Rochefort-en-Terre to Paimpont

June 3, 2019

Another ride through the countryside. Pleasant, but nothing spectacular, although the last 10 km to Paimpont along D40 were particularly draining: hot and humid, road straight as an arrow, with big rollers. I was pleased to arrive at the Camping Municipal.

I wanted to come to Paimpont because of it’s supposed connection with the King Arthur legends. Even my Michelin map notes the Fontaine de Jouvence and Tombeau de Merlin. The Fôret de Paimpont is supposed to be mysterious and deep. The whole area is called “Brocéliande”.

What a lot of plastic! I saw several fields in this region like this, planted with corn. I would hope the plastic sheeting gets reused or at least recycled, but I doubt it.

Another plastic field. Clearly the plastic won't be reused. I wonder what it was for? Happily, the minority of cornfields were like this.

Now this is straight out of a fairy tale. The Château de Trécesson is privately owned and this is as close as you get.

Well, Paimpont didn’t even come close to expectations. After setting up and cooling off, I rode to the Office de Tourisme to get a map. I knew there was a short hike to the Tombeau de Merlin and Fontaine de Jouvence, but didn’t know more than that.

The “Boucle de Merlin” is a 3.5 or 4 km loop, depending who you ask. The trailhead is 9 km out of town. It was almost 5, but it’s been light until 10, so allowing an hour for each part (ride out,hike, ride back), I should have plenty of time—and wouldn’t be able to get dinner before 7:30 anyway. There were several restaurants in town, according to the brochure I’d picked up with the village map.

So off I went. It was a half-hour ride, mostly flat, with a little descent followed by a little rise at the end, both easy grades. I'll let the photos explain...

The info board at the start of the trail

Placard not very near the Fontaine de Jouvence

Along the trail between the placard and the fountain. There were lots of these little piles of rocks, suggesting school outings come here. On the right is a trail marker.

The Fontaine de Jouvence (selfie time, sorry!)

Another view of the Fontaine de Jouvence

I continued along the loop since I had, after all, ridden 9 km out to do it. It wasn't very interesting and wasn't even really in a forest. Parts were on (small) roads, the bit by the étang (small lake) was nice, but there were also parts where the well-worn trail was separated from junk-littered back yards by a chain-link fence. The last part of the loop, however, was in a forest. Unfortunately, this part was not well marked and I wasn't the only one trying to find my way. Eventually I found another marker and got back to the parking area where I'd left my bike.

I rode back to town, put away my dry laundry at my campsite, and rode the short distance into the village for dinner. The first restaurant that was open was the one attached to the Logis hotel. (As an aside, I think Logis takes over or buys up all the small hotels in France. If there's only one or two hotels in a town or village, chances are very good that one, or both, is Logis. Al and I stayed at Logis hotels in Rocamadour and in St-Céré.) When I got there, there were already two fellows perusing the menu on the sidewalk. They went in, but came out again while I was locking my bike. I went in and asked for a table. Room number? I'm not staying here. Then you can't eat here. Is there another restaurant in town? Yes, just down that street to the left.

I tried, but couldn't find it, nor could those two fellows when I asked them. I think they were the other cycle tourers I saw at the campground. I rode up and down every street in the village. Nothing. I went back to the Logis and explained. She called the other restaurant. I guess it's closed, she said, but you can't eat here. I doubt Logis will ever get any business from me again.

I googled restaurants near here and had a couple of hits in Beignon, 6 km away. Off I went. It was well after 8 at this point, and some restaurants close at 9.

The closest one wasn't there where Google said it was, and it most certainly wasn't where Garmin said it was. Why those are different, I don't know. On to the second option, another kilometre down the road.

The story ends happily. I at at Aux Délices des Rois, a pretentious name but certainly not a pretentious place. Aware of the time and my lack of a headlight (I did have a taillight), I ordered the "formule express" and a pression beer. No choices with the formule express. You get faux-filet (sirloin steak), frites, and salad for the plat, and café gourmand for dessert. It really hit the spot and was only 16€, including the beer. It was easier than expected to ride back after all that food.

What's café gourmande, you ask. I was wondering too.

Rochefort-en-Terre to Paimpont. The planned part of the day's ride.

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Paimpont to/from Tombeau de Merlin. The expected addition to the day's ride. I had Garmin in my pocket for the hike, but it didn't seem to record much of it.

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Paimpont to/from Beignon. The unexpected addition to the day's ride.

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Today's ride: 93 km (58 miles)
Total: 1,964 km (1,220 miles)

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