We rode today from Perros-Guirec to St. Quai Portrieux, a distance of 51 miles with 2850 feet of elevation gain. It took us about 9 hours with an hour of stops.
The landscape here is rolling and we’ve learned to enjoy the downhills since we’ll pay them back in uphill soon enough! The weather is cool and overcast. The forecast was for hot weather from North Africa to engulf all of France, but the blast of hot air stopped halfway up the country. We are pleased with our luck.
Chris asked me early in the day how I chose our destination that day. Simply, it was a matter of distance and elevation gain between towns, since most destinations along the coast of Brittany seem to be equally lovely. I have planned to visit specific places like St. Malo and M’ont St. Michel since they are iconic places that really must be visited. We’re both looking forward to exploring St. Malo following our reading of “All the Light I Cannot See”, which is set there. A great book!
Another thing that was interesting today was the variation in church/cathedral steeples. Maybe I’ve never noticed but I’ve always thought they were pretty consistent. The first 3 below are within 25 miles of each other, and they seem so different to me.
When bike touring, the constant stimulation of the view, the changing scents, the feel of the air, the pull of gravity and being aware of how your body is feeling at any moment make each day full. Passing through small villages and rural landscapes using tiny roads and paths is equal at least to arriving at the destination, although we are very happy to get off the bikes at the end of day since we are tired! The last part of today was windy and a storm is coming so we are really happy to have booked a place. We have camping equipment with us, but tonight is not a camping night for sure! We do like to be near restaurants and shops, since we don’t have a car to travel to places once we arrive, so we’ve looked for places in the center of towns that are big enough to have those services.
Arriving in St. Quai Portrieux, our landlady and her daughter are waiting to let us in our place. It’s a one room apartment on the 4th floor with an amazing view through the only window.
Showered and clean we head out to forage some dinner a bit after 8pm. The first restaurant has stopped serving so we try another. In that one, the kitchen is closed but they are still serving cold food. Sold!! We get a charcuterie-cheese platter and some wine and it’s all good.
This area of France is known for apple beverages, including cider, but also alcoholic versions in escalating degrees of alcoholic content. One such drink is called Pommeau, consumed as an aperitif. It’s really good!
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