Les Forges to Gouarec

June 5, 2019

Gambling with the weather

Today I started and ended by riding along the Canal de Nantes à Brest, or CNB as it's sometimes referred to on my Michelin map.

It was a short ride from Les Forges to the canal and then many kilometres of pleasant riding. I stopped in Rohan (no horses or riders, but there was a boulangerie) and then returned to the Halage (towpath, as some of the signs call it), where I passed the Yukon families (now with fathers) heading into town presumably from the campground just past the village. I continued as far as St-Drédeno, where the canal headed south toward Pontivy and I went northwest and then north to Mûr-de-Bretagne.

The Canal de Nantes à Brest is so beautiful along this stretch!

The canal was rising consistently after Rohan and in some places the locks were quite close together. The top was at St-Gérand, so I got to go downhill for about a kilometre before I turned off the halage.

I'd been thinking about how canals are maintained. Surely they must be dredged regularly or they'd silt up. Then I saw this on the path.

And here's its partner, dredging (if that's the word, since it's mostly bringing up weeds).

And then it spins around and the conveyor starts, dumping its load beside the path to be collected into the truck for removal.

I started off well going west and then north, but then I made a navigation error. I stopped to eat my bread and cheese on a park bench in Kergrist and didn't check that I was still on D191 when I left town. I simply took the road indicated towards Mûr-de-Bretagne, which angles northwest to join the busy yellow D767. I didn't want to ride back uphill to Kergrist to get back on the correct road--if I was going to ride up a big hill, it might as well be the one on D767. I turned on my rear flasher since this was a double-chevron hill and there wasn't a shoulder (and luckily not a lot of traffic) and put my nose down. Over the crest, there was a double-chevron descent for my reward. I exited at St-Jean thanks to Garmin's display, which showed a quiet back road into Mûr-de-Bretagne which isn't on the paper map.

Common sights in the parts of Brittany I've passed through: corn fields and wind turbines. None of the wind turbines have been spinning very fast. I hope I didn't just jinx myself!

Approaching Mûr-de-Bretagne by the back road.

I went up (yes up) to the centre of Mûr-de-Bretagne since I figured I might as well see what was there. Not much. I passed what might be a decent bike shop, but it was during the lunch closure.

There's a bike path that passes through Mûr-de-Bretagne, something about a petit train, but also part of La Vélodyssée. I followed it west until it joined with the CNB at Bon-Repos. There's a very famous abbey there, but I didn't see it. I was focussed on my destination and getting there before the rain. I'll backtrack that far tomorrow and ride through the Gorges du Daoulas as well.

I did see these, though, on a bridge (dated 1900) not far before Bon-Repos. What could they be?

On the opposite railing of the bridge. Maybe those arches are intended for some extreme sport?

Here's another view. I'll stick to riding across the bridge, thanks.

Back on the Canal de Nantes à Brest. It does a loop southwest and returns north; I cut diagonally northwest. This stretch between Bon-Repos and Gouarec is very scenic.

I'm set up at Camping du Gouarec, run by a British (?) couple that also run bike tours. It's the first campground I've stayed at on this trip that doesn't have specific sites (emplacements). They charge per person and have convieniences for cycle tourists like well-equipped kitchens, covered table areas, and plastic chairs that you are encouraged to take over to your tent.

I got my tent up just before the rain started. It's been showering off and on since mid-afternoon. I managed to get out for a small explore of the village and to have dinner at a restaurant (open and not a pizzeria or crêperie).

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Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 2,081 km (1,292 miles)

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