DAY 1: ST. MALO - IFFENDIC: 87.8km
SUNDAY 13 JULY

I woke up just after 6am feeling so excited about the adventure ahead. I had slept really well (considering how narrow the bunk bed was) and I just wanted to jump on the bike and go. We went up on deck to get some breakfast and watched our approach to St. Malo.

It was rather grey and cold - but at least it wasn't raining



We're in France! We don't have much luggage for 2 weeks

We cycled out of the ferry port as if it was the most normal thing in the world and promptly got lost! This was due to reading the Garmin incorrectly. The Garmin had been bought specially for the trip and we were still learning how to use it. However, we were soon on the right road and heading out of St. Malo - in a vertical direction. I wasn't expecting a steep hill on a fairly busy road quite this soon and it was a bit of a struggle, not helped by the fact that Rob was still not back to full strength. It was at this point that I had a slight panic that the rest of the holiday would be like this and I wondered - albeit briefly - what I had let myself in for and whether I would actually enjoy this.

Any fears I had began to disappear on reaching a lovely country lane looking across to the sea

We followed beautiful lanes, bordered mostly by maize, taking us through dark stone villages. It was still quite cloudy but the sun was trying to come out and we had to make frequent stops to put on/take off our jumpers.

The weather could go either way

It had obviously rained recently

Time for our first stop already in Saint-Jouan-Des-Guerets - I could get used to this

We then continued on lanes to the start of the Rance Estuary.

The scenery was absolutely stunning and I was really beginning to enjoy the ride



We cycled through St. Suliac

and down to the water's edge

Then it was more undulating lanes bordered again by maize and corn and through more picturesque villages and hamlets.

The view was worth the climb

A scary moment - we went down this hill so fast I couldn't appreciate the lovely view of the bridge

At Lyvet-le-Port we picked up the Rance cycle path

This flat waterside path led us all the way to Dinan - and the sun finally came out - perfect

Although mindful of the time we had a very nice relaxing lunch in Dinan and were feeling really good about the whole trip. The morning's ride had gone very well and we didn't feel at all tired. I was really enjoying myself (the fact it was lovely and warm helped after such a cool, grey start). This was going to be a fantastic experience.

We opted to have lunch in a pizza restaurant up a side street

After lunch we continued to follow the Rance

and then minor roads

We came across a clean public toilet in a village and I took the opportunity to change into a cooler cycle top and re-apply the magic chamois cream as I was beginning to feel a bit saddle sore. We spent a bit of time having a re-pack of the panniers too.

By this point it had turned into a hot summer's day

We felt we had reached a mile stone at the Department border - but were ready for a break

Despite being on top of a steep hill Becherel was a perfect place to stop

We enjoyed a walk around this beautiful literary town before finding a welcoming old fashioned tea shop within an antique book shop. We were enjoying sitting down, and would like to have stayed longer, but by this time it was 5pm. We really had to force ourselves to get back on the road as we still had a few more kms to go before we reached our chambre d'hotes.

We used our last reserves of energy on the undulating roads to Iffendic. Iffendic looked a lovely little town but we didn't have time to stop as we had the table d'hotes booked at 8pm.

Iffendic's old wash house with locally made wicker "washing"

The last couple of kms of the day were up a hill and we were both relieved to see the sign for Le Val Ory at the top. We started to descend the drive on the bike and then decided to push the last little bit as the gravel was very loose and uneven and we didn't want to risk having a puncture - or falling off.

It hadn't occurred to us when booking to ask what the drive was like

Suddenly, we were rewarded with the sight of a Breton long house in a tranquil clearing in the woods.

A Perfect choice - it was worth all the resesarch

We were given a very warm welcome by our hosts for the evening who helped us park the tandem in their garage and were then shown to a beautiful room in the attic of a converted barn. We were told that dinner would be at 8pm. It was gone 7pm by this time so we just had time to jump in the shower and make ourselves look presentable for the aperos that were served in the garden overlooking the fields at the back of the house. We were joined by a family from Paris who were also staying there and although it was very friendly we were suddenly feeling tired and found it hard work to make polite conversation in French with people we had nothing in common with.

The home cooked meal that was served in the old beamed sitting room was very nice but we didn't eat too much as we didn't want to appear rude - and there wasn't that much to go round. We continued to keep making polite conversation in French when all we really wanted to do was talk to each other about how our first day had gone and the days ahead, and help ourselves to more food!

By 11pm we made our excuses and went to bed. The Parisian family went off to watch the village fireworks as it was the eve of Bastille Day but we didn't fancy the gravel drive in the dark (or the hills) and fell into bed tired but happy that the first day had been such a success and we had got this far.