I’m still waiting for spectacular.
So far, our two rides from Brest have been nice, but kind of average for France compared to some of the other regions I’ve cycled. And the thing is, this is my friend Don’s first French cycling adventure (and his first time to France period) and I wanted it to be spectacular for him right from the start. Then again, since this is his first time here and he usually rides in Central Ohio …
“Don how would you rate our two rides?”
“Yesterday was pretty spectacular, we saw a lot of great stuff, especially that point town.”
“Today?”
“It was a good ride out in the country, and we saw some cool churches … the first day was better.”
On the first day, we rode west to the Pointe de St-Mathieu, which was spectacular. It’s the western tip of Brittany, with rocky cliffs, the ruins of an old abbey and a tall lighthouse. From here, it was 4 kilometers north along the coast (mostly spectacular) to the port village of Le Conquet. We rode down to the cliffs and then climbed one of the steepest hills in all of France (only a slight exaggeration) to get back to the center of the village.
This was the highlight of the ride, which was 39.48 miles with 2,076 feet of climbing. The next-best section was the five- or six-kilometer stretch along the coast to get to Pointe de St-Mathieu. We passed the remains of a huge concrete bunker the Germans built and occupied during WW2. It’s a museum now. The lowlight was getting out of and back into Brest, which is a large, sprawling city filled with seemingly endless road construction projects. And one-way streets and streets closed for the endless road construction projects. I don’t mean to complain, or seem to whine, as, after all, I am in France riding a bike and this is a privilege. I think I’m whining on behalf of Don, who’s not the type to ever whine. Or complain. Then again, right now, he’s peeved at the hotel’s WIFI, which won’t let him log in on his phone.
“OK, I got it, I’m in.”
Our ride today was north, and once we got out of Brest (after seven or eight kilometers) and found the quiet, rural roads, it was a quite nice, but not spectacular ride. It’s Sunday and we must have seen 100 or more other cyclists, locals, out for a ride. So … this is a good cycling region, if you can avoid Brest know the best quiet, rural roads to ride.
Tomorrow we take the train to Morlaix, where I’m hoping the riding will be a bit more spectacular.
The Biking France Blog 
seems spectacular….
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