Le Mont St Michel - Chateaubriant
Leaving Le Mont St Michel we farewelled the Veloscenic which ended there and started down la Regalante which takes the rider to Nantes at the mouth of the Loire.
We are now in Brittany and the Régalante takes us through towns and villages which are home to medieval fortresses large and small which mark the border between what was the Dukedom of Normandy and the Kingdom of France. Normandy was aligned with and often ruled by the Kings of England which resulted in 500 years of conflict. This was followed by conflicts between Catholics and protestants, the French Revolution which saw many castles destroyed and finally WW2 which destroyed many of the old timber houses due to fire. Hence our ride now takes us through many of the sites of these conflicts.
An 80k cycle from Mont St Michel along small country roads and a lovely greenway and we arrived in Fougères, the highlight of this route. It is a very attractive town with a medieval centre and well preserved buildings. It’s claim to fame is the large castle set on 5 hectares which dates from the C11th and seen many battles over the centuries. It’s the largest medieval fortress in Europe and remarkably well preserved. We stayed in Fougères for 3 nights in a lovely Airbnb apartment in one of the historic homes not far from the castle. The owners, an American couple lived downstairs in part of the towers of the fortified walls of the town. We were surrounded by so much history!
Cyclist friendly area - Electric bike charging and tool station along the way
Views of Fougères from outside and within the castle. 
Les Vins et une Fouchette (the wine and a fork) - a nice little French restaurant befitting of a special birthday celebration but unfortunately spoiled by a very cranky waiter
Why didn’t I get one of these for my birthday???
Or one of these? 
While having dinner we met a chatty, very pompous British chap at the table next to us who had come across for a car rally. He was keen to tell us that he had come from Bristol in his Bistrol. And so on the way home from dinner there it was in the street outside their hotel - a Bristol Coupe dating from the 1950’s.
Apartment in Fougères
View from the window with city walls below
Fougères to Vitré (37k)
We had a lovely 3 night stay in Fougères then it was just a short 37k along another nice voie verte to the next medieval town, Vitré. Its castle was not as impressive but the little medieval town centre was delightful with narrow cobbled lanes lined with half timbered houses. We enjoyed our short stop in yet another historical and special place in the Brittany countryside.
First glimpse of the castle from the bike track coming in
Vitré to Chateaubriant
After an early start from Vitré in anticipation of a long day, we arrived at Chateaubriant in the centre of a rather underwhelming town. We were a little pooped after a 91km ride on small country roads through undulating countryside (we’ve become spoilt by all the beautiful flat greenways we’ve been on) so took a photo of the Renaissance chateau and retreated to the also rather underwhelming accommodation we had booked for the night, chosen for the fact that it was at street level and we could just wheel our bikes in. It was cosy, tiny and functional but not really befitting of a place to celebrate our wedding anniversary, had we known it was! It was only when we received a video call from good friends Glynis and Ivor with wine in hand to toast us that we realised it was! Dont worry G & I we will make up for it in coming days!
Hmmm…..those barbecued sausages look good. Will I, won’t I …..
Yes, I will!
A paddock of pintades, French Guinea fowl
The Renaissance style chateau at Chateaubriant.
The cosy style accommodation at Chateaubriant! That’s the whole place as seen from the front door!
Chateaubriant was the end of the Regalante route for us (204k from Mont St Michel).
We set off in the rain and turned onto a very nice greenway that took us to Chateau Gontier. Another long day of 77k but we have now rejoined Le Velo Francette for the next stage of our trip.
Chateaubriant to Chateau Gontier
Castle walls along the way
Lunch stop
Sneaky peeky seniors checking on passers by
Arriving at the impressive town of Chateau Gontier on the Mayenne River
This featured blog entry was written by themaggiej from the blog Maggie & Keith’s Electrifying Bike Tour.
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