Bretagne

Our chambre d'hôte had a microwave and a kettle so we made the most of them to cook a quick dinner and have a hot cup of coffee. The local market was in full swing as passed through town the next morning and we got to see the village in bright sunlight. We followed Le Blavet which has been canalised so the river was always flat and calm with the locks rising only 1 –2 metres each time. The pathway is paved and 2 bikes wide so we had a glorious morning enjoying no traffic and a meandering river. I missed the turn off and we ended up following the river for about 15 kms until the next bridge. Along the way we got to chat with a wonderful English / French couple who were out walking their dog for the day. They cover tens of kilometres

each day and are slowly walking the whole river trail.

After we left the river we struck our first real hills in about 3 weeks so we knuckled down and climbed them at a steady pace. In the village of Ploërdut we stopped at a Tabac to use the WIFI and it was full of Englishmen trying to teach the publican a bit of English slang. When they discovered we were from NZ they offered us a beer which, as we were about an hour late, we declined. We got lost again on the way to our host for the night and were busy checking our maps when she popped out of her house and invited us in.

The house sits in the grounds of a large garden and she opens her gardens to the public for a small fee as well as selling lots of rose bushes.

Noëlle also has people staying who work 3 hours a day in return for free board and food. For the first time ever we found someone who had a negative experience with a kiwi who was just lazy. Her current helper was leaving the next morning to go further down country so it was a bit of a welcome for us and a bit of a farewell for her. Dinner was washed down with local pear cider which Sally and I gladly consumed. The crepes were hot off the press and followed by dessert crêpes as well. We were not surprised when she told us we were her

first warm showers guests as we have an ability to find first up hosts.

The next morning we parted for Rostrenen even deeper into the Brittany hills. The day was pretty much uneventful until we crossed the Nantes-Brest canal. A voice rang out - Hello aussies / kiwis. A NZ couple had just stopped for lunch aside the road so we we chatted away for about an hour about their trip etc. They both came from Whitianga and upon asking them if they knew Ren they replied – Everyone knows Ren! He had come a gutser on his bike earlier that day when he had not spotted a large pot hole along side the canal. Luckily he was not badly injured.

Our hosts were Stéphane et Sabel who were a family of 5 with another on the way. We were given a royal welcome by the young lad who chatted away to us until his parents arrived home. The whole family play musical instruments and our room for the night was the family room / practice room. At dinner we discussed their planned year long trip around Europe with the new 4 month old baby. Personally I think they a bit too adventurous taking on that trip but I wish them all the best for the challenges ahead.

We parted Rostrennen on the old railway line and we expected it to be downhill all the way. We were wrong.

But at the village of Maël-Carhaix we stumbled across a cafe with its signs in English. We did not even click until we were inside. It was run by an Irish couple who graciously let me use WIFI and then Skype my brother for about about half an hour. It was his birthday so I was pleased to be able to talk to him. Sally demolished a cream tea and a free second coffee before we parted again. Unfortunately along the way Sally's favourite cycling jersey fell out of the guitar bag and is now only a memory. But I found a cushion along the rail trial which I now use under my hip to sleep on which had made my camp sleeps much more enjoyable. For the first time on the trip I was able to ride with no shirt on and I did not blind a single person as there was no one else on the trail.

We got lost again as the signage was incorrect and we planned to leave the trail at the next parking area which just did not eventuate. We stopped and asked a cyclist along the way for directions and in his best English told me he did not speak French. Not a problem! They were on their way to Nantes so we asked them to keep an eye out for a black cycling jersey should they find one. A long shot that did not pay off. But worth a try.

Our hosts for the night were Patricia and Loulou who lived in the middle of nowhere with a stunning view across a valley of the Bretagne countryside. We asked a local where Patricia lived and he told us “Right there, I am her neighbour”. We pitched our tent for the night and Patricia lent me her inflatable airbed complete with an inbuilt foot pump. It was super lightweight and in the morning we looked up where we could buy one. It was fantastic.

Dinner for the night was the ex-rooster and it was the perfect end to a hard days workand we consumed local cider to help it on its way. The evening was spent whiling away the hours chatting in a very hospitable manner. Loulou owned several dogs and he was very proud of his Brittany Spaniels who had won hunting competitions but were mostly now old. He showed me the article in a magazine about being the winner of a competion. The spaniels are just adorable and are very different from English spaniels.