St Brieuc - any hills?

AndyRubio
AndyRubio Posts: 880
edited December 2011 in Tour & expedition
Hi,

Am gong to stay near St Brieuc for a week or so, just been looking at the area in Streetview, flat as a pancake which I knew anyway. Are there any hills or even sudden steep mo'fo's anywhere nearby? I'm not expecting any but coastal areas can be like that.

Cheers,
Andy
My hour on the plinth

Comments

  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    My memories of Britanny are getting a bit hazy even though I was only there three years ago.

    I did meet a guy at a campsite who claimed that they'd staged a King of the Mountains stage on the Tour de France in Britany one year. I' wasn't quite sure whether to believe him but I think this year's TdeF went through Brittany and they got a bit of a work out.

    My memory is that as you get further west, while inland it's relatively flat there can be some short steep climbs down to the coastal villages themselves. Certainly the coast north of Saint-Brieuc is well worth a look even if you don't find any big hills.

    I think there are more hills as you head towards Brest and the next departement on.

    You could try turning on the terrain view in Google Maps (cunningly hidden - click on 'traffic ' and a dropdown menu appears). Or you could look at the IGN maps online here:

    http://www.geoportail.fr
    Italy Cycling Guide
  • AndyRubio
    AndyRubio Posts: 880
    Superb on many counts, thanks!
    My hour on the plinth
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    The coast towards and beyond Paimpol and Perros-Guirec is hilly, and very pretty. But nothing major as far as I can remember.

    St Brieuc isn't too far from Mur-de-Bretage, done this year in the Tour de France. A bit of a steep slog on a straight road
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,420
    The only trouble is if you go via the coast is how to cycle past the many wonderful seafood restaurants.

    I think someday I might take the bike over Plymouth-Roscoff and do some riding around there, if only to get to eat the seafood in the area. The scenery isn't bad either.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • AndyRubio
    AndyRubio Posts: 880
    Seafood restaurants you say...?
    My hour on the plinth
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,420
    AndyRubio wrote:
    Seafood restaurants you say...?
    Erquy is one I've drooled past. Another good one right by the sea in the old part of Roscoff. I think you'll find dozens along the coast.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    The most famous place for seafood is Cancale where you can eat oysters on the quayside straight from the oyster farm (I'm sure there's a correct term but 'oyster farm' does the job). They also farm mussels all along the coast. Scallops are plentiful too.
    Italy Cycling Guide
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,420
    andymiller wrote:
    The most famous place for seafood is Cancale where you can eat oysters on the quayside straight from the oyster farm (I'm sure there's a correct term but 'oyster farm' does the job). They also farm mussels all along the coast. Scallops are plentiful too.
    Yes, the oysters there are superb. The beach is nearly all oyster shells. My favourite meal on the return crossing from Roscoff to Plymouth is a dozen oysters with good French bread, washed down with a nice Sancerre, eaten on deck in the breeze and sun.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • AndyRubio
    AndyRubio Posts: 880
    edited December 2011
    Fck me there are hills round here alright.

    I'm staying at Yffiniac, birthplace of Bernard Hinault, some right doozies made harder by their being exposed to winds from the Channel. I was out for 3 hours today, finding walking a challenge now. I can see how battling this stuff made the Badger the aggressive (and awesome) little twât he is today.

    St Brieuc has a section which is in a deep valley and the roads leadng out of the valley are good long climbs.

    But it's a boring place, out of season and not much to do except ride. Shoulda gone to the Alps huh.

    I saw this sign, kind of appropriate given the 25% ramp that mademe cough my lungs out:

    6158025991_730e0e4583.jpg
    My hour on the plinth
  • DMLloyd
    DMLloyd Posts: 6
    Ah, you've found them then! Sorry I didn't pick up on your post before you went...I could have told you! Did a Tour of Brittany in 2010 - Roscoff (59miles) Quimper (72miles) Vannes (42miles) Batz-sur-mer (52miles) Nantes (70miles) Rennes (65miles) St. Brieuc (50miles) Morlaix (19miles) Roscoff) and 2011 (http://tourdebretagne2011.jimdo.com/) ...some nasty dinks and donks. But the food (not just the seafood), scenery, routes and people are all superb. Think I may well be heading there again in 2012.
  • AndyRubio
    AndyRubio Posts: 880
    I had a great trip but I have to admit to be a tad disappointed... I think after spending cycling holidays in the Alps, Brittany seemed a bit tame, and a bit same-ish. Food, people, countryside etc all fantastic of course - I mean , it IS France. But I wasn't as wowed as I hoped I would be. Probably didn't help that I seeme to have forgotten all the French I ever learned, and was on me tod. Your 2010 trip sounds great though DMLLoyd. Were you camping or B&Bing?
    My hour on the plinth
  • DMLloyd
    DMLloyd Posts: 6
    Andy, Well it isn't the Alps of course! The coast and villages are lovely though. I'm hoping to do a trip to the Alps or Pyrenees at some point.

    The 2010 trip was great, first self-organised tour...and then did different, far more leisurely, pleasurely route in 2011, but all great fun. And there was me and a mate in 2010 and two mates in 2011...which made it sociable riding too - can see that on tod it wouldn't have been the same. We B&B'd...just for the ease and comfort (at my age, very important!!!!).

    Funily enough, just fired off an email to all my cycling mates to see what we can line up for 2012. For some reason I'm thinking maybe Norway!

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