Last and final day of bike riding tour

Sunday, August 4th:  We were up early and away from Mont St. Michel on our sixth and final day of riding.  We were traveling from Mont St. Michel to the city of Saint Malo.  This is the city that was mostly destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944 and was the main setting for the novel All the Light You Cannot See.  We had a choice of a short or long ride (32 miles or 40 miles).  We naturally chose the long ride.  We left in thin overcast but dry conditions and most of our ride along the coast was dry.  But our weather luck did not hold - the last 6 miles into Saint Malo we had rain.  We were dripping wet by the time we reached the L'Univers Hotel.

Ron at breakfast with a marvelous view.

A morning picture of Mont Saint Michel.

The gang ready to ride.

Leslie and Dennis making a turn off the busy highway onto a country road.  We had few sections on busy trafficked roads but were much relieved to ride the backroads.  The route planning by the Discover France, the bike organizer, was generally good, with slightly longer routes on less traveled roads.  But sometimes there was no option.  The one thing we can say is that French drivers know how to handle bike riders on the edge of their roads.  They always wait to pass us and always pull over to the opposite lane.  They often signal with blinkers when they move left.  I am someone who hates riding with traffic but felt pretty safe with these drivers.  Even most trucks would pull sideways, too.  It was a different story with the farm tractors which took up most of the road width.  We would stop on the verge and left them pass usually.

Sailing training (1hour for 12 euros).  This area of the route featured salt meadows, oyster farming operations, and more market gardens than we have seen elsewhere.  The vegetable crops - carrots, onions, shallots, and potatoes - are laid out in very straight rows/ridges in sandy soil.  

The seaside town of Cancale, which was the destination on the long option ride this day.  You can see how big the tides are - this basin will be filled with water at high tide.

Betsy in front, with Leslie and Dennis in background.

It started to rain a little in Cancale, and got worse as we entered the metro area of Saint Malo.  Brent and Tyrae, who rode ahead,  found our hotel and we quickly pulled our bikes inside.  We unloaded our personal gear and left the bikes/gear for good.  I must say that e-bikes are the reason we could do this ride.  We covered 250 miles in 6 days.  We averaged about 40 miles a day for 5 days, and 50 miles on the first day.  E-bikes provide great assistance on the uphills, allow for fast acceleration and sustained speed on the flats, and speedy descents due to their weight and inertia after level riding or peaking.

Saint Malo is a very large city and we rode the length of it (in the rain) to reach our hotel.  The old town sits out on a point with a large estuary to the south and inland.  The old city was destroyed in the WWII but rebuilt in a similar vein after the war.  It was traditionally a walled city. and  the ramparts were mostly spared from damage.  They are a major tourist attraction -- one can walk all the way around the walls and view the reconstructed buildings inside.  It is a 2 km walk.  Betsy and I did this walk plus went to the church in the center of town, still in the rain. 

One of several principal entry gates in the wall.

 Outside the walls.

The Grand Gate (no cars allowed through this gate, and vehicle access is limited in the old town)

A city street - note the good condition of the buildings. 

The path on top of the wall and inner face.

The beach to the south of the walls.

A new, reconstructed building.

Ditto.

A saltwater swimming pool that is flooded by the ocean, and view toward off shore forts. People (mostly kids) were swimming and splashing despite the rain.

Another fort.

The altar in the church, note the stylized animals in each corner.

A beautiful rose window in the church - modern.

Ditto.

The main church tower.

A gargoyle "spitting" water.

A typical street - the classic cobblestone pattern.

The same street showing the adjacent building.

Our hotel for the night.

The hotel was right inside the main gate and had several active pubs/bars at the entry.  Our rooms were tiny, with minimal room for drying wet gear.  We went down for drinks and socializing, meeting several Scots now living on the Isle of Jersey.  At Tyrae's urging we went for an early dinner at a Creperie - richly filled galettes for the main course and super-sweet crepes for dessert.  The rain resumed while we were eating so we hustled back to the hotel.

Tyrae and Brent were up early today to catch a train back to Paris.  We said our goodbyes, and everyone agreed that the bike ride was great.  They fly home on Monday, while we take a bus south to La Rochelle.