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Articles from the Newsletter
August/September
2005 |
Midday on Wednesday 18th May Jenny and I drove with the two 18 speed mountain bikes (with mudguards and panniers) to friends at Portsmouth, having delivered surplus toys to fellow grandparent friends at Horndean in return for a meal. Leaving the car we rode the four miles to the overnight Brittany Ferries boat to St. Malo. Making the best of the crossing without a cabin "wasn't that good" but cheap. The trio playing 60/70s covers were good and £3.50 each bought a full breakfast (i.e. fuel). At 5.30 am on Wednesday the shipping forecast (whilst doing my paper round) told me that the dry, cold northerlies of the previous few days were returning to south westerlies the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear. Andrew, an old friend living not too far from St. Malo and our intended route, was there on his 1920 Triumph roadster to guide us as we disembarked. Although ten years younger than us (both 62) I'd known him since his mid teens and we kept in touch through the SVCC until he moved over there fifteen years ago. We didn't quite cape up but it was light rain and headwinds most of the time. The fast route across the Rance estuary and down to Pleslin/Trigavon is 20 miles but the enjoyable scenic route down the east side of the estuary, with detours, took us forty miles with one beer stop, so it was mid afternoon before reaching his lovely old house with pastures, orchard and gite. Plan B then came into being. Our destination was Langourla, approx. 60 miles southwest of St. Malo. Out friends from Ripley (Surrey) Les and Anne, long time CTC and club riders and VCC members told us forty miles whereby I was able to persuade Jenny to tackle it. They had purchased their place fifteen years earlier and there were three pretty old thick walled barns/sheds on their land. One has so far been converted to sleep two, five feet low oak trusses in the bedroom, but ideal for us. So we'd done forty miles but only one third of the way. We were free to change our plans, and with exhaustion from wind, rain, miles, we took up Andrew's offer of a meal, use of the gite and a car ride with him into Dinan. Friday saw us on the road before 9am aiming south west for a break at Lucon les Lacs via Corseul and Plelin. Mid moming we were fairly knackered, pedalling down hill against dreadful headwinds, persistent deteriorating rain with foreboding heavy black clouds in our path. We were on an exposed ridge (D44) most ot the way and at Plelin we sheltered under a tree deciding on the capes which would blow us backwards. Try another mile said Jenny and, miraculously, the clouds parted either side for no reason and we arrived at Jugon mid day in sunshine in time for the weekly market. We loaded up with vine tomatoes, spinach, fried mackerel, giant prawns, new potatoes and settled in the sunshine for pizza/Kronenbourg. Heaven. Downhill from now on. Turning more south using my laminated A4 sheet extracted from Michelin 59 1:200,000 (1 inch:3 miles) we had no contours, not even little arrows on these modern ones. So alas, after Pleine Jugon and a quick beer the final dozen miles proceeded up and up and up still into headwinds. It was 4pm as we fell into the top bar/store for final provisions and a very swift pint. From then on our holiday was a dream. The last mile downhill into the digs for a cuppa meant we had covered eighty hard miles in two days. The hot bath was a godsend since we were expecting only a shower but waited for the immersion heater. A good meal on the bottle gas range and the fan heater revived us. The stone floor and thick walls and a poor spring meant downstairs was cold but upstairs where the heat accumulated was delightfully cosy. We had a tally sheet for the times we hit our head. The master fuse (10 amp) in the main house covering our building blew when we had our second cuppa afterthe meal. A quick calculation revealed the appliances which could not be used simultaneously and thereafter, having labelled everything, no problems. An evening stroll took us to the other bar/store 100 yards away and before opting for the universal Kronenberg I enquired in my best O-level French if a Biere Bretagne was available. Oui. Tucked away was another dispenser with a very Celtic theme named Lancelot (Lon sell ow). Cloudy, light wheat beer at 5% so I was in! Jenny stuck wih Kronenberg in small amounts, as I should have done. The following three days (Sat/Sun/Mon) we loved pottering on Les and Anne's tandem. It had been over 15 years with my hip problems since we'd ridden together and six years since the replacement. It was great. A southern loop to St. Vran and Merillae on Monday (lumpy) and to Roufflac on Sunday where, as we approached the village bar, a cloudburst ten yards from the door caused Jenny to abandon ship in flight causing me to miss an expensive car by a whisker as she ran indoors. Thirty seconds later in the bar I was drenched. Sunday evening in the auberge was a treat with another draught beer named Gilbert (Jill bare). Also within 100 yards was a fabulous bakers so it was fresh strawberry gateau, pain au chocolat every day and lovely large baguettes not keen on sticks. Midday Saturday, I've just remembered, we walked nearly back but got caught in an amazing hailstorm for an hour at the bar door, so enforced refreshments. An ill wind indeed! With the outward journey in our minds we left a day early on the Tuesday, taking a different route. Initally reluctant to use N roads we realised traffic was light. We therefore headed across to D793 to Dinan again via Broens, Yvignac (beer stop), Brusvilly (picnic) and down into Dinan (on the Rance) using old roads. With a blue sky and tail winds and flattish roads we arrived at 2pm. Sod's Law but we weren't complaining. Needing to be on the north side for the next morning we stumbled onto the cobbled Rue du St. Malo, 2 minutes from the old town walls, and fell into the Inn du Fort St. Malo with a lock up for the bikes. Perfect. A shower and change and explore old Dinan. More Breton beer and, I confess, excellent fish'n'chips a la Francaise. How boring but just right as everywhere else was preparing expensive evening fare. Road building had changed the old routes and we wasted half an hour desperately trying to find the old D766, eventually succeeding. We followed a cycle path on a disused railway to Pleslin, beer at Tremereuc then across the Barrage (the hydro electric dam across the Rance) and followed our noses on old lanes into St. Malo where we again stumbled straight onto the beach a mile from the ferry and alongside the Bar de la Plage with wheat beer. With the same help from the weather it was again 2pm Jenny soaked up the sun whilst I sorted out digs with the help of the bar owner. Hotel de la Mer a couple of hundred yards away with a lock up proved perfect, apart from next morning when the owner couldn't be found to give us breakfast and our bikes. A few phone calls sorted out that panic. The Wednesday afternoon then gave us a chance to explore St. Malo around the fishermen selling their catch, have a salad at the beach bar and potter round the estuary beaches/bars. So we were perfectly set up to get the ferry at 10am. The rest went like clockwork as we unloaded the bikes at home at 10 pm. 'Poor Jenny' (Everly Brothers). Ten miles a week would be exceptional for her, never mind ten miles a day, so she was an absolute brick to do it. She equally enjoyed it in every way and had looked forward to the challenge, and now blames me for misleading her! Moi?
Cost: Ferry plus bikes £145, Digs (main) £135, Spending (incl. 2 nights digs) £300.
The three must-get-beers (Pat, Willie and myself) met D'Artagnan (David) at the Newhaven ferry terminal, following a gentle ride south on Friday whilst David was at work (ha ha!). This year's Dieppe Raid was notable for the cancellation of the SeaCat ferry and the consequent 4 hour Channel crossing, which meant that we were later than usual arriving in Dieppe, which in turn meant that we were not able to visit our usual auberge for lunch. We did pass it, though, on our way out of town for an abbreviated ride on the Saturday afternoon before exploring the avenue vert the disused railway line which has been dedicated to non-motorised traffic (including a substantial number of in line skaters wo were apparently disappointed that the avenue vert didn't continue across the Channel; we tried to explain about Sustran's cycling routes' crushed lime or beaten mud surfaces and how inappopriate they would be for in line skaters). We also passed, on the way out of Dieppe, the cycle shop for which discount vouchers had been supplied, and were glad to have noted it, as Pat's rear mech broke as we returned towards town and he was able to get a quick and inexpensive repair/replacement done on the spot. During the Sunday ride we had to squeeze breakfast in somewhere as the Tourist Hotel declined forcibly to commence serving breakfast earlier than half past eight, which, for those seeking to complete a 140 km ride before five o'clock, would have been a leetle too late! We kept meeting a group from the Mid Sussex riders but we saw them off on a final uphill to the Aliermont ridge before mixing with the competitors in a Triathlon on the way back off the ridge. We found that we had to work hard to overtake them; and that was just the runners! The constant topic of conversation over the weekend was the weather, dry but cold, most unseasonal. This led, among other filings, to a less than leisurely lunchtime break in the grounds of the usual chateau, as no one wanted to hang around too long. As a result the four must get beers got back exactly on time for the presentations. These were followed by a quick shower and a visit to a local bar or three before the formal meal. Monday saw three of us going shopping we never did reach the Decathlon store, nor did we (because we'd left our brains behind) use our vouchers for the chocolate and cheese we bought at the Auchun hypermarket; Willie avoided all this by going for a ride and meeting us for a beer or three back in town. A leisurely ride to a B&B near Hailsham and, on the following day, a somewhat lumpy ride home rounded off another excellent weekend. Thanks to Willie for fixing the accommodation and the navigation; I'm sure I still owe him a beer from somewhere ........