The morning started with the church bells at 7.00 am! The campsite was approximately 600 meters from the church…an oversight on my part!
Regardless I bravely slept on for another 90 minutes before I ventured to the exterior of the tent. The weather was cool but not cold, damp but not raining and completely windless, it seemed ‘softer’ than the first 4 days. This looks good, not quite yet, but for tomorrow’s weather, not today’s.
Finally on the bike and away at a leisurely 11:00 am. The 23 kilometres to Blain took under an hour and a half so I stopped for a quick cuppa just after the town. More riverside riding…
As I sat I heard a large splash and a familiar (to me anyway) animal swam along the river, a few minutes later another swam out from the bank and I managed to get some video and photos of the creature.
The animal is a Coypu. It was introduced to France from South America in the 1800’s for fur farming. It is the second largest member of the rodent family after the Capybara. Adult males can be over 10 kilograms!
During The Great Depression of the 1930’s demand for fur dropped. Many of the farms went out of business and the animals were deliberately released into the French countryside. They are now in all regions of France and are recognised as a pest. In fact about 75% of the total population live at my house (not really I made that up).
They do however cause untold damage to the banks of waterways and lakes due to their burrowing habit. Many kilometres of the canal that I cycled showed either damage caused by them or major repair works having been completed.
Very often natural predators can be used to control an invasive species. But as their only natural predators are the Jaguar, the South American Caiman and the Anaconda it is unlikely that the local Maire will give me permission to introduce them any time soon!
The day progressed along the river eventually ending in Nort sur Erdre just north of Nantes. I decided to go to the old port for a cup of tea before I went to the campsite.
It wasn’t quite as glamorous as I had hoped but if there was a storm it would definitely be near the top 10 on my list.
Anyway I quickly drank my tea and went to the campsite to get ready for the assault on Nantes tomorrow. A bientot!
Sounds very leisurely day. I noticed you have been losing calories at a pace I envy so make sure you have loads of protein and whatever I don’t want to come to France to see you too skinny.
Marnet XX
Yes the calorie expenditure is high but Strava is actually reporting it much lower than it really is. It doesn’t know the weight of the bike and gear. The actual calories used will be at least 50% more than reported on Strava or Garmin Connect.
I’m not sure I’ll get over seeing that pic of you after your 7am wake up! Rise of the zombies (in Lycra) come to mind!