St Malo to Nice

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43 miles

A very pleasant days riding today along very quiet country lanes through farm land with cattle and crops growing. The weather was similar to yesterday so just right for cycling.

We didn't leave the hotel till well after ten o'clock as the mileage for the day wasn't too high. We didn't pass a supermarket on our way out of town so we kept a look out for one as we passed through the villages on route. We found a Boulangerie at Erbree and bought two baguettes filled with ham and cheese. Next door to the Boulangerie was a shop called 'Ty Gwen' which apparently means 'white house' in Welsh and is quite common here as the Welsh and Breton languages are very similar. We stopped briefly in Le Pertre as I spotted more public toilets. It was just before mid day and the church bells were ringing very loudly and it seemed to go on forever. In fact we could hear them, still ringing, a few miles down the road. Our lunch stop was at Meral sat on an old stone bench outside the church which luckily was in the shade. (It's amazing how far you have to go sometimes to find a bench in the shade). This was just under half way. We usually try to have lunch after half way but due to shorter miles and a later set off this was just convenient, leaving yoghurt and nuts for later.

We were now out of Brittany and in Mayenne, which is 'horse racing country ' so there were quite a few horses around and 'Hippodromes'. Again the roads were undulating with one or two stiffer climbs than yesterday.

Very close to the end of the journey we came off the main road to follow 'cycle paths' route to get us straight to the hotel but one of the paths no longer existed so we had to backtrack to the main road and work it out from there. The hotel, another Ibis, is just out of town but fortunately has a restaurant attached so we dined there tonight. My notes tell me Segre is a busy little town but has nothing to attract tourists so we probably aren't missing anything by not being in town.

The Internet tells me there is a Spa in Segre and it is open on a Sunday morning. That's good news as it can be difficult to find shops open on a Sunday and we have some times had to find cafes or restaurants for food but opening times are often variable and obviously they cost more.

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