nbjtours

Day one : Douarenenez

30 miles

1855 ft climbed

It’s only the first day but Nick & I have already have had a couple of those pinch me moments that we tend to get on these NBJ Tours trips. We both feel so lucky that we are able to get out and ride to enjoy and see parts of the countries we visit that most people pass by without even noticing what they are missing. We are missing our compadre Chris but know that he is following us closely from back home in Hadlow.

This year we loaded up on Wednesday evening with Gill and her motorcycle joining the crew of Nick, Nigel, Monica and myself for a different overnight crossing of the channel from Portsmouth to Caen.

A super smooth crossing getting us to France for 6 am left Nigel to drive across Normandy and Brittany to our start at Pointe du Raz. Incredibly this is further west than Madrid so we did not get there until after 4 pm. It has to be said that included a few compulsory stops, for croissants, a Lidl shop, lunch and even a biscuit factory visit. Dom missed out on trying his family’s local galettes! This all meant that the trip in Broomey was starting to feel familiar and by the time we reached the Pointe du Raz we felt ready for action.

Arriving at the car park Nick and I togged up in our new tour jerseys having sun creamed ready for a ride in the 30+ degree heat.

Nick & I then left the Broomey crew and rode out to the end of the point. Having done Lands End, Finisterra we now were in Finistère- all mean the same thing.

Leaving the Pointe du Raz after getting our tour passports stamped, Nick and I just couldn’t believe how great it was cycling through pretty little villages, around harbours and sandy bays that were so reminiscent of Cornwall with a French flavour.

As ever there was very little traffic and the the village gardens were full of multi coloured Hydrangeas. We had never seen so many.

The next village we came to was St Tugen ( named after an Irish Saint) which had a pretty church in the centre which we decided to stop and have a look. Inside it was a superb late 1600’s painted wooded panelled church.

As we were leaving we chatted to the lady manning the souvenir table who explained how proud the villagers have always been of their chapel. She saw our tour shirts and admiring how far we are set to ride insisted on taking a photo of the pair of us for the church council’s president to go in the parish magazine. More fame/ infamy!

The next real pinch me moment followed us cycling out on a jetty at Audierne. As Nick was coming back from his artistic photo shoot I looked into the clear blue water and saw an octopus swimming across the bottom, something we’ve never seen before.

Leaving Audierne we then followed the estuary to Port- Croix watching the Little Egrets hunting crustaceans in the muddy waters as the tide was out.

We left Port-Croix up a gentle slope to the interior of the peninsula on an old railway track converted into a cycling greenway. The cycle paths and routes have been superbly marked and our only moan about this one was that it is know as the Youtar cycle path but much of it was no tar !

The last part of the route today was a mix of this old railway line and some small roads where the farmers would not allow access. We also had our first sight of some megalithic monuments that are famous in these parts.

The last stop at the gallery grave was only a few kilometres from the campsite which we found with Broomey waiting at the top of a hill ( as always) with cool beers ready for consumption. Interestingly although neither Nick nor I pushed ourselves today and did but 30 miles, we both used all our water it was that hot.

We were then spoiled for our first true meal of the trip, with Duck, potatoes and the infamous beetroot & apple salad followed by some good Kentish cherries brought from our local farm in Hadlow.

Another hot and hilly day awaits tomorrow but having had such a great start we can’t wait to get going again!

Keep tuned for more adventures.