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Le fin des vacances

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As much as I would love to keep on pedalling in beautiful France, the dreaded work email deluge awaits. We will be spending 7 hours on a ferry tomorrow so that should give me plenty of time to do a deletefest. It was such a beautiful day today that a long walk along a cliff path to Cancale for lunch seemed like a great idea (to me anyway!)   It was a rather hilly and hot 8.5 mile walk with 1388 feet of climbing and a fair amount of whinging by the Support Crew Lunch was at a restaurant recommended by our wonderful neighbour, Janie, who looks after Arthur and puts up with all the fur, muck and chaos that involves. I suspect looking at the weather in the U.K. that she has also had to do rather a lot of watering of Rusty's plants - she is very much appreciated! This Poire Belle Helene was quickly inhaled along with a suitable amount of fishy creatures   The tide was out so we got a great view of the oyster beds on the way back   So the final conclusions about cycling 562 mil...
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Cancale

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Back to the seaside but obviously not in a straight line - nearly 40 miles of Garmin controlled wiggling   I started by going to see the Canal d'Ille-et-Vilaine at Hede where there is a watery staircase of  11 locks spread over a little more than 2 km   Next stop on my tourist trail was the Chateau de Combourg which apparently was the childhood home of the writer Chateaubriand (I always thought that was a steak!). He thought it was haunted by the ghost of the wooden leg of a former lord, as you do My next detour was to Dol de Bretagne as we have driven past the exit road so many times and I wanted to see it!    The weather was delightful, sunny and not as hot with beautiful blue skies to show off the Baie du Mont-St-Michel - the fabulous Mont is somewhere in this photo..   Cancale is renowned for its oysters but also for the Goodie family as the location of one of Tashie's infamous toddler tantrums, resulting in her being put/thrown in the car whilst we fin...
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Tinteniac

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Poor Bob did a large pouf yesterday evening as a puncture in his front tyre dramatically deflated. Unfortunately the split in the tyre meant I was reluctant to ride him until I can replace the tyre. Fortunately I like pedalling on the cross bike (Rusty didn't need it today!) but it did make the 2700 feet of climbing over 54 miles somewhat harder.   I went the long way round so I could pedal through Paimpont forest, known as Broceliande where apparently Merlin made his home. It was absolutely beautiful and forests are a particularly good idea when it's 32c   Paimpont has a lakeside abbey which provided a backdrop for crossbike to do his first pain au raisins modelling job   Once out of the forest, it got hotter and sweatier so I was a bit melted by the time I arrived at the campsite and the lovely cold beers. Support crew has refused outright to go on a boiling hot walk to the canal (and I agree it's too hot!), so we had a mooch around the campsite and made a new friend ...
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Josselin

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32c was forecast today so I got going reasonably early and pedalled across to Locmariaquer and some more megaliths   It's also right at the mouth of the Gulf of Morbihan where we were thinking of going next, but the campsites all looked like child friendly leisure parks - definitely not for us old farts! It did look very beautiful though, especially if one had a boat and very good navigational skills (I will stick to the cycling!)     As a wise cyclist once said, however you feel on the bike now will soon change and the next part of the ride proved that - a hot headwind, a long straight flat road, too many old farts in campervans who don't know how to overtake a cyclist.... grrrr The only solution to miserable riding (for me anyway) is food, and a huge chocolate filled pastry made me much less grumpy   Fortunately the route improved, I do love a hilly French forest   This town hall was even more petunia'd than our front porch at home  I think whoever is in ...
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Carnac

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Today was hot and sunny for a change, I even had to use suncream on the tree trunks! We were tempted to stay another night in the lovely campsite but onwards and eastwards in a headwind again - doh   T he route involved quite a few towns and the Garmin surpassed itself in Pont-Aven by going completely off piste Bob also surpassed himself by modelling both a brioche and a beautiful church    There was another huge bridge to cross After 50 miles I arrived in Carnac but did a detour to see 'les alignments' - with about 2000 menhirs and various burial tumuli. I've wanted to see them since learning about them in school French lessons (such useful vocabulary!)        This evening's stroll was along Carnac Plage with the obligatory big fat ice cream, nom nom    
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Nevez

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We attempted to do the tourist thing today and arranged to meet at the medieval walled Ville Close of Concarneau. It was all a bit too busy and complicated for the van so the cunning plan failed, but I had a mooch around with Bob and lots and lots of tourists.     On the way there I cycled on beautifully maintained bike paths, including over a spectacular bridge near Benodet   I then sacked the Garmin again and pootled along keeping the sea on my right which seemed to work.   It is very Poldarkish scenery including the village names - this beautiful place is Trevignon After 42 miles of happy pedalling, I arrived at the lovely campsite before the support crew who was still having navigational issues trying to find a supermarket! Amazingly, he actually got on the bike to go into town with me to get the evening's patisseries, only 4 miles but the bike looked suitably surprised. This evening's view...  
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Loctudy

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Today was all about little green signs   The cycling loving frogsters have created fabulous cycle routes and I decided it was time to stop blindly following the dictatorial Garmin and become more French!   46 miles of pedalling happily along the seaside with a few screeching halts when I missed a little sign. Bob was able to pose beautifully next to sea views with atmospheric (and soggy) sea mist for the first half of the ride.     I also spotted another cavalry which was impressive but rather sinister   We are now at the very south western tip of Finistere with an appropriately huge 19th century lighthouse    The campsite is busier tonight as we are in a much more touristy area, fortunately still just about off season pre hoardes of children! An evening walk on the beach.. Brittany boobs hehe...  
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