Day 7: Lesconil

Map strava

The weather eased up over the night and in the morning it was clear. At campsites they often ask if you’d like to reserve some bread or pastries for the monring, and for once I reserved a Pain au Chocolat and a Pain au Raisan In the morning I made a coffee but didn’t drink it, packed up my stuff and then walked over to the reception (l’accueil) to collect my breakfast and sat on the wall eating, drinking my coffee and reading the news from the internet, afterwards I just went back, got on my bike and cycled out.

Shortly afterwards I came upon a “bicycle repair station” - basically a pump and unusually a full set of bicycle tools on chains. I’m sure that would be very useful in an exceptionally rare circumstance, or if you could plan ahead to do a quick service of your bike if you didn’t bring tools with you for whatever reason - but a nice thing to see in anycase.

The morning was cloudless day and I continued on my way west along the promontory for about 15k reaching the western most point and seeing the atlantic waves crashing in and the lighthouses. Although there were tourists they were the “outdoor” ones, the ones with backpacks and hiking shoes, there was very little traffic and the only noise was the seaguls and the waves.

It’s a shame I don’t have a better camera, the photos taken on my mobile squash the detail in the landscape. I purchased a semi-decent camera a few years ago but I left it on a bench in Germany and never saw it again.

Church Today

After turning 180 degrees and heading east on the south coast there were lots of surfers and surf schools and beaches. As you looked down the coast there was a fine mist caused by the Atlantic sea spray.

Sea Spray

My knee started complaining again after around 4 hours and I took that as a warning to take it easy on the hills. Taking it easy seems to have helped, although it could simply have been that there were no more hills.

More

Today was wonderfully flat in the second half, I was following cycle route 45 again, and it took me along the coast which offered a succession of spectacular views, although as the day progressed I grew increasingly tired, although I was still able to paste a smile on my face.

Again

Towards the of todays ride there was an extended section of the cycle path “off road” (that is, a cycle path on a track that wasn’t a road) and as I progressed the surf people decreased and the “average” tourist level increased increasingly. Finally I arrived in Lesconcil and it was “full” tourist - the town was crammed with familys and restaurants and busy.

The End

I visited the first campsite after achieving my target of 100k but wasn’t encouraged by the sheer size of the place, I asked in reception and the lady kindly showed me a rather exposed corner surrounded by other campers where I could pitch my tent, I wasn’t enthusiastic and said I was looking for somewhere quieter, in the end I decided to try my chances elsewhere, going to the campsite that I’m at now, which is 1k or so from the coast and is far more relaxed.

Lighthouse

I’m now sitting at a picnic table in a field in front of the campsite’s Crêperie, and have just eaten a vegetarian Crêpe which seems to have features potatos, mushrooms and lentils and tasted pretty good. I also have a large beer. Thank god. It’s also very quiet.

This campsite is the cheapest so far, and probably the best. It cost just €7.50 with an additional euro for a days internet access, the beer and the Crêpe also cost around €7.50.

Dinner

Tomorrow I will officially start back on my way “home”, heading to Concarneau and from the north east with the goal of reaching St. Malo at some point in the next week. I discovered that there is a canal from Nantes to Brest, and along the canal there is a cycle path. I can cycle north for a day before joining this path which will take me east and from there I think I can cycle again north, perhaps on another canal path (I need to check what it is) and from there I could follow the north coast east to St. Malo, or, I could take a more direct route.