Etape 6 –Val Couesnon to Rennes (Wednesday 25th June)
This morning’s breakfast set a new benchmark in quality – all locally produced, we tucked into fresh watermelon, yoghurt & granola, scrambled egg on toast, a croissant and crusty bread & apricot jam, all washed down with fresh grapefruit juice & coffee. It was a feast fit for royalty & we devoured the lot!
We set off under grey skies, with high humidity in the air & the possibility of thunderstorms later in the afternoon. By mile 15, we’d completed 75% of the day’s climbing, as we followed small lanes that took us between fields of wheat & maize. Finally, we had 2 long distance encounters with birds of prey, as they patrolled the wheat fields for their vole breakfast. The surrounding countryside & villages don’t look much different to how they were 500 years ago – the 1 exception was at Marcille-Rhoul, where we saw a historic farmhouse surrounded by wind turbines in the far distance.
Etang du Bulet marked the end of the early climbing & we spotted a couple of swans with their cygnets in tow on the far side of the lake. At Mentreuil-sur-Ille we joined a gravel path which followed the Canal d’Ille et Rance, as it gradually descended towards Rennes.
We had the path to ourselves, except for the occasional dog walkers, cyclists & joggers. There were locks every couple of miles, so the canal could follow the contours of the land downhill.
The expected thunderstorms never arrived, but it remained humid, so we were grateful of the shade offered by the trees on the banks of the canal. An unexpected bonus was spotting L’Ecluse Tropicale, where we enjoyed a Breizh cola & café-au-lait.
Just before our adventure on the canal ended, we passed a beautifully restored lockkeeper’s cottage. It was the perfect end to an hour of riding in paradise.
The final 15 miles were nothing to write home about, other than to say we had to circumnavigate Rennes to reach our hotel for the evening & this required us to ride busy roads, before finally returning to quiet lanes for the final 15 minutes.
After the opulence of last night, we’re in a B&B Hotels motel this evening – it was automated check-in, door codes to get into the building & your room & the simplest of hotel rooms.
Val Couesnon to Rennes was 43 miles in length with 1,700 feet of climbing. I’ve taken the decision to have a day off the bike tomorrow, as my forearm has been getting more painful each day I’ve ridden. This is my 6th consecutive day of riding & we’ve covered 260 miles in that time. Tomorrow would require me to ride 76 miles from Rennes to Saint Nazaire, which is too much for me now. I need to investigate the bus & train timetables, as we have already paid for 2 night’s accommodation in Saint Nazaire!
Gav's Cycling Adventures 