Photos

I have added photos to the Blog. Not so many, and hopefully on the right dates.
For those with a stronger constitution here is a link to the bulk of the photos, remember we were away for nearly a month and Ann had the camera!!

http://photos.orange.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=1373648311

Trip Home

We had arranged a van hire as this seemed to be the best way to get home. I requested a van, to carry a tandem and bags. The saloon arrived at 9.30am. I had already split the tandem so decided to try it in the saloon which luckily had split folding seats. The tandem, our luggage, Ann, myself and driver all fitted in and off to Barnstaple to do the paperwork. Enterprise, the hire co., then said we could have the van outside that had just been returned, but as we had everything in the car we said we will stick with that. They then got a call to say a car had not been delivered, so they offered to waive the one way fee, £100, if we took the van, they also knocked off a few other charges so we paid £40.70 for the one way hire, and diesel. The train fare would have been £241.
We stopped off at Bridgwater to drop the wheel off for rebuilding, SJS took it immediately, rebuilt it while we were having lunch in town, and then we were ready to carry on.

All in all a great trip, coastal paths, canal paths, old rail lines across country and almost crossing two countries. Mainly staying off the beaten track and always quiet.
Apart from the problem with the spokes, some noticed 'spokes' were not mentioned after we received the spares from SJS, and true to form, having 36 spares, we did not have another breakage. No punctures this trip and we did have a few rougher sections, and in many areas fresh path clearance was evident with brambles etc on the path but no problems. We probably carried about 80lbs in weight, including camping gear etc. This should be well within the carrying capacity of the bike, but I would like to cut the weight a bit. The mix of camping and hotels worked well, but we did miss the warmer weather we hoped for. Another time I think we would go north to south.

The route was well signed most of the way, although not always with the Velodessee sign. As long as you were aware what route the area or department were using for their section of the whole route that was fine. For example the Devon section use national Route 7, which is very well signed and with very clear alternatives. But at no point in Devon did we see a sign referring to La Velodessee. It would have been good to have at least something at the start or end. At Ilfracombe the final sign sent us into a car park at the harbour's edge, yes we could 'wet the wheel', but a sign or board showing the start/finish of the route would have been nice. A problem with good signage is that it easy to rely on it totally until it vanishes, then you have to find out where you are and where to go.

I will hopefully put on some photos and provide a link to them.
Thanks for the comments, now where next??

Day 27

End of the road.

Just to prove we were both there.

Mileage 28 miles .   44 km Total  miles  914  ( 1462 km) Bideford to Ilfracombe We continued along the Tarka Trail, along one estuary and into another. After seeing no one yesterday we saw a number of groups of cyclists, all going south. We also saw a couple of enormous groups of children on bikes. We stopped in Barnstaple to sort out accomadation for tonight and van hire for tomorrow. We are supposed to have a couple of utility bills to prove we live at our house. They would not accept copies on my I-touch, they must be paper copies. I eventually sorted it put at the library.   Back on the Tarka Trail for a few more miles. We had lunch on Braunton, then came today's hills. A couple of really big ones on very narrow lanes with Devon's hedges -ie. mainly stone banks. But after that we were on an old rail track that took us right into Ilfracombe.  Right down through town to the harbour, dipped a tyre and that's it. No sign to say the end/start or any mention of La Velodessee.  Ann celebrated with a Devon cream tea. We then took the tandem apart in readiness for the trip home.  Our last meal was at Gazpacho, Spanish tapas, it was very good.

Day 26

Did I say it was wet?

Mileage 32 miles .   52 km Total  miles  886   ( 1388 km) Okehampton to Bideford Our wettest day yet. We put our waterproofs on in Okehampton and took them off in Bideford. Route was predictably up and down, with the added pleasure of heavy rain and wind.  The first half was on lanes followed by The Tarka Trail. No views and hardly a soul about. We stopped for lunch under a shelter in a village, and a very kind man came out and gave us 2 large cups of tea. Wonderful.

Day 25

Breakfast. 6.50 Plymouth

Mileage 43miles.   69 km Total  miles  854.  ( 1336 km) Plymouth to Okehampton Good nights sleep on ferry, off at the crack of dawn, route signed from ferry terminal entrance. We are following Route 27. No Velodyssee signs though. Weather has improved and although there is a cool wind, it is clear. The views are amazing as we climb, yes ascend, our legs had forgotten that bit. There are a few up and downs, but we finished to day with a good run along the Granite Way, a path on an old rail line that takes you over a couple of high bridges with amazing views. This route took us right into Okehampton.

Day 24

Mileage 45 miles.   72 km Total  miles   811  ( 1297km) Poullaouen to Roscoff

Lunch stop.

Pouring down when we woke up, but stopped by the time we set off. The path to Morlaix was an old railway track. It was much better than yesterday's start. Gradients were fine and we were soon on the highest point in Brittany. We reached Morlaix for lunch, the sun was shining, but still cool. We were then guided onto roads along to Roscoff. Although the signage was good, we failed to see any Velodessee signs.  A good meal and relax for a few hours in Roscoff before we got on the ferry.

Day 23

Voie Verte -  in the wet they were hard in places.

Mileage 53 miles.   85 km Total  miles   766  ( 1225 km ) Caurel to Poullaouen A very pleasant stay in Beau Rivage, we were the only customers. Excellent food and service. They also made us a packed lunch as shops are  getting few and far between. Often a fair way off the canal.  We started the day with a big hill, not usual on a canal route. But we were quickly back on the canal and making fair progress. The rain from the day before has made the compacted surfaces quite porridgey, and we slip and slide along. There is also a fair bit of mud on the earth sections. All in all a pretty grubby day. A lot of the locks no longer function so the houses are let as gites, mainly to the English as far as we could see.  We passed a number of chateaux and Abbeys. They always seem to be in an imposing position as we view them from the canal path. Signage was minimal, one doesn't need much on the canal. But when we did need it, it either was not there or we missed it. We just went too far and had to retrace our tracks to take the road to Carhaix and leave the canal.  Tourist Information booked us into an auberge in Poullaouen. We arrived there very wet and dirty after a ride along the Voie Verte. Apparently it gets better after this, fingers crossed.  The aim tomorrow is to get to Roscoff, hopefully catch the overnight ferry and arrive Plymouth Sunday morning.

Day 22

Mileage 49 miles.  78. 4 km Total  miles   713  (1140km  ) Josselin to Caurel

Most of the lock areas had beautiful flowers and were immaculate

Impressive start from outside the Chateau. Good paths took us to Rohan, again a very old and lovely looking town. On to Pontivy, which we skirted around. We have done over 70 locks today. Up to the watershed and down, then back up to the Lac De Guerledan.  The promised rain arrived just before lunch and stayed with us most of the  afternoon. Our accomadation overlooks the Lac, which is probably very nice in the sunshine.

Day 21

Mileage 39 miles. 62  km Total  miles   664    1062km) Redon to Josselin.

The Chateau opposite our hotel

A good start, straight on to the canal and away. Initially it was a fine compacted surface, which was not bad but it got better and the last half of today's route was on Tarmac. Very enjoyable scenery, still very wide, often they have used the river and it gets even wider. Still very little traffic, a few hire boats but not much. The locks are all manned and kept in a remarkably good state, they are all flowers and shrubs and the lock keepers very friendly. There are hardly any of the vicious sharp rises that we had last year. We got here quite early so had time to look around. An amazing Chateau, and old town, full of Fachwerk!! A Frenchman on a recumbent went past as we were having lunch, he stopped to admire the Thorn Tandem. He is hoping to buy a Thorn so was keen to chat. I should ask for commission. Staying opposite the chateau. Dinner calls.

Day 20

The canal crossing the river

Mileage 26 miles. 41 km Total  miles  625  ( 1000 km) Blain to Redon. After breakfast in the Relais, we made an early start. Straight onto the canal side and off. Cloudy and cool. The surface is a mix of crushed, fine rock, track and packed earth. Fine most of the time, but it is slower than Tarmac and more tiring. We made reasonable time to Redon, and after a pleasant lunch we decided to stay and have a look around. It seems a very old (832Ad) and picturesque. The River Vilaine goes through mainly north to south, and the Canal goes east to west. There are a number of quays and strange river canal  intersections. Added to that a number of very large buildings, from the religious and trading history of the town.

Day 19

View across the Loire from our room.
The Loire is next years trip.

Mileage 53 miles.  85 km Total  miles  599  ( 958 km) Le Pellerin to Blain After a good meal and night in L'Esplanade, we made an early start. We caught the free ferry across the Loire and headed into Nantes. The route in was reasonable and we were quickly in the centre. Although busy we were in bus and cycle lanes and very few buses so that worked well. The centre was one of those places that will be nice when it is finished. Big building projects, new tramways and new railways all added to the disruption . We failed to find the Tourist Office, signed everywhere but very well hidden. We left the Loire and found the Erde. Now travelling north again. Once out of Nantes the route was erratic. If we lost it we just stayed close to the river until we found it again. Closer to the canal the signs improved and we managed to speed up a bit. By mid afternoon we were on the Nantes Brest Canal. This will take us a long way. We won't leave it until just south of Roscoff. It is a wide canal, and very picturesque so far. There are very few boats though. We did not see any working boats and only a handful of pleasure boats, yet all the locks are working and manned. The paths are pretty good, some short bits of Tarmac, but mainly a  compacted surface. This is still quite fast, only the wind and occasional lock slows us down. There are paths both sides of the canal and very wide sides so we are not to close to the water as we were last year on the Canal du Midi. We decided to push on to Blain and got here about 5.30. The only hotel was full, the campsite had spaces. No restaurants open at all. The Relais next to the campsite was our only option. A 4 course meal, a bottle of red wine, a bottle of cider all for 11.50€ each. We were entertained during our meal by an English couple who could not find their gite. They used a laptop, satnav, maps, local knowledge and phone for over an hour, trying to find their gite, then booked into some rooms somewhere close, before having a meal. The campsite was quite noisy as we went to bed, and traffic started very early, so we will be glad to be packed and on our way along the canal, which was very quiet yesterday.

Day 18

The Bridge to St. Nazaire, guide books and locals warned us not
to use it. There is a bus alternative that carries bikes.

Mileage 47 miles.  75 km Total  miles 546 ( 873 km) Pornic to Le Pellerin.  Finally felt dried out after the deluge of yesterday. Cycling shoes were still wet, but everything else was fine.   We headed up to St. Brevin-les-Pins. This part of the route was very pleasant. We left the coast and meandered inland before returning to the coast by St-Brevin. This is still Atlantic, round the corner it becomes the Loire. As we came round the corner we saw the St-Nazaire bridge. We had met a couple earlier in the day and they had said it was cyclable, but dangerous. It looked very long and steep. Apparently it has narrow cycle lanes, only separating bikes from other traffic with white lines. Still we passed under, now on the Euro Velo 6 which could take us to Budapest. This time we are only going to Nantes, before we turn north on the canal up to Roscoff. This stretch of the route was very well signed and great roads and cycle paths all the way. Saw a lot of touring bikes, probably finishing the Loire route. We also saw one very laid back character, riding along quite slowly and then I saw he had replaced his handlebars with a steering wheel.   We eventually arrived at Le Pellerin and found the hotel, L'Esplanade. They did not open until 18.30 so we were forced to try a nearby hostelry and sample a couple of beers. When we got our room, we had views out over the Loire, and the ferry we will get tomorrow to take us into Nantes.

Day 17

Mileage 53 miles.  85 km Total  miles 499  ( 798 km) St Jean-de-Monts to Pornic.  Set off early, for us, aiming at Pornic. Early route was lovely through forest and away from the roads. Almost had a repeat of the You tube incident where a lad got hit by a animal. In our case it was a deer and it missed, just. Although pleasant riding it is slower than roads. When we got to Ile de Noirmoutier the route seemed to vanish. We found no alternative other than going on the main road for a while. Not pleasant at all. Soon found a small road that suddenly had signs for La Velodessee. It had also started to rain. This last part of the Vendee was very flat, very windy and very wet.  We made a mistake and ended up doing a circle. Not good in increasingly heavy rain. Another bit of main road before we found the route along the coast to Pornic. This would be very pleasant on a dry and warm day. Eventually came into the pleasant harbour, crossed the bridge and found a hotel, Les Sablons

Day 16 part 2

Mileage 30 miles.  48 km Total  miles 446 (713 km) Olonne-sur-Mer to Saint Jean de Monts After a very wet night, and major indecision over which of the Twinning events to go to next, the spokes arrived. I now have enough to rebuild the wheel and some spares. If only I knew how? We decided as they had arrived we would set off, this then gives us some slack if we need it later.  Most of today's route was on cycle paths and next to the beach or rocky coast. Very enjoyable and scenic ride. A little slow through some of the built up areas, but generally well signed.

Day 16

Spokes arrived this morning. Torn between getting on the road or attending the Twinning celebrations on Saturday. Watch this space.

Day 15

Town twinning at its best!!!

What do you do when waiting for parts to arrive?  You go to the ultimate of town "Twinning" or in this case Quinning!! Not just 2 towns but 5. Murat, Guerak, L' archan, Worthing and Olonne-sur-Mer. From France(2),  Spain, Burkino Faso, and UK.  Foods, dance, music all there for our enjoyment. A 'La Jumelage' to remember.  In case you wondered Worthing did flower arranging, a tea party and jams, chutney and English beer, and fish and chips provided by a French fish and chip van.

Day 14

After numerous e-mails and phone calls SJS, are going to send me a new set of spokes, so we can continue. Hopefully they should arrive in 2 or 3 days. So with any luck we should be on our way on the weekend.

Day 13 ...., still

Continued on our tour of Cycle Shops in Western France. Again they do not have what we want.  SJS have got back to us and offered to rebuild the wheel, when we get home, and possibly send out spokes.  Apparently a dodgy lot of Swiss steel spokes!! We will find out in the morning if continuing is feasible.

Day 13

We have moved out of town to a campsite, where hopefully we can get some help from SJS,where we bought the bike. This morning we tried the last bike shop in town, but no joy. Even if we had spare spokes we estimate at least another 7 or 8 days riding to Roscoff. Then we would be hoping for no more than 1 broken spoke per day. But our concern would be the wheel being damaged and being stuck somewhere out of the way. Still, these things are sent to challenge us.

Day 12

Mileage 35 miles.  56 km Total  miles 416 (665 km)  L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer to Les Sables D'Olonne. The route today meandered a bit keeping us off the main road.  Signage was generally good and no problems with route finding to day. Met the French  girl on her recumbent again, she is doing about 100 k per day.  Just as we got into Les Sables D'Olonne another spoke went. So now we have no spares. Another trawl round the bike shops and no luck. Not sure what to do, if we have another break or 2 we could end up damaging the wheel, and still not being able to travel on.

Day 11

The bridge - and it is free, for bikes!

Mileage 65 miles.  104 km Total 381 miles  (609 km)  La Flotte  to   L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer Good day weatherwise, headed back over the bridge to La Rochelle.  Managed to do a circuit or 2 until we found the correct route which was along the river then a canal heading towards Marans. Route was well signed,  with apologies for the unfinished bits. A French cyclist warned us about one particular stretch which was very hard, but avoidable. We took his advice and were soon in the Vendee.  The Vendee is very flat and windy.  All day the signage had been very good, so when we reached a junction which had the La Velodessee symbol on but pointed to Lucon we followed. Unfortunately this proved to be wrong. Lucon had hotels - all closed, restaurants - all closed, even the campsite proved very uninviting.  To add to this time was moving on, we then had another spoke go on the back wheel. This is begining  to cause concern, we only have one spare spoke now. We fixed that and set off towards the coast. Finally found a campsite at L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer, with a snack bar at around 20.00. A long day, extra miles and concern over the wheel.  No doubt all will look better in the morning.

Hooray!!

The Website is finally live. http://www.lavelodyssee.com And before anyone comments - yes I spelt it wrong.

Day 10

Rest Day. Windy and possible rain. Decided to go for a ride for a change. Found an Oyster Bar overlooking the sea where we had a plate of oysters and a glass of wine. We then discovered we had 2 broken spokes on the rear wheel. It was begining to buckle so we spent the next few hours searching for bike shops and them searching for the correct size spokes. 2 villages and 7 bike shops later we struck lucky. All fixed and with some spares in half an hour, and no charge!! Back over the bridge tomorrow.

Day 9

Mileage 25 miles.  40 km Total  miles 316    (505 km)
Chatelaillion-Plage to La Flotte
Mileage 57 miles.  91km Total  miles 291    (465 km)  
Cloudy start, and some work on the route which caused us some confusion.We eventually got to La Rochelle, but then the signs went to pot and we rode around in circles until we finally found the correct route and into the centre. Tourist information gave us a good map and we headed out to the Ile de Re. Over the bridge, for free, and up to la Flotte, campsite fine , we are feeling a little dwarfed by the camper vans on each side of us, each filling its space whilst we have plenty of room. Plan to spend 2 nights here and then head north again.

Day 8

Notice the path still at construction stage

Mileage 57 miles.  91km Total  miles 291    (465 km)  La Palmyre to Chatelaillion-Plage Surprisingly after our day off, which was a scorcher, followed by an incredibly hot night, today started with a mist or sea fret and cloudy. Much cooler for cycling though. A very quick ride round the coast to the bridge, well signed route took us north towards Rochfort. We met an English group going south and they told us about the rough path ahead followed by an older but very good path to Rochfort. Along this stretch we saw numerous storks, many nesting on pylons, a range of birds of prey and possibly an eagle. We also stopped on the rougher unfinished section and chatted with a few people. One on an electric bike, one on a hybrid, one on a recumbent and us. A fair selection of bikes.  we decided to carry on to Chatelaillion-Plage, as this would give us good options for tomorrow.  Staying in the Majestic Hotel in the centre, surrounded by Egyptian artefacts. All in readiness for their Fete over the weekend.  Signage on this whole section has been excellent, even right through Rochfort.  S

Day 7

Day of rest, washing etc. scorching hot day followed by a very hot and close night.

Day 6

Mileage 20 miles
L`Amelie to La Palmyre
Another damp start but weather quickly improved and we arrived at the ferry, straight on and away. Getting hotter by the hour. Found our waythrough Royan and also found Velodessey signs, though they soon stopped!!

Lovely ride along the coast, and then we were waved down by our Thorn bike man from Africa, he was also heading north. Luckily he was in his van, complete with woodburning stove, not sure if this was his power source or just for heating. We soon separated and we stopped at a quiet site and decided to have  rest day and catch up on washing etc.

Day 5

Mileage 44 miles 70 km
Total 204 miles 326 km
Lacanu Ocean to L`Amelie
We had planned to have a rest day and enjoy the pool, but we woke to grey skies and a fine drizzle that styed with us most of the day. So onward, continue north. We quickly came upon a very narrow  concrete cycle path, 50cms wide in places, which some swedish cyclists told us went on for over 5 kms. We opted for the small road nearby. We did try the concrete path, but with the tandem so heavily laden it was very difficult, and if we came off, it would have been a major problem.


Lunch stop

Once past the concrete path we made  good progress. We saw quite a lot of cycle tourers. One german couple had done the same rout as we did last year and are planning to do the Loire next year!! Stopped at camping De L`Ocean, very quiet.

Day 4

Mileage 30 miles  48 km
Total 100 miles  258 km
Arcachon to Lacanu Ocean


Quiet cycle paths through pine forests

Lovely day, up and away, downhill to sea front and fery to Cap Ferrat. We forgot it was Sunday and there were hundreds of people getting ferries, day trips etc. On the other side we quickly found the cycle path and stayed on it until we stopped to camp. Another Yelloh site. Very big, clean, busy but with food and drink. We haven`t seen another Velodessey sign at all today. I guess they think it is easy enough, keep the ocean on your left and head north!!

Day 3

Familiar area

Mileage 33 miles. Biscarosse to Arcachon Total mileage 130 miles 208 k Sunny and warm day. This area is meant to be flat, the cycle path seems to find  all the hills. But we still decided to camp on top of the hill in Arcachon.  Hardly saw any signs for Velodessey today, the signage can vary such a lot.

Day 2

Campsites were generally quiet

Mileage 55.6  Leon to Biscarosse Total mileage :-97 miles,  155.2k Day started sunny, but we had a downpour just before we took the tent down. But then it cleared and we had good cycling weather all day. The cycling paths have been improved since last year.  Still finding signs for Velodessey. Now they have opening date - 30th June!! Found a closed cycle path today - ignored signs and went about 5 K until we found workman who said " have a beer, it will be open in an hour.  Today we have chatted to a Dutch couple who cycled from Holland, through France, did the route that finishes in Santiago in Spain and were now on their way back. We also chatted with a guy who had cycled in Africa, Mali, Namibia and plenty of other places. He stopped because he recognised our bike. He also had a Thorn. We thought he might turn put to be an English Gerhard in France, but we soon went our separate ways.  No campsites in Biscarrosse, so forced to stay in small hotel, next door to small restaurant where we had an excellent 4 course meal, wine, beer and coffee for just over £40.  Janes recommended restaurant for last night was closed, opening tonight!!!

Day 1

First signpost, a few kilometers from bus stop.

Mileage 41.4  Bayonne to Leon 26 hours on the Bike Express.  It does what it says on the tin, but it is a long trip.  We arrived in Bayonne earlier than scheduled.  The weather was sunny and  Warm. We headed straight along the river towards the coast and turned right, north. We quickly found the Voie Vert and the first sign had a Velodessey symbol .  The route officially opens in about 10 days. The signs are made in the main of a corrugated plastic, and already we have seen some defaced, torn down or turned around.  Most of our route today, after the first few miles from Bayonne, has been very smooth tarmac cycle path. Through the forest. It was still quiet like last year, but more places open, including campsites. The wind on the coast was fierce and I protected Ann from a sandblasting, which has probably removed 2 days dirt and an English summers tan.  Camping in Leon, on Janes recommendation,  and about to try her suggestion for a restaurant.

Bus stop

We woke to heavy rain, but by the time we left for the station it was bright and sunny. Carlisle-Settle line and on to Leeds. A wonderful train ride, stunning scenery and very friendly and helpful staff. We had an interesting time in Leeds station, try taking a Tandem in a lift!! The staff at Cycle Hub at the station were very helpful as to best route to Colton, our hotel and pickup point in the morning. So we are now sat in Thorpe Park Hotel having a very nice meal to bolster us up for the 24 hour bus ride.

Our Route

Our proposed route

We will leave on June 20th,  travelling by European Bike Express to Bayonne. From there we intend to travel north, mainly along the coast on Voies Vertes (Green ways) until we reach Brittany. Here we may join the Nantes-Brest Canal until we are south of Roscoff then north to the coast and the ferry. If we have time we would like to ride across to Ilfracombe on the Devon Coast to Coast route.
Our intention is to camp when we can, although we are prepared to use B&B or hotels if we have to!