Day 79: Arradon to Carnac (the Atlantic) and back.

Day 79: Arradon to Carnac and back. 73 km, 3:46.

L'océan Atlantique.

The day has arrived! This is the final stretch of our Epic journey; we have completed what we set out to do, cycle from the Adriatic to the Atlantic in 11 weeks covering 4410 km. It is a bitter sweet feeling, sad to have finished this incredible journey and excited to see family and friends again.

We woke up this morning to the sad news that another Malaysian airline had gone down. Shot down by a rocket while flying over the Ukraine. No one has claimed responsibility for it. A sad day indeed, our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost their loved ones on this flight. I hope this does not trigger what the killing of Archduke Ferdinand 1 did exactly 100 years ago - the start of WW1.

Arradon is situated on the Gulf of Moribihan, a deep estuary, which is not on the Atlantic Ocean. We decided to cycle to Carnac about 45 km away on the coast to finish our journey. There are no cycle paths; most of the roads we went on were shared with vehicles. The motorists were really good, but I must admit that it is a lot more relaxing cycling on cycle paths.

The route took us over rolling hills and through some beautiful villages nestling on the edge of deep estuaries, Baden, Bono, Auray, Crach and LaTrinite-sur-Mer.

On our way into Carnac we passed the Alignments of Carnac. This is the largest Megalithic complex in Europe with more than 3000 standing stones hewn from local stone, that are placed in rows in a NE direction with a wealth of dolmens, menhirs and passage graves. Some of these rows of stones stretch over 2 km. They were placed here between 4500- 3300 BC and are a magnificent relic of the Neolithic age. There are many theories as to why they exist from ancient astronomical instruments, to ancient burial grounds. The most popular theory that holds ground today is that these alignments were constructed incrementally and added to by succeeding generations.

As the Alignments are close to Carnac it wasn't long before we reached the coast and the end of our journey. We stopped and asked quite a few people to take pics front and back, to show the United Against Poaching cycling shirts and with the SA flag too. We have had the most incredible time cycling through 6 different countries experiencing the different cultures of the various countries we have travelled through. We have crossed some exquisite territory and we have met some interesting people. We are a lot fitter now and do not feel daunted if we have to cycle 100 km in one day. 

Touring by bike is a fantastic way to see a country and get to know the people and the culture. There is nothing better than smelling the country side, the flowers, the cattle and horses with the cool air caressing your skin. We are hooked!

We celebrated at a lovely beachfront restaurant where we celebrated with a glass of champagne and some delicious oysters. Brittany is meant to have the best oysters and they were really good.

We took the beach road back to La Trinite sur Mer then onto Arradon. With the wind from behind and the feeling of having succeeded in reaching our goal, we flew up hill and dale back to Arradon.

There is a spiderweb of estuary channels before reaching the coast.

The estuary up to Auray.

Couldn't resist this. I went to varsity in one of these, a Peugot 203, many moons ago.

The Alignments of Carnac.

They stretch for kilometers.

And now what? Where's the bloody bridge?

The clock on the coast.

An expansive coastline. The Grand Plage at Carnac.

Enjoying the moment.

Celebrating with oysters and Champagne. 

Cooling off and considering our options.

Packed and ready.

The Wobbling Winos are off again! Going west.