Day 1

From: Roscoff To: Locquirec

It was a unique experience for me - cycling a bike off a ferry onto the continent. The ferry was a 17 hour journey from Rosslare; I decided against taking a cabin, so was working on a couple of hours of kip on the floor of the reserved seating area. That really didn't seem to matter as the adrenaline was flowing a bit faster than normal. I wasn't sure where I was going to end up - the only thing that was prearranged was the ferry home in 3 weeks from Cherbourg; other than that, the itinerary was to be made up along the way. I think that was the important point; as well a being a holiday this was also to have an element of adventure and unfettered freedom. I secured the bags and other loose items to the bike under the watchful eye of customs and police officers, as they surveyed the cars unloading from the ferry. It was warm (maybe 22-23 C) but with a seabreeze to keep the temperature pleasant. I had taken the time to change into shorts and cycling shirt on the ferry, so was ready to hit the road. It's 11.30am on Friday...

First pit stop: Roundabout at Carantec		The bike is the one with the handlebars...

I resisted the temptation to explore St. Pol and hit the D58 (later D173 / D73) toward Morlaix. The ride was easy, staying mostly at sea level for much of the time. The coast heading into Morlaix gave me the first taste of the extreme tides in the Brittany region...good sized boats stranded in the Baie de Morlaix, with no sign of the sea for miles around. I found it difficult to imagine the rate at which the tide came in to refloat them.

East of the Baie de Morlaix, looking west		Same shot, with the bike against guard rail

From Morlaix, I headed north along the coast toward Plougasnou (D76). At this stage I noticed that the bike was not handling very well and at times (with any cross wind) was difficult to keep straight (and steady). The symptoms were similar to a broken back axle but, having had one replaced in the previous month, figured that this was unlikely to be the cause. It was more likely to be the amount (and distribution) of the luggage. I had not weighed it before I left, so didn't know the extent of what I was carrying with me. More pointedly, I had not taken any preparation trips with the precise luggage mix that I now had; I had packed the pannier bags with clothes during those early trips, but here I had a totally different mix of luggage. The medium term solution seemed to be to get additional pannier bags on the front and distribute the weight; the short term solution was to repack the bags when I stopped for the night and put the heavier items on the bottom of the bags; and the immediate solution was to slow down and try to keep the bike from falling over.

WW2 bunker at Pointe de Diben		View from Pointe de Diben looking west

I made for Pointe de Diben and Pointe de Primel as the map indicated a scenic route along the coast here, with good views of the Baie de Morlaix. After a short stop for water and a couple of photos I decided to take one of the smaller roads toward Locquirec and bypassed Plougasnou. These roads were perfect for cycling...no traffic, and lined with fields of corn and artichokes. With no sign of any significant hills, the wind at my back and the sun shining, it didn't get much better than this. I thought that I was lost for a while, but eventually ended up in Lanmeur and, as the evening was starting to draw in, decided it prudent to consider where I was to stay that night. I headed for Locquirec approx 10k away.

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