Vaucluse Dreamer

After yesterday’s rainy ride, we enjoyed a hot shower and a picky tea in the lovely B&B we had booked in Montfort Sur Meu, falling into a deep sleep, which wasn’t even disturbed by the bells from the neighbouring church.

We woke refreshed, and happy to see that the skies were simply overcast, rather than everything being soaked again. So we enjoyed a rather lovely breakfast

Before loading the bikes up and just after 8am, we were pedalling out of the town into the heart of Brittany, on our way to our next planned stop, at Blain.

As we headed up the hill out of the town, we found ourselves on empty roads with just the birds for company. It was about as perfect as cycling can be, with ribbon-smooth tarmac that whispered quietly, as our wheels rolled across it. It was as if the rest of the world had forgotten that it was rush-hour.

The hill also set the theme for the day, which turned out to be quite lumpy, with long climbs and short downhill swishes, before we had to do it all again. It was really very lovely.

As we left the woodland, we cycled through open countryside, with the first signs of autumn starting to show. The overhead cables were filled with swallows resting before their long flights south and the stubble fields were dotted with crows pecking at the last grains in the soil.

There was the earthy scent of damp bracken in the air, with the occasional perfume from wild honeysuckle too.

You don’t get any of this in a car, but on a bike you are part of the landscape and experience each kilometre, as it passes. It is a simple joy that we never tire of.

We cycled through villages forming part of the Communes des Vallons de Haute Bretagne and each was as pretty as the last.

At one point, we passed a lady who wished us ‘bonne route’ asking where we were going. When we called back ‘Provence’, she laughed, clearly thinking we were joking. I know it’s a long way, but all being well, we’ll arrive in time for the first rugby match of the season in Aix. So, yes we are off to Provence.

But, by the time we had cycled 30km, we were getting peckish, so turned off into the village of La Chapelle- Bouëxic, where we found an eclectic collection of art, cut from old trees. There was a stunning old Manor House, but the brightly-painted wooden sculptures were quite incredible, especially the rock-guitarist with the donkey, bear and tortoise in the churchyard!

We found much-needed ‘pains au raisins’ and sat at the local bar with a coffee, trying to understand why the owner was stoking a brazier, on the pavement with parts of an old barrel.

But it was a well-timed and very tasty second breakfast.

We pottered on again, through more valleys, saying hello to the cows as we passed and stopping to identify the crops that filled the fields. A field full of hemp (cannabis) was a new one for us!

We’d decided to stop in the small town of Grand Fougeray for lunch and it proved to be the perfect choice, with a little creperie overlooking the church square and a delightful ‘Breton’ lunch of galettes filled with potatoes, lardons and cheese, washed down with a bottle of local cider.

It was whilst we were sitting there that we looked at the weather and realised that we needed to get a move on, if we wanted to get to the campsite that we had booked in Blain, before the heavens opened.

So that’s what we did, pedalling as fast as we could, as we watched the black clouds looming ahead. We had booked the camp site and we were determined to put the tent up and spend our first night under canvas.

You can watch a little Video of today’s ride here

We arrived in Blain, found the site and went to the area set aside for cycle tourists, earmarking our spot and setting about putting the tent up.

We have only put it up once before, just to test it and it had gone OK (once we had remembered to take the poles!). And this time it went up easily (we had remembered the poles) although rather slower than the 10 minutes they say is possible, in the instructions.

Once up, we piled everything inside, just as the first drops of rain started to fall. We couldn’t have timed it better, and as the heavy drops started to beat a rhythm on the tent, we zipped it up, pulled on our cycling jackets and headed to a local bar for a beer.

It was a lovely walk past the chateau

And over the little bridge that crosses the Nantes Brest Canal and the long distance ‘Velodyssey’ cycling route that Andy and the boys had ridden together 9 years ago.

We sat with our drinks, chatting about the day’s ride, watching the swallows flitting across the river, as the rain blurred the reflections of the moored boats. 

In fact, it turned out to be so wet, that the canopy above us split with the weight of water, sending us dashing inside to pay and changing our plans for supper, heading back to the campsite to have pizzas, which arrived piping hot, as we sat watching the rain.

So another day done, and it really was a superb ride. The roads were so wonderfully quiet (apart from the crossing of the River Vilaine) and we just enjoyed being absorbed by the journey and the simplicity of turning the pedals

The fully-laden bikes feel like ours now, and we’ve just accepted that we can’t travel as fast, but there is a joy in knowing that we are our own masters, and can go at the speed we want to go at, changing the route to find a Boulangerie and stopping whenever we want to.

Hopefully, we’ll sleep well under canvas tonight after a long day riding today, and will be ready to head on again tomorrow, when we are aiming to cross the Loire, ending the day with friends in the Marais Breton.

I’m sure the sound of the rain will send me off to sleep!