2024 Tour – Day 1 – Windy! | 2024 Tour to Gibraltar

Nice to be on the road again for the latest tour. Storm Ernesto arrived just as I was setting off. Although the worst of the weather was “oop norf” in the UK, its still gave me a nasty head wind. Fitness levels are not where they should be, so rather than burning out on day 1, I diverted to Rennes and then got the train to Redon where I had a hotel booked. Weather forecast for tomorrow is wet and windy !

Just as I was crossing the harbour yesterday, my boat was arriving. Not too long to get on the ship. As usual the food and wine was excellent and then it was down to the cabin for sleep.

And here is the sun over St Malo. Skies clouded over later and the wind picked up.

Dinard Quay, must be one of my favorites. about 20 miles into the ride and my first stop for coffee and cake.

Cycling infrastructure in France grows every year I pass through. We need more of this in the UK. On this route, pedestrians and cyclist are separated.

I am not on a sponsor ride but will be riding as much as I can. If the weather is bad, I will occasionally use the train as a fast forward. Here the trains are really set out well, but a reservation for bikes are mandatory. The booking system is a little confusing as on previous occasions, I have been able to book a ticket and reservation via the SNCF app. But for the moment, SNCF wants cyclist to book a reservation for the bike on a completely different website!

Today, I am giving you two maps to look at. The stop button was pushed at the point I decided to divert for a “rail assist”.