Round round wheels going…

Days 1 to 6: Jersey to Rennes (233km)
Well here we are after 5 days in the saddle and just coming to the end of our first rest day and getting ready for the next stage along the River Vilaine towards St Nazaire and the official start of the Eurovelo 6 route.

‘Vilaine’ translates as ‘ugly’ but by all accounts the scenery on the route is quite the opposite – so we are looking forward to it. There seems to be some theories on the origin of the name which you can follow if interested.

Our journey so far already feels like much more than 6 days but we’ve mainly managed to get into the swing of being cycling tourists although still also learning as we go along. (Packing the day before, Janine realised she didn’t have enough room and a last minute purchase of a dry bag now needs to be bungeed to the rear rack).

Day 1 started with the first fully loaded trip to the harbour. We reckon including bikes (but excluding riders) we are carrying 50kg (me) and 40kg (Janine). The bikes are built to carry the load – however not sure the cyclists are! Anyway, after a wobbly start we quickly got used to how heavy bikes handle differently and managed to get to the St Helier ferry terminal in time for boarding.

With thanks to a kindly and eagle eyed fellow passenger we managed to avert our first accident when a loose bungee hook was noticed swinging around Janine’s rear wheel as we checked-in at the ferry terminal!!

Thankfully an uneventful ferry crossing and a familiar face on board in the form of David Le Couilliard (on a golf trip) to wish us well on our journey. Also on the ferry were a number of classic car enthusiasts who we learnt we taking part in the St Malo to Fougéres International Rally (which Janine coined ‘Wacky Races’ based on the way many of the cars whizzed past us during the day!)

Upon disembarking we look a trip into town to get some French SIM cards. Richard’s schoolboy French managed to secure the right package which, so far, works really well and recommended for anyone who needs a holiday SIM package in France/Europe.

During our 42km of Day 1 cycling we were treated en-route to a close range air display from a French fighter jet which zoomed right over our heads at low altitude as we munched our baguettes for lunch. Our final destination was the lovely fishing port of Cancale (famed for its oysters) where we had pre-booked a cosy gîte.

Day 2 covered a total of 65km from Cancale to a campsite at Pontorson where the highlight was our first visit to the island commune of Mont Saint Michel. Janine wasn’t quite ready yet for the basic camping experience so we opted for the funky Coco Sweet – a pre-erected tent with a double bed.

Day 3 was just 43km from Pontorson to the medieval town of Fougéres but it was a real up and downer and quite tiring – especially with the enforced sprint section when caught in a dog chase pincer movement! But Janine’s dog spray has yet to see any action. We had also ventured out for the first time without any pre-booked accomodation but managed to navigate to the town’s fantastic municipal campsite. We had a choice of pitches and the ‘sanitaires’ were really good. The only downside was a spot of rain but we managed to shelter in a gazebo before setting off for dinner.

The morning of Day 4 was spent exploring Fougéres but not before some café to liven us up. We set off to Vitre (another medieval town) for a 32km run where we found another good municipal campsite but knowing we had an Airbnb apartment waiting for us in Rennes the next day. Along the way we often find somewhere nice to stop and make a nice brew to keep us going – very British!

Day 5 was a longer leg – a 51km run to Rennes which started off quite hilly but flattened out as we got closer to Brittany’s capital city. We stopped off at some lovely places en route and then found that Rennes is well set-up for cyclists with some nice cycle tracks and dedicated cycle lanes on the busy roads – very impressed. We found a great little apartment on Airbnb for our 2 night stay in Rennes which even had those orthopedic ‘granny’ beds with remote controls to angle the beds! After a day of rest and shopping on Day 6 we are now ready for next leg towards Saint Nazaire.

Let us know in the comments what you’d like to hear in the blogs. Are they too long, short, right content etc? We hope to post some more videos as we go along and perhaps some insight into the equipment we have with us but finally … song for the week is below.