Thereโs no mistaking that I have now arrived in the south of France. Not only has it been hot (in fairness, itโs not been in the least but cold since Brittany) but there have been a long list of things that tick the Southern Europe boxes; lavender, a lizard, terracotta roofs, parched fields of crops, hilltop villages, towns that shut down in the heat of the dayโฆ No cicadas yet but they will come in the next week I imagine.
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his โGrand Tourโ of Europe. After a day off in Morlaix, Brittany, Andrew sets off cycling south along the EuroVelo 1 – known locally as the Vรฉlodyssรฉe – following a disused railway track and then the Nantes-Brest Canal before continuing along the west coast of France to La Rochelle. He takes time to explore the attractions along the way including the historic town of Josselin and, with the help of a shuttle bus for bicycles over the bridge, the World War II submarine pens in Saint-Nazaire. The music is by Rob Ainsley.
A short one todayโฆ and no video. Itโs often tempting on a non-cycling day to plunge into full tourist mode and spend an exhausting day visiting the sites. Today I havenโt done that. Iโve spent much of the day wandering aimlessly around – flรขner in French – and sorted out a few bits and pieces along the way. Iโve had the most expensive haircut of my life (I darenโt admit how much but next time I will check the prices before I sit downโฆ) with my developing beard shaved off (which perhaps doubled the cost), bought some replacement sandals, done my washing, sorted out my car tax and the customs issues with the GoPro (ongoing sagaโฆ) and even checked on my plants back home (via a phone call with my mother). But no video. One thing I havenโt yet done is edit the podcast and that is my job for the next couple of hours. It should be available by the end of the day. Still a while for you to catch up on the previous four โGrand Tourโ episodes (numbers 052 to 055). Tomorrow: the Canal de la Garonneโฆ
Today was a good day. A very good day. Well, apart from the first 10km, but that aside, I loved todayโs cycling. It had everything that you might want from a good cycle touring day; beautiful scenery, variety, a favourable wind, vineyards, good signage, a few nice encounters along the way, quality surfaces, an exciting destination, a laundrette and beer at the end of the day and a day off in your favourite French city to look forward to. My day could only improve if Yorkshire Television* decide to revive 3-2-1 with Ted Rogers* and Dusty Bin. On the subject of which, happy Yorkshire Day!ย
They certainly packed them in at the municipal campsite in La Rochelle. As predicted, it was a noisy evening, including fireworks at one point. Things did quieten down after midnightish but then at some point in the early hours the couple in the text next to mine decided to have a, errโฆ loud romantic interlude. Iโll leave that there.
Google estimated the distance today at 121km. I wouldnโt normally trust Google distances when it comes to cycling but when I compared the Google route on Google Maps and the EuroVelo 1 / Vรฉlodyssรฉe route on Open Street Map they looked the same so I gave the Google distance a bit more credence than I normally would. How naรฏve am I? I tell the story in todayโs video in which Iโve included some commentary.
Iโm getting a little tired and weary. Not of the cycling – thatโs fine – but if all the names of places. In Brittany it was a case of not being able to spell the towns and villages properly. Down here on the west coast itโs actually remembering the dam things. Just look at the title today. Itโs a miracle it fits on a web page.
Up early again this morning and almost the first off the site. I was beaten to it by a French solo cyclist, about my age who I exchanged a few words with before he set off home at the end of his week long jaunt along the Loire. The Loire ร Vรฉlo is, I suspect, what the majority of cyclists on last nightโs site are there to ride. Perhaps a few for the Velodyssรฉe but as itโs so close to the mouth of the river – about 25km – itโs a good place to set up camp at the end of day 1 taking into account you will probably have travelled from elsewhere to get to the start of the route. Itโs also, of course, the start of the EuroVelo 6. I suspect (thereโs a lot of suspecting going on tonight – perhaps someone can confirm) that the EuroVelo 6 is one of the most cycled routes, if not the most cycled, vying for position with the Rhine Cycle Route or EuroVelo 15. I digressโฆ
