Day 40 : Scrabbling North

After having breakfast at the hotel I headed to the local bike shop to a) see a little of Rennes and b) see of they had some suitable gloves as I could do with some that have a little padding below the base of my thumb, which the current ones don’t. The shop turned out to not have any fingerless gloves at all, but the walk was good.

image
The secure bike storage area under the hotel was immense. A bit like the batcave, but without the gadgets. Saw a huge spider down here.

I set my satnav for Avranches where I’d booked a night’s accommodation (given up with the camp sites now), via Mont St Michel, and headed North. The route out of the city centre and first hour or two’s cycling was really nice.

image
Pleasant cycling

The  route joined busier roads. Like England’s ‘A’ roads, France’s ‘D’ roads can vary a lot in terms of traffic and traffic speeds. The following stretch had a 120 kmh speed limit, and the hard shoulder part didn’t make pleasant cycling. Though better than some of the road from yesterday. Very glad I had my hi-vis with me for these sections. The vast majority of motorists give space, especially the professional goods lorries, but you get a few that drive too close.

image
Head down and pedal

Most stretches of road have no hard shoulder so you keep as close to the edge as you can.

image
Head down and pedal

Lunch was a Mars bar and cola from a petrol station shop (most petrol stations here are self-service with no shop). Just before I reached Mont St Michel, I passed  place selling a local speciality of crêpes so popped in. Other local specialities here are cidre (served in the cup) and calvados (but I’m cycling).

image
Better than lemon and sugar, not as good as banana, peanut butter and jam

Mont St Michel was impressive, but I couldn’t get close as bikes aren’t allowed over – you are expected to lock your bike and head over on a coach. As I have ssouch luggage, I didn’t fancy leaving the bike for over an hour, so passed on the opportunity to see the abbey.

image
Mont Saint Michel – another time

Tonight’s accommodation is in Avranches. Dinner was at a small restaurant in the centre of town. The entrée is always the best bit!

image
Eat me

Rennes to Avranches, 92 km. Total so far = 3,781 km.

2 thoughts on “Day 40 : Scrabbling North”

  1. James, thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Very much appreciated. Unfortunately all good things eventually come to an end. If you need a pick up or anything from anywhere when you’re back in England please let me know. Love and best wishes from Mum and Dad.

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.