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Ceri: It was raining as we left the ferry, and we headed straight for our favourite cafe for coffee and croissants. Last year we hadn’t even noticed the road to the ancient part of St Malo could slide away, allowing for ships to pass. It was fascinating to watch. After our ceremonious coffee, Neil led us to the mini ferry port to take us to Dinard… back over the sliding bridge. We watched and waited again. Once there, we were told the port was back over THAT sliding bridge!!! 😂

The small ferry and soon we were cycling along D roads, old railway tracks converted into cycle routes, through pretty villages and along rivers and canals. The French do cycling so very well. 

From the start, Neil has been determined to get our St Jacques passports stamped. We forgot at St Malo …. must have been that sliding bridge!! So after lunch in the scenic ancient town of Dinan he headed off, passports in hand. Neil returned grinning…. mission accomplished, so on we rode to Becherel. This rural area is full of beautiful old towns and villages with ramparts and Becherel was no different.  We stayed in a 17th century converted weavers house and ate the most delicious meal to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. It was very romantic. It really was!

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Day1: home to Portsmouth by train. (9 miles cycling)

Neil: Nervous excitement just about sums up today . A short journey to Tiverton Parkway, when I realise no hearing aids ! Jonny Nance heroically comes to the rescue delivering them just before the train left. English trains are just terrible with bikes ! Booking doesn’t work , irritated guard gets all shirty about us blocking the way . We have a problem I say as the bikes are too heavy to lift up . Not my problem says she . So we shift them . Next train is heaving . Still, we found a cracking pub in Portsmouth next to the ferry terminal. This marked the end of a fairly routine day. However Ceri fell off the bunk ladder in the middle of the night in our cabin! Fractured neck of femur I think ? But no, all ok.

      Apart from that, we slept really well and arrived at St Malo

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SKIP TO END

Ceri:

Neil and I used to go cycle touring before my operation. I loved it and always wondered if we’d do it again. As September approached, I decided to clad the interior of our little summerhouse so spent all summer in my element, researching DIY websites , buying materials and building. Meanwhile, Neil poured over maps getting more and more excited. We were both happy. I’m always like this. Having agreed a trip without a second thought, I don’t worry or get really engaged with it until we’re actually on the road. But once we get started , everything else switches off. I love getting really involved, researching places, finding accommodation, helping navigate various routes. We share all this and we both love it.

I wasn’t particularly fit at the start, especially recovering from my tummy bug, but I managed the bike battery well. I wanted to get fit so used it less and less as the journey continued. About 800 miles in, we began to realise we’d actually make it and I started to feel a wonderful glow of excitement. I remembered that first ski trip immediately after my chemotherapy and the confidence it gave me that our lives would once again be fun and full of adventure. And that’s exactly how I feel now.

I feel so incredibly lucky to have met Neil. We’ve been together 13 years. We are similar in so many ways, especially when we are traveling. I guess meeting driving cars in Africa was a good start. He is my soulmate and my best friend.

Neil:

Sort of easy really . I think we are both amazed it has all gone so well . My medical kit remains unused , same for bike repairs. The same air in the tires from Devon are still in the tires !
No major navigational errors , well apart from the odd Google road which sometimes become a track
No arguments not even a sulk from either of us . As I mentioned before the simplicity of each day being the same routine makes it just stress free . All that you have to think of is the terrain and how your legs feel . Where shall we have morning coffee where to stop for lunch where will be stay ….and repeat 27 times !
Ceri and I both said in several occasions, what a team !
Would we do it again . Well most definitely. I’m already mulling over routes maybe Roscoff to Santiago de Compestela for 2024
A bientôt

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Nice was humming with rugby and excitement. We’ve never seen so many streets with so restaurants so full of people with more waiting to be seated. Many had big screens showing the rugby. The coast with its flat calm sea stretched for miles in both directions lined with street lights fading into the distance and hundreds people out walking enjoying the warm October evening. It was a wonderful atmosphere. We’re definitely going back!

I must confess I was exhausted the first night. It’s like my body decided to tell me to STOP even though I hadn’t felt tired whilst cycling. After a long lazy sleep, we had a leisurely day swimming in the sea and wandering through the city still busy with people.

Next day started the long journey home, switching trains at Marseilles, Lyon, Dijon and Paris to get to Caen, with a stopover at Dijon. Some trains had whole carriages designated for bikes. Others didn’t, but we managed to get our bikes on every time, aided occasionally by friendly cyclists as we stacked our bikes into allocated spaces. Neil loved the whole process. I found switching platforms and finding bike spaces tiring and would sit exhausted watching the French countryside roll by. But Paris for a few hours was regenerating. What a beautiful city it is.

The final part of the return was cycling 14km along the canal path from Caen to Ouistreham to catch our ferry. Families and cyclists were our enjoying the warm evening and it felt so good to be back on our bikes. We continued on to the vast expanse of the Normandy beach for a swim. One couldn’t help but think of all those lives lost and saved on that beach. Then fish and chips in a beach cafe, still in our summer clothes even in October. What a perfect ending in France.

We slept like babies on the overnight ferry to Portsmouth then an easy drive home. I was happy not to be using trains this time, but we will again next time.

Home to a rather overgrown garden so we set to it straight away. We’re happy to be home

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We have dipped our wheels in the Mediterranean. We are amazed, excited, sad, happy…. yes, very happy.

It’s our last day 😢. It’s actually 26 days cycling. We had such a cold start cycling over 1000m. Then we started to descend deep into the rocky gorges around endless hairpin bends. On and on we cruised and we were freezing! The minute we found sunshine we’d stop and warm up like lizards soaking up the suns rays. Then back into the chasms for another few kilometres. Lycra clad French slogged past us heading uphill, probably sweating from their efforts. Occasionally a waft of warm air would reach us reminding us of our destination, then the cliffs would close in and the cold returned. 30kms on we emerged into the sunshine…. and traffic! So much traffic. It was like another world to us. Finally we reached the glistening Mediterranean. We’d done it. We’d cycled from St Malo to Nice. The feeling is almost bewildering.

We cycled along the Promenade des Anglais for miles. Gosh Nice is busy, with streets and streets of buzzing cafes. As the whole coast is pebbles, it was really difficult to find a place to dip our wheels in the sea and we nearly killed ourselves doing so. We found an extremely steep short ramp and skidded down with our bikes and locals telling us to stop. Some kind Englishman took our photo. The sea looked so inviting and we were desperate to swim, but first things first. We need to sort out trains. So on we cycled to our hotel.

I’ll end at this point as we’ll both write about our reflections of the journey. We’ll add our trains story too. So this blog hasn’t quite finished, but the cycling has. It’s been absolutely wonderful.

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The paradox of ending a trip which finishes in Nice with us dipping the wheels of our bicycle in the Med
What paradox I hear you say ? Well for well over 3 weeks we have had one aim to get to Nice . Now we now we shall be there tomorrow, neither of us want it to end ! We met a lovely couple who were going on to Rome …. Very tempting.
However we are both looking forward to getting home to see family and friends.
So less philosophical banter . Jabron where we stayed was just a hamlet . Breakfast getting increasingly feral with old cheese a bit of left over Tuna and Pasta . One thing that cycling long distances makes you ravenously hungry !
A unexpectedly beautiful ride today through very rural mountainous scenery . a gradual ride from 700 metres up to 1,100 metres. We haven’t come far today anticipating being shattered by yesterdays up down up . Lovely to potter on without any pressure. Lunch by a lake with 2 day old bread and fresh avocado by a lake , quick snoozette sees us at a most palatial house with art everywhere. Our hosts will cook for us tonight . Tomorrow is an Ibis budget in Nice, so tonight will be our swan song so to speak . Our bible France En Velo tells us that when suddenly you are enmeshed with all the businesses of the Côte d’ Azur then after not being in a town since Angers will come as something of a surprise….we shall see

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We absolutely loved Moustiere with its tiny colourful narrow streets, the many pottery shops, the limestone cliffs with eagles circling high above us. What a magical place. We’ll return one day. I want to buy some of those pots!!!

So…… today has been a day we’ve anticipated with vague trepidation since the start. It has a Tour de France category 1 climb to 1200m , then a long descent into the Verdon gorge, then another climb to 1005m. We set off early and soon we were literally cycling really close to the eagles. The views were spectacular. We were both equally determined. Neil didn’t want to stop and I didn’t want to raise my battery power over 2 as I might need more battery help later in the day. Since I was now carrying all our heavy stuff on my already heavy bike, we reckoned battery level 2 cycling uphill for so long was equivalent to cycling an ordinary road bike up. We both made 1200m without any level of exhaustion. At the top we both felt so proud of ourselves. Tour bus groups watched us jumping up and down and hugging each other with excitement. They applauded. This is every day cycling for some, but to us, it felt very special.

The second climb was much harder as the sun was high in the sky and it was 30deg. As with previous climbs on hot days, we took regular shady breaks and again, we celebrated loudly at the top. We’d made it. We’d cycled the hardest day of the trip and we were absolutely fine.

I thought that would be our last climb, but we’ve just been studying the maps this evening and I’ve realised I booked tomorrow night’s accommodation in a ski resort! Oops!

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Every strata the same . Grapefruit and porridge is our favourite. Buy some bread at the Boulangerie and maybe an avocado for butter .
The eager anticipation of the days route makes me want to get on
Leaving Forcalquier is a nice experience as it pretty well downhill for several miles to the Durance river . The hunt for coffee is on which we find in busy Oraison. Market day too , hustle and bustle with vegetables and flowers and also ladies trousers for anorexia! We decide to go off piste up a little valley which was bliss … but also knowing there was a 300 metre climb at the end . Extra lube for all . Ceri waits patiently at the top . Definitely a beer hill which was rectified in Puimoisson . I left most of my energy on the hill and am much relieved that the afternoon is mostly downhill to Moustiers- Ste Marie . Such a beautiful village tucked into a cliff .
No good time to mention this really but French roads for cyclists are so so smooth, makes a big difference
The sign of a successful holiday is I suppose is that you don’t want it to end . This is one

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It was a chilly start. On went our warm layers and gloves as we realised we were cycling from 550m up a gentle climb up through endless lavender fields to over 1000m. Even though the lavender had been cut we could still smell it everywhere. Same with the wild thyme and rosemary. Wouldn’t it be amazing to visit Provence with the lavender in full flower? The whole landscape would be purple. We’re now in the Alpes province and the architecture has become distinctly Provence. We really can’t believe we’re actually in the south of France.

Decisions!

We are getting really excited about nearing Nice. And rather sad to finish. so now we have the logistics to get back to Portsmouth with nothing booked. All the Nice to St Malo fast trains are fully booked or the bike spaces are booked. Neil favours the local TER trains all the way where we don’t have to book the bikes. It’s a bit of a free for all – first come gets the bike space. It also involves changing trains at Marseilles, Lyon and Paris and my bike is fully laden and extremely heavy to change platforms etc. Ive investigated hiring a van to Paris which is affordable, but Neils very keen on the trains. So we’ll go to the station in Nice and see what they say. If we can’t get on various trains, we’ll just have to stay the night wherever we are and try the next day. So we can’t book the ferry yet.

I’m laughing as I type this. I’ve spent hours and hours exploring options- even buses but they don’t take e-bikes. So now I can relax knowing I’ve investigated everything. We’ll simply see what happens at each station and take it from there. It adds to the adventure.

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Sounds like an easy Sunday and indeed it was . I guess I’ve been cycling one way or another for 55 years . Never have I enjoyed a days cycling more . Cold in the morning for a few miles on perfect tarmac . We stop in Viles s’ Auzon. You can sense the presence of Ventoux everywhere. Bike repair shops , expensive bikes everywhere too . People come here with one intent to climb Ventoux. It dominates the skyline everywhere you look . Lots of MAMOLS everywhere ( Middle Aged Men On Lycra). As a subsidiary climb the Gorges de La Nesque is just wonderful. Why so , well it’s gradient is sublime gradually increasing by 400 metres over many miles . The kilometres tick by in effortless cycling , an addition of Lube makes it perfect. Lots of other people doing it too . We play tag with a group from Savoie …they stop we carry on etc we stop they come through . Lots of craic about the Rugby . The only annoying part is the procession of motorbikes too . Still it’s the most enjoyable pass I have ever been up . Probably the worst was Hard Knott pass aged 16 with a 5 speed bike !

Soon we arrive in the beautiful village of Sault with drop dead gorgeous views like Tuscany . Lavender is everywhere although now harvested . I’m sure both Ceri and I could easily climb Ventoux as we are both exceptionally fit . Somehow it detracts from the journey so we shall carry on regardless. Nice is definitely on the Menu now …wow and more wow

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