May 14th seventh stage

May 14^th seventh stage  Lesnevan to Le Faou  40kms

What was intended to be a much longer stage was shortened because of a technical problem with our support vehicle which took until 4.30 pm to fix.  This unexpected delay obliged us to spend most of the day in Lesnevan which, frankly, we did not find to be very interesting despite the bustling Monday market. Believe it or not on Mondays there is one restaurant open for lunch in the entire town which is, itself, uninspiring to say the least with buildings in dire need of renovation within metres of the central Place Flo. When  I mentioned to the lady behind the bar in the one “gastronomique” restaurant (closed on Mondays) replied, “Well, this is Lesnevan” as if to say, “What more could you expect?”  I must say I was disappointed. I had had visions of quaint Breton towns but I hadn’t seen any yet, and during today’s short ride that wasn’t about to be changed.

The car repaired by an extremely obliging mechanic at the local Peugeot garage I raced off down the D770 towards  Landerneau eager to make up for lost time. All went well despite heavy rush hour traffic until Landerneau itself. Forced off the dual carriageway I became hopelessly lost and wasted an inordinate amount of time heading towards Brest, the worst of it being that this mistake had entailed first descending and then to rectify the error, ascending, a wicked hill. Back in the town I found I had failed to notice a grubby sign directing cyclists under the railway by a narrow tunnel. Even then I had to ask three different people before I had adequate directions to the D770 direction Quimper. It had taken more than an hour to navigate the small insignificant town of Landereau and my irritation with Brittany had returned with a vengeance. The D770 climbs steadily out of Landereau after the swing bridge over the river, but I was going quite strongly, especially on the hills which gave me confidence, despite the insidious rain. However, I was way behind schedule and as the rain grew heavier and the chilly evening mist closed in I called it a day at Le Faou and we looked for a campsite. 

A difficult, disappointing day, not least because of the enforced late start but also because of the (at least to me) drabness of the small towns I passed through. Moreover, my riding coincided with the worst weather of the day.  

40 kms  

Total 414 kms.