The plan for yesterday had been to go to the re-cycling centre in the morning with my neighbours and then out for a bike ride in the afternoon. The trailer had been loaded up and it was just a case of adding a few more things – then off we’d go. But … I got a message overnight saying that there was a fault with the car so the trip might have to be delayed.
Change of plan – a lovely cool morning so I went out for 45 mins on one of my mountain bikes – saw a hare near la Raserais. Back home for more coffee – just in time to get another message: “Bob – the car’s fixed – we’re leaving in 20 mins”. Just as well I’d only gone out for a short ride …
Back from the re-cycling centre by 10.30am – gulped the last of the cold coffee and decided it was far too early for lunch. So, a millionaire and a brownie into the sacoche and a full bidon of water loaded onto the bike – a short drive into Mauron then I headed south on my road bike on the V3 Voie Verte.
Through Ploërmel without any difficulty and down to the canal. A return from here would have been enough for my July HMCAM qualifier but my legs felt good so I carried on across the flat Oust valley. I calculated that going up and over the south side of the valley and down to the Claie would give me about 80km for my second ride and a daily total of 90km – enough for a Lunacy Distance ride and perhaps enough ascent for a Lunacy Climbing ride.
Just after the start of the climb up to the old railway station at Malestroit, I came across deviation signs. Oh, no: not again – I’d had this problem earlier in June when they’d closed the Voie Verte NW of Pleucadeuc. I stopped a cyclist coming along the marked deviation route and asked him if the Voie Verte was blocked (“Route Barrée”). Yes, he said – it’s blocked off.
So, I followed the diversion – going further and further west – and getting more and more suspicious. I ended up at la Née where – sure enough – the canal towpath (EV1) was blocked. But I hadn’t been on the canal towpath – I was heading south on the V3 – not east on the EV1. Oh, bugger … I’m not riding the towpath on my road bike unless it’s unavoidable – so I branched off onto the D10 and headed into Malestroit. Such a pretty town and so photogenic with beautiful medieval buildings but heaving with tourists (July is not a good time to explore Malestroit). A swift re-calculation of distances and I worked out that staying on the towpath (sorry, bike) to the écluse at Foveno would give me about 80km for the ride … so, apologising again to the bike, we carried on – all the time wishing that I hadn’t listened to the guy who’d told me that the V3 was closed – and also wishing that I’d been on one of my gravel bikes instead.
Got to Foveno, gobbled down most of my melting chocolate millionaire shortbread and then quit the canal again and joined the D764 heading back into Malestroit from the east.
Worked my way through various sets of traffic lights and back onto the D10 before quitting it again to rejoin the towpath. Bump, bump, bump – oh, this isn’t fun – and back to la Née. Started back on the diversion but left it after about 1km – rejoined the D10 for the umpteenth time – and headed west to where it crosses the V3. I could see cyclists in the distance – so the V3 hadn’t been closed at all.
By one of those strange coincidences, I then came across the same cyclist who’d told me several hours earlier that the V3 was blocked. I told him it wasn’t – but he was insistent that it was – it became clear after talking to him for a minute or so that he’d no idea what the V3 was – and that he’d just been cycling along the towpath when he’d come across the deviation signs.
Annoying – but what can you do?
Not the ride I’d intended to do – but back to the van with 84.69km on the clock (only 288m of ascent so not enough for a Lunacy Climbing qualifier). Coupled with my early morning ride, that was 95.21km for the day which moves me a little closer to E Metric 85 (one more ride to go) and E Imperial 57 (still 9 more to do).
My digital camera isn’t working (probably needs replacing) so no photos from the ride – but here’s my road bike at Foveno in April 2024 (not much has changed other than that the bike now has mudguards and an 11-litre
sacoche/saddlebag).
