August 7, 2012
A day filled with hard riding and wonderful kindness: Bazouges la Perouse to Les Bourges des Comptes
It was amazing staying in a building dating back to the 16th century. An excellent breakfast was included with the cost of the room: baguettes, bread, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola and other cereals, cheese, ham and hard boiled eggs. Le Manoir was run by an Irish couple who had been living in France for the last ten years.
Sylvie, at the Tourist Office, once again came to our rescue and constructed a route to get us to the canal. The web of secondary roads in this area would have made it confusing for us to find the best way.
Our day started with a wonderful down hill and then a long uphill ride. We continued on the road until we came to the village of Montrueil-sur-rivane. It was here where we joined the Canal Velo Route that begins at St. Malo on the north coast. After riding the many challenging hills of Normandy and Brittany we felt liked we had achieved Nirvana. A dead flat off road route that followed the canal almost all the way to Nantes. The trail had originated as a tow path for the boats to travel the canal. Every few kilometres, the trail would be interrupted by a lock. Many of the boats travelling the canal were rental boats. We made very good time on the trail. The condition of the trail varied from pavement to crushed gravel to a single track through thick grass. Travelling on the canal avoided villages but gave us a new perspective on cycling in France. The weather was very hot.
We arrived in Rennes about 5 o’clock: the trail runs through a rough area of town overflowing with graffitti and deserted buildings. Rennes is a large city and it was a bit of an adjustment after riding through the countryside for days.
We found our way to the centre of the city and to the tourist office which is built into the side of an old cathedral. Mary Ellen was trying to get information on how to get through the city and back on to the canal route. The young girl helping her was having difficulty explaining the complicated route. While I was waiting outside with the bike a man rode up on his bike and started talking excitedly to me in French about our bike. He then went inside and excitedly started talking to Mary Ellen and the young girl in the office. We finally figured out that he loved our bike and that he would show us how to get through Rennes. We followed him along busy city streets and alleyways. Finally, we arrived at the canal. We would never have made it on our own. When we got to the canal he ran off to the lock keeper’s house to make sure that this was actually the correct route. The lock keeper was not home, but another man came running over to help. What a wonderful day of kindness.
We rode until almost 8 o’clock and arrived in the village of Les Bourges des Comptes. We knew that there was camping near the village so we rode the extra kilometres to reach our destination. With the flat conditions we were able to ride almost 90 kilometres. What a change from the beginning of the trip when we didn’t have our riding legs yet and we were riding in hills.
The campground was a little bit of a disappointment after such a long ride. The bathroom/shower building was very grotty. However, we only paid 9 euros and we had a quiet night of sleep.
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Today's ride: 87 km (54 miles)
Total: 747 km (464 miles)
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