Last night we really hit the culinary jackpot in Pontorson. When we booked our accommodation in the town, we were delighted to see lots of restaurants on Google maps, sadly as seems to always be the case, very few were actually open on the day we were in town. In the end we found a pizza restaurant. So rare was this beast, that it was only to be found by circling a laundrette until we located the entrance. Inside was a tiny room with a few tables and a clientele straight out of central casting from some physco horror movie. The pizza though was pretty passable to be honest.
After a rather meagre breakfast of baguette, jam and tea at the hostel, we set off on the short final leg of our journey together. A fairly flat 50km ride to St Malo, with only the last 10km offering much in the way of hills. However, once again we had very strong winds to contend with. Fortunately they were from the South West, so not full on headwinds.
Luckily, the first hour or so was almost all on Voie Vertes, the gravel tracks sheltered from the wind by avenues of trees.
Then it was onto a long straight coastal road, which was rather more exposed. We’d forgone the usual top up of supplies before we left, as David was adamant we would find refreshment on the way. I was slightly more sceptical based on previous experience. The first small village offered nothing, the second which comprised of a houses dotting the side of the road for some distance also appeared to offer nothing. I was relishing the chance to have a good moan, but then a rather unassuming building appeared. It didn’t look overly promising, but once alongside we discovered it was a cafe and it was open.
Better still, this proved to be the best mid morning stop on the tour. We had simple but delicious crepes with sugar and I had a huge pot of Earl Grey tea, freshly brewed from loose leaves, no horrid tea bags here. As a further bonus I made a new friend !
Then it was onward, accompanied by the now familiar wind and showers and a certain smugness from David at having delivered on a great cafe ! Every so often we would pass cyclists going the other way, giving them a cheery wave and “Bonjour” but secretly cursing them for having the wind in their favour. Most were on e-bikes too, which we regarded as cheating !
Just before St Malo, the skies turned blue and the sun came out. The remaining hills didn’t feel so bad then. Soon we were outside our hotel for the night, but with time before check in, we scouted the route to the ferry and then cycled into town, to officially finish the ride at the cafe where we started 11 days ago. Not feeling the need to load up on calories any more, I opted for a healthy lunch ( well almost ! )
Tomorrow it’s passports stamped and ferry home – followed by a deep clean of everything, including us !
Steady Pedals 