Join us, (Andy and Julie), as we pedal our way along the quiet backroads of France, making our way back from Saint Malo back home, to The Luberon in Provence , visiting some beautiful towns, villages and regions along the way.
This video brings you with us, on our Trek Checkpoint bikes as we start our cycling holiday, travelling from a pretty village in East Devon, England and make our way to Portsmouth (by train, bike and ferries), before crossing to the beautiful port of Saint Malo.
The route does not follow established. cycle routes, but instead takes us on quiet lanes through the heart of Brittany, passing through Montfort sur Meu and Blain, on our way to cross The Loire on the free ferry at Coueron.
The weather wasn’t particularly kind and it didn’t all go as planned, but a cycle adventure isn’t an adventure, if it all goes to plan.
#bikeride #france #postcardfromprovence #cycling #cycletour #cycleride #cyclingcommunity #cyclingvlog #cyclinglife #cycleholiday #cycle #bikeride #biketour #biketrip #travel #travelling #holiday #vacation #francecycling #cyclinginfrance #Brittany #provence #loire #loireatlantique #cycletogether #trekbikes #camping #camping #travelplanning
Welcome to Postcards from Provence and join us on our latest adventure, the 1200 km bike ride from Devon to the south of France. It didn’t quite start as we’d planned, but that became the story of the trip. So, join us for more. The plan was to start in Exat, make our way down through France. You would go to Portsmouth, cross on the ferry to San Marlo, and then take a route down the west coast of France, aiming to go into the door to see some of the beautiful villages there and watching some rugby on the way before ending up back in the Lubberon. It all started with a bed full of stuff that got loaded into these and popped onto our Trek checkpoint bikes. It actually fitted quite well. Then it was time to head off. A gray stormy day [Music] and the weather didn’t get that much better as we headed towards exit on our train or what we expected to be our train which when we arrived had been cancelled. So instead of a gentle trip through the south of England, we dashed onto three different trains on a route that caused so much stress. We went via Bristol, Reading, and finally arrived into Southampton, which was such a relief. [Music] But eventually we made it onto the pink ferry at Hamble and we’re on our way to Portsman. It was a bit slippy getting off the ferry, but worth the trip. Another ferry then from Gossport through to Portsmouth [Music] to catch our boat. Not that one, this one, for the trip to San Marlo. San Marlo is a beautiful old town and we took the time to park up the bikes and explore the place that we loved so many years ago. We walked the walls, watching as the town came to life, enjoying the views before heading on and stumbling across a bump market. So of course we had to stop. Then it was on down the ranchestry. beautiful quiet roads and the weather was being kind. We cycled through pretty villages. This one right on the edge of the rams [Music] and cross the river on the old bridge. [Music] It was beautifully quiet rather than the more modern one which was much busier. We cycled past hydrangeas, said hello to cats, and on into the port of Don. This is an ancient old riverway that has been serving boats for many hundreds of years. The old bridge just there used to be the only crossing along the ranch, but now it’s a little bit of a tourist haven and we stopped, enjoyed lunch watching the world passed by and a kuino man, a local delicacy. Then we headed on along the perfect cycle path alongside the river just as the rain started to fall. Hopefully, it wouldn’t get any worse. It was very beautiful. [Music] But then the rain did get worse and we got soggier. Our shoes filled with water as we pedled on deciding not to camp for the first night. So we found an Airbnb, stopped off in Monorfors Mur and headed on again the next morning, which was drier and through these beautiful forests on the way out of the town. [Music] Rush hour in Britany. Got to love cycling in France. Smooth roads, no traffic. Lovely. There are so much love, aren’t they? Yeah, they are. They are. We always choose roads that are quiet away from the busy ones. And the views are always worth it. It may take a bit longer, but it really makes you experience the countryside. like this little place where we turned up just expecting a second breakfast and came across these old trees that have been cut down and turned into rather quirky sculptures in the churchyard. [Music] The only place that we come across busier traffic is across the river bridges like this one here. But we made up for it by stopping for crates before cycling on again along the beautifully empty roads. Can’t help but smile. Then it was good enough to camp. We found a campsite at Blan just off the Veil Odyssey cycle route and the Nestress Canal and set about the process of putting up the tent for the very first time. It actually went quite well. Perhaps not the 10 minutes they said, but not too much longer. [Music] And actually, once it was up, there was plenty of room inside for us and all our kit. And it was just in the nick of time as within minutes the rain started and we had to decamp somewhere dry a pizza and beer. After a ridiculously good night’s sleep and not much more rain, we ambled into town, had breakfast with the village dog, and after packing up, set off again on the quiet roads down towards the Lir. This is our control center when we’re riding. Julie is always in front. She loves a good oldfashioned map and then she uses commute where she’s pre preloaded a route on but she can easily change it and I happily follow her wherever she goes. So with the roots set, we continued on towards the crossing of the lir, seeing the first signs of autumn with the birds gathering on the wires [Music] and egrets happily keeping cows company in the fields alongside us before we reached our little crossing point. What do you remember, Julie? I just remember arriving here, master. Last time we did it, just bursting into tears that I’d gone this far. It was such a landmark and now it’s just on our way down through France. Still makes it cool. But we’re going to cross the Lir now. We’re waiting for the ferry that’s over there to come back. We used it 2 years ago when we rode down and I still haven’t forgotten the experience and how I felt when I got there. It’s an incredible service that runs every 20 minutes from Kuron to La Pelaran and it’s free. So you just wheel your bike on or your car and you wheel off the other side. But it’s a great way to cross the river avoiding the busy road bridges and lunch was waiting for us on the other side. So that’s the first stage done. Join us on the next part as we go on to the Mar Bratton, the Ilon Noir Mutier and through to the Maravan. [Music] Hope to see you then and hope you enjoy traveling with us. Thanks for joining and subscribe for more.