After twenty kilometers with the mist burnt off and the gradient kicking in I pause to take the jacket off, have a drink and get ready for a mile of 8-11% uphill.
The 11% got the better of me and I walked the second half though on the following long 5% uphill I was fine. I then get to enjoy a beautiful day with blue skies and easy cycling. It really was fun on the bike with lots of swooping downhill descents on a winding single track road. I am back in the Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine.
The first real stop is at Carrouges where I know there is a coffee shop, though it will close for the day at 1pm. I get there for 12:30pm and enter expecting an array of cakes. However, the only food option is a cookie which I take with a coffee. The coffee is decidedly average and even though the cookie is very good - its not all sugar - it doesn't make up for the disappointment. By way of compensation I get a far aux pruneaux (Far Breton) from the excellent boulangerie/patisserie opposite. This is similar to a plum clafoutis being fruit baked in a deep batter. Clafoutis is now common in the UK but is a classic French dessert originating from the Limousin region; it dates back to the 19th century, where it was originally made with black cherries.
La Ferté-Macé is a large town boasting a grand town hall and an even grander church, which, oddly sits next door to a more modest earlier church. I am staying in an apartment and this isn't my ideal as there is always communication required to be met at the property and then secure bike storage is not a given as it is with hotels who have both a reception and a garage. Of course, despite some anxiety over communication (my phone reception was poor) I met at the allotted time and my bike was put in the lobby of the building; probably the most secure it has been all trip.
