I know, what kind of Seattleites are we?) or seek out a gite instead. We'll play it by ear.
Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 1,036 km (643 miles)
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