Morning 1

La Velodyssee morning 1 starts in the boutiqueyest of boutique hotels called Hotel de France in Saint Pol de Leon which seems to be a very gentrified version of a quaint French town. Even touring cyclists are allowed some luxury!

After a leisurely breakfast and a quick 4K or so up to ‘the start’ in Roscoff the intention is to ride the full route of La Velodysee. This will take me from Roscoff in Finistere (literally translates to ‘the end of the land’) down the Atlantic coast of France to (and across) the border with Spain near to Hendaye. A trip of around 1250 kilometres by bicycle.

This to many might sound epic but in the world of long distance touring cyclists this would be described as an easy one. It’s fairly flat and is mostly on cycle ways. It doesn’t cross any mountain ranges or dangerous territory. In the world of Cycle Touring it is not even long. Even the ‘route’ itself La Velodyssee is only a small part of ‘Eurovelo 1’ which runs for over 9000 kilometres from Nordkap in the Arctic Circle (Norway), the most northerly point in Europe, to Sagres in Portugal which is the most southerly point in Europe.

So while I accept it’s quite a long ride it barely scratches the surface of what anyone can ride on a bicycle.