There will be wind. Morlaix, Locquirec, and a train hop to Rennes.
As we ride into Morlaix we are on day 21 of our cycling trip and I have one of those “where are we now?” moments. We’ve had some rest days when we weren’t cycling but at this point I do forgive myself for losing track of where we are and how many days in. Although every day brings new sights and ideas to ponder, the mechanics become routine. The unpacking and packing, the visits to grocery stores to get lunch food. Washing out the days’ cycling gear and hoping it will dry by morning. We each have two pairs of bike shorts and two jerseys but it’s nice not to have pack damp shorts and try to remember to dry them during lunch breaks.
Morlaix is a tidal river that becomes almost completely dry at low tide, but a lock keeps the marina full of water.Riding into Morlaix. The viaduct above was built in 1865 and carries trains. It was only mildly damaged in 1943 bombing and repaired.A mural of ship building diagrams.Our view back down to town from our little apartment for the night. It was in a retirement community above the downtown and was a nice opportunity to cook our own dinner.
It’s funny how we can get a quick sense of a place, either good or bad, just from the ride in in the evening. Both of us were not thrilled with the one way traffic flow and the aggressive drivers in Morlaix, and as we rode out the next morning we both said “Buh bye!”. It hadn’t felt very friendly. But then, as we were about to follow the Koomot route out of town up a hill off the flat river route, a roadie cyclist called out to us and circled back to explain that we should stay on the flat route since it was Sunday and so there was not much car traffic. Oh, and it was prettier too. That one interaction made us both feel better about the town. Yay nice cyclists.
The flat route out the River Morlaix.A very calm and still morning. The wind is waiting around the corner at the coast.
In our travel relationship Rich is the planner. We hear from other travel couples that having one planner and one not planner, one follower, or, as we recently heard it described, one passenger princess, works out well for most couples. Passenger princess. I guess that’s me. I’m not a princess type, more a low maintenance sensible shoes kinda gal, but I do get some pretty good travel treatment from Rich. Which I acknowledge and appreciate.
First coffee break at the mouth of the river.Too early for oysters? Yes.We’re sharing a route with GR34, a long distance hiking route.And with lots of sheep. Lambing season means lots of vocalizing between moms and lambs.A pause near Plougasnou to enjoy the view.Remind all of our Yankee friends of New England?Who’s still in love with the stone buildings? Me.What do you do with an old boat? Beach it near town and let it become picturesque.A new favorite yogurt flavor contender. Mandarin lime. Yum. This is why it can take us so long to get anywhere- stopping to take pictures of a sweet gate.I call this pose: ¿Quién es más macho? Me, who rode up this steep hill under my own power loaded with bags, or the folks who drove up? Me! The answer is me! Ha! Could a princess do this?Amused and tolerant husband. Whatever gets her through the day, right? Shall we try the newly updated route that takes us up a dead end road? Yes!Nice! Orchis mascula, the early-purple orchid.Primroses. Loads of them blooming all over the place.Bluebells. Yes, Rich is waiting for me up ahead somewhere. Total princess behavior to keep him waiting.Churches are always a good bet for a shady stop. Almost to Locquirec. It’s sunny but a good wind blowing. Headwind. Our lovely room with a view of the low tide and so water free harbor. We’re excited to get to watch the tide come in.It was a sunny Sunday so folks were out on the beach. Waiting for the tide to bring the sea closer to them.The tide moves in so quickly! We forgot to check while we unpacked, showered, washed cycling gear, and when we turned back not long after this photo the water was all the way in!Dinner at our Hôtel restaurant du port locquirec. I’m always happy to have a little pichet of white wine. Definitely a princess demand.After dinner walk and a high tide harbor.Fishing off the pier now that there’s water out there.View back along the pier to the port.The hotel we didn’t stay at. Cute but overpriced. Lace-cap hydrangeas in front of the church.Sunrise. We got up to open the window at about midnight and were so pleased to see that the town takes the dark skies initiative very seriously. Those few red lights you can see were literally the only lights on overnight.White sand and blue water. And headwind.Riding a short stretch of rail trail that helpfully keeps you off a hill. My view when it’s windy. Rich slows down a bit and I tuck in behind. Only the best drafting for the PP (passenger princess).
I always feel sorry for cyclists who haven’t gotten to ride behind The Wall of Rich into a headwind. Between his tall body and big bike frame and four wind blocking panniers it’s a pretty darn sweet slipstream. It’s not easy being the one pulling up front.
The Wall from the front. Église Saint-Théodore in Tréduder. I had to change my helmet cover due to the wind.In someone’s garden in Lanvellec. Cute cute cute.More cuteness. Another church, in Lenvellec still. We’re actually headed to a train to hop into Rennes. I wasn’t up for two days of riding into the strong headwind.Arrived in Plouaret where we will catch a train. Another cycle touring special lunch: chicken slice, laughing cow cheese, and Breton butter chips. Roll it up. Cycle touring burrito.It can be a bit stressful trying to make it to a specific train mid day, but we arrived with plenty of time. Our Ter, or local train. Usually two bike cars per train are helpfully marked. We both absolutely loved the train station in Rennes. The station was redesigned in 2019 with the new cloud like structure. Our stays across Britanny. The upper right heart is Rennes.
Rich will pick up the next post with our rest day in Rennes and on to Caen. Happy pedaling!
After decades of living and working in wonderful San Francisco we gave it all up to travel the world. Not owning a car allowed us to save money and live hyper-locally. Now we’re living around the globe. Follow along to see where we are and what cats I manage to pet.
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One thought on “There will be wind. Morlaix, Locquirec, and a train hop to Rennes.”
The GR34 and rail trail outside Locuirec looked like lovely segments, as did the flat River Morlaix ride. Great selfie of you two at high tide, too.
Less Car, More Life 
The GR34 and rail trail outside Locuirec looked like lovely segments, as did the flat River Morlaix ride. Great selfie of you two at high tide, too.