Back in St Malo

This afternoon we successfully completed our cycling circuit around beautiful Brittany. Although a further two punctures delayed our progress, we still successfully dodged the predicted heavy rain and managed to complete most of the day's riding in lovely sunshine.

We chose the longer route along the coast rather than the alternate "Par Terre" route. It was certainly worth it. The views of the beautiful coastline were breathtaking and reminded me of our favourite Bunurong Coast Road from Inverloch to Cape Paterson, although I have to admit that the French coast is even more amazing.

Our morning tea stop was at the seaside town of Cancales. This is a very popular holiday location in the European summer, but at this time of the year most of the holiday makers have returned home. The remainder of the ride to St Malo was quite hilly and sent us all looking for the good old granny gears as we worked our way up each successive climb. I kept looking over my shoulder at the growing mass of dark clouds that were starting to populate the sky. The forecast had predicted heavy rain later in the afternoon and we were determined to complete the ride before it arrived.

We arrived on the outskirts of St Malo just as the first few spots of rain were falling. The last few hundred metres of the ride took the form of a mad sprint along the top of the sea wall to our hotel. We arrived at the hotel entrance just as the rain started to fall steadily. It was then time for heartfelt hugs and congratulations as we shared the achievement together. It really had been a group effort where everyone had contributed their own skills to help ensure a successful outcome. It was a fun way to finish an amazing adventure.

When we first arrived here a week ago, St Malo was new to most of our riders, however it now seemed like a familiar homecoming. Over the past 4 weeks we have gained an insight into the French way of life that few tourists ever get to experience and we have all had an incredible amount of fun along the way. I really do regard France as my second country.

We have one more full day in St Malo before we catch the early morning ferry on Saturday and head out to the Channel Islands.Read more