Brittany journal - day 12

4/6 - Day 12 – miles cycled = 35, total so far 379

Slept like a log and woke at 8 to dark grey skies.  Breakfast today was tea, orange juice and a ham and cheese baguette (almost a ‘continental breakfast’!).  I mooched around for a couple of hours before heading off across the river Rance towards St Suilliac and the Rance valley.

It was considerably cooler today and early on I got caught in a couple of short sharp showers.  Cycling on a load free bike felt great, even the hills felt easy.  Today being Monday, most places were closed and I had problems stocking up on food.  I did eventually find a boulangerie open in Chateauneuf d’ille et Villaine and I bought a flan (similar to a pizza) for dinner, 2 croissants for tomorrows breakfast and some milk.  

I then headed back to Dinan for lunch by the river (Ham, frites, coffee and a beer) before a couple of hours people watching and a steady ride back to the campsite.  I’d cycled 35 miles in all.

I decided it was time to wash my fetid clothes so made use of the campsites laundry (I had hand washed daily but seemed to be fighting a losing battle).  On my way back from the laundry I spotted a familiar face(s) – it was Mike and Chris – a real coincidence.  After catching up on the previous 4 days experiences we decided to go to a local bar tabac for a beer or two.

After dinner we wandered into Taden to a lovely little bar by the manoir, we had a few drinks and a great time.  Solo touring has its advantages – such as going at your own pace, stopping where and when you feel like it, eating whenever or wherever takes your fancy etc., but it can be a lonely thing and it was great to have company again.

I got back to my tent at around 11.30 feeling pretty squiffy – an excellent evening.