TREDION - 23-SEP

 

Today we drove to the town of Malestroit, south along the river and canal from where we started on the two previous rides. Overall the canal is the canal, the river is the river, and the paved bike path much the same as before. Being a Saturday we expected to see more riders and walkers, but since it was still damp and in the low 40's at the start we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Much to our good fortune it was market day in Malestroit. We started at the boulangerie to stock up on baguettes, morning pastries, evening pastries, and a reserve pizza for lunch if necessary. 

Strolling through the market we came upon a stand selling paella as well as other prepared foods. Picture perfect but we decided to pass on purchasing some for a future dinner. Did not want to be a party to defacing this piece of art. 

Even though it is now fall and the season of dying flowers the town was still in full bloom. 

Yep, we are here, and a short distance from the canal bike path. 

This was the marina for Le Boat, a canal boat rental company we considered for our tour of the Canal du Midi in the southwest corner of France. Cruising in one of these self drive barges appeared at first glance to be more appealing until we assessed the cramped quarters, limited on-board facilities, and painfully slow - the restricted speed is no wake or walking speed. Additionally, with so many boats going up and down river the passages through the locks can take a long time. 

Alan photo bombs Kim's photo. Nice going.

Even along the canal flowers are still in full bloom. 

Heading back to Malestroit for a much need rest and coffee stop. 

Wow! Could not have happened at a better time. Actually as we sat down the church bells announce Noon. Coffee is here so that is a start. 

But the Napolean was the main event. This one traveled well.

Kim enjoying the fruits of her riding labor. After riding with two jackets, a shirt, and leggings the parting clouds and warming sun were a welcome relief. 

The town square where we stopped for coffee. The church was the main attraction until the 12 noon bells began to ring. 

This town was a find and appreciate Emma's suggestion to put on "where to". She also recommended an island (Ile in French) we will visit on Monday.

Our fondness for Josselin is well known from our two previous rides. Not on our destination list today because another 25 Km out and back is over the limit. 

Another lock. Not sure how this photo made the cut.

This sign is a classic. It does not suggest that you wear your canoe on your head. Rather this is where you drag the thing out of the water for a portage past the lock. Locks are for boats, canoes are for carrying. There is a sister sign down a ways where it is safe to return your "boat" to the river. Much too ordinary for a photo. 

Okay, you are not going to believe this one. We are merrily heading down the path; Kim in front, me in back. This tree limb broke off just before we got to the point of impact. A few seconds earlier and it was a trip to the emergency room and a possible shortened bike trip. There was another couple on bikes approaching us in the opposite direction about the same distance as us. Would have been a stroke of lightening for the falling limb to take out two riders. He and I man handled the bough off the path. 

You guessed it, another lock. This will make more sense below when the canal profile is explained. 

Besides the normal looking Le Boat fleet and other more modern craft there was this relic sailing ship a very long way from the sea. 

The shape and color of vessels past. 

Take a deep breath. Here is the canal story. As mentioned in previous photos this is the canal from Nantes to Brest. It stretches for 360Km from the Loire river basin to a bay in Brest on the coast. We were wondering why the elevation of the section we rode went from 10' downstream to 100' upstream. Knowing how far we were from either end the endpoint elevation would have to be well below sea level. Hence the profile chart in this photo. I did not count the number of locks but each vertical line represents another one. Notice that the lines are shorter and longer with the top indicting the elevation. So traversing the entire canal raises and lowers the boat across two hills and down through the valley. So there you have it. 

Kim posing in front of a mural of her French ancestors. You can see the resemblance. 

In addition to a delightful ride Malestroit renewed our faith in the quality of the local pastries It was a great find. Dessert time is fast approaching. Sweet dreams.   

TREDION - 22-SEP

 After yesterday's washout we were determined to overcome adversity and attempt the ride again. Today's forecast was for clear skies and no rain for the duration. Seeing is believing!

We made a bee line for the river and the Velo 1 bike path towards Josselin. Even though it rained around 2 AM the pavement was reasonably dry. Off we went. 

"Think of our children". More sensible, don't hit the kids rather than don't drive into the river. 

A flock of birds. Probably taking a rest in the river while flying south for the winter. Smart!

After stopping for our daily bread in Val de Oust we crossed the bridge to get to the other side. We can identify with the proverbial chicken when pondering a crossing. 

Just a reminder that the river and associated canal goes from Nantes to Brest, or maybe the other way.

Flat hiker along the river. 

Ducks are opportunists - assuming any human along the path will be a feeding frenzy. Not so, Kim refused to share our recently acquired baguette. They paddled across from the other side but tough luck.  

The castle gate. 

Wow, such a friendly place. A local has come out to meet us. 

A plastic waitress with a plastic pizza. Kim will cozy up to anyone, even a statue. 
Sorry, looking for coffee stop so we will pass on the pizza.

Let's see if we can figure this out. Easier while walking our bikes than yesterday in the car. Pedestrian zone speed limit 20 Km/h (12 mph) That includes people which is a very brisk walking speed, average speed on bike, and crawl in the car. Not allow something which is the red circle with a line across. Some truck restriction but can't read the words, even in French. Cars can go up and bikes can go in the other direction. In case you are confused the light is green so you can go. Not sure what makes it turn red but guess there is another signal at the other end. 

Very British looking building here in France. 

Heading to Centre Ville, the center of town.

Voila! Better than a coffee stop is a Crepe restaurant. This area is known for its Crepes so when in Rome ...

Happy crepes makes for happy people. 

Alan selected the chocolate and toffee topping while Kim opted for an Apple ala mode and special sauce. 

So much better than crummy old pastries. 
BEFORE!!!

AFTER!!!

Yummy does not describe it. 

Looks like a field of "rape seed" in the foreground with village in the distance. Rape seed oil is another name for Canola oil - which actually refers to Canada oil. Who knew?

Gates are so old school. A house without a turret is hardly worth calling it a house.

Today was a resurrection ride which turned out to be beautiful and hopefully an indication of rides to come.   

TREDION - 21-SEP

 

Yesterday's transfer day was not worthy of its own post. Suffice to say that we got from point "A" to point "B" without incident. 

Today started out as a perfect riding day. It was cooler than we have experienced which was a welcome relief from the oppressively hot days earlier. Jackets and leggings were in order. The prospect for rain was a low probability with at most low intensity precipitation. Things don't always go as forecasted. 

The route took us east from Tredion towards the River Oust with a turn to the north to the Castle town of Josselin. We followed the 16 km paved bike path along the river which served as the tow path in an earlier time. 

The best part of navigable rivers is they are flatter than flat. 

As we wandered along the cycle path there were more photo spots than time would permit. Bridges are always an attraction.

In order to make the river navigable they would build a dam about five feet high to create flat water behind. 

Getting from one flat section to another requires a boat lift in the form of a lock. Depending on whether you are going upstream or down you power your boat into the lock, the gates close and water is either let in (raise the boat) or drained out  (lower the boat) to the desired level. Tracking the elevation of the path, each lock raised or lowered the boat about 2 meters (~6 feet). 

These warning signs are along the path cautioning drivers not drive over the edge. Not sure how the parent and child sign fits into the equation. 

An older and far more attractive bridge. Stone makes everything look better. 

The canal has a name, of sorts. It runs about 300 Km from Nantes on the Loire to Brest on the most northwestern point on the Atlantic coast. Since we road upstream to the north we can assume the termination point is in Nantes - a long way. 

A gothic style church with an uncharacteristic modern looking clock. I am sure there is a story behind this anachronism but did not stop long enough to solve the mystery. 

Oh No! Look closely and you will see the ripples caused by rain drops. It started as a mere drizzled but that was not to be. We pressed on through the rain hoping beyond reason that the forecast would come to fruition and the rain would be light and short lived. Not so!

As documented on our previous rides along the French canals there is a lock with a house where the lock keeper (not sure his/her proper title) lives. On more heavily traveled canals with more boat traffic this is a challenging job. On the sleepy Oust it is about as demanding as the Maytag repair man (for those who remember that commercial). 

A place to call home. Life on the river is quiet and serene.

Our river destination and the Castle at Josselin. 

Kim can't wait for the coffee and pastry stop. Even a little rain won't slow her down. 

This is Laurence of Champagne, IL. Another American in love with biking in France. He is a thru biker with special paniers for transporting wine. One side for red and the other side for white. As the rain intensified we offered to buy the coffee and find a dry place inside. Getting acquainted is always fun, especially if we both speak the same language. His son lives in Denver and daughter-in-law works for a resort property in Vail. Small world. We exchanged contact info and will try to get together when he and his wife are in Colorado for Thanksgiving.  

Not sure what this sign says. Ask Kim since she took the picture. 

More photos of the castle. 

This town is worth exploring, but not today. We will take this ride again and walk the medieval streets on a dryer day. 

Okay. This is where a great day turns into a disaster. After coffee we bravely pushed on through the ever intensifying rain. After a short, but valiant attempt we decided that our 12 miles back home was insane. We were very wet, very cold, and really concerned about riding on the rain soaked roads. So we retreated to our coffee stop (also a hotel) and asked the desk clerk if we could get a taxi back to our Airbnb. No one has a van that could take two passengers and two bikes so we decided that I would drive back in the taxi and bring the car. Kim found a spot to wait out my return and I directed our taxi driver to Tredion and the location of our house. I was still wet and cold but jumped into the car and drove the 25 km back to Josselin. After loading the bikes we headed home. Once inside we peeled off our wet clothes, put on warm and dry ones, and relaxed after the ordeal. This calls for a bottle of Champagne, or maybe two. Hopefully we will be a bit smarter next time. If we would have waited a while the rain got lighter and stopped. We could have made it back wet and tired, but saved the 50 euro fare. Next time we will treat a chance of rain as an absolute certainty. Hope we don't find ourselves in the same situation on our eight day tour at the next stop. 

Over the course of many biking adventures today was the first time we had to abort a ride due to rain or weather event. We did encounter a severe Mistral storm near Avignon in 2021. Since we were on a self guided tour the operator arranged to transport our bikes and the four of us to the next location before starting out. Smart move.