Day 15 - La Ferté-Macé

It is a calm, cool and misty start and my jacket and gloves are on as they usually are until the sun warms up the air surrounding planet Earth. I am mindful of two climbs today as my legs lack the strength for any meaningful effort after two weeks of cycling.

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but is a classic French dessert originating from the Limousin region; it dates back to the 19th century, where it was originally made with black cherries.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.

Index

Day 16

Day 14 - Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe

I am cycling towards Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe on my return back towards the coast. It feels a little odd to get to the fairly anonymous town of Nogent-le-Rotrou to then just turn around; no grand arrival, no spectacular visitor attraction. The fact that I am doubling back to Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe - a town I passed through yesterday - amplifies the 'why did I bother' feeling. However, having taken the lush low road on the greenway yesterday, I am taking a roundabout route through various villages today. The mission today is to capture the bocage of the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche. 

Bocage is the name given to the patchwork landscape that defines much of Normandy, and especially the regional parks. It’s a mix of small fields, sunken lanes, and twisting hedgerows thick with trees and shrubs, alongside woods and copses. The result is a countryside that feels enclosed and intimate, full of hidden corners, shady green tunnels, and sudden openings where views stretch across farmland. This landscape isn’t just picturesque; it has shaped local history and culture for centuries, from farming traditions to the fierce battles fought here during the Second World War. As you can see, today is about the journey and not the destination. 

I arrive in Longny-au-Perche at 12noon. It is a Monday so everything is closed except for a pizza place called "Pizzeria 2 M". I nearly pass it by until I see it does Le Menu so I enjoy chicken drumsticks with a generous pile of green beans. It has been interesting exploring a small part of one of the twenty-two regions of France and quite different to the tour from St Malo to Nice.

To close the day we have a reminder that we are still in Normandy. 

When I arrive in Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe it is 5pm but because it is a Monday the hotel reception doesn't open until 6pm. This provides some time and a snack is required; as ever the bakery comes good. 

Tomorrow is only 40 miles but I have a mountain to climb though fortunately it is in the first half of the day. In truth these elevation charts are misleading and it's only that first 'sharks tooth' climb I am worried about as my legs are fatigued.

Index

Day 15

Day 13 - Nogent-le-Rotrou

I chatted to some Canadians last night who are cycling a section of the vélo scénie from Chartres to Le Mont Saint-Michel; a route that starts in Paris. Today I follow this but heading inland towards Chartres on what is a comparatively flat day as it follows a railway embankment. A similar route which I have encountered in Normandy is the velo franchette. Following the Voie Vert from Dieppe to Paris then Paris to Le Mont Saint-Michel would make a good tour.

The Normandy Tourism website has plenty of cycling suggestions. Looking ahead at the weather it looks dry with temperatures getting up to the high teens.

Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne is another inviting place to setup a base for cycling especially if you go in September for the Fête de la Mayenne. As you can see I am already looking to the next trip.

Some photos of Alençon with the morning sun before I set off.

After 10 miles I pause at a forest picnic area. It has information boards and secure bike parking if you wanted to stow bike and panniers while you take a walk.

Rolling into Mortagne-au-Perche there is a gradient on the road up into town and I find it harder than I think it should be but then the gradient is steeper than it looks, I have already covered 25 miles with no real stops, and as I discover as I ponder the difficulty of the climb my rear tyre has punctured. I inflate as a very temporary fix, ride 500 meters to the nearest Brasserie and enjoy Le Menu where I try a rabbit version of gala pie and the boudin noir, a soft version of the UK's black pudding. 

As to puncture repair, when I am touring I usually apply a patch and refit the punctured - and newly repaired - tube so I know the fix has worked and it saves me an evening job. So that is what I do.

Today was 50 miles and as it was flat I had categorised it as an easier day, a day to recover a little; I wish that was true. Anyway, looking at the numbers I am up to 560 miles and - more importantly - had a great day on the Véloscénie. 

Index

Day 14

Day 12 - Alençon

Yesterday's laundry dried so I am warm and fragrant as I depart this morning. First stop is Bagnoles-de-l'Orne though I pause to photograph a charming wreck on the way, and I'm not talking about taking a selfie. Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is a spa town and has that rarity, a bakery with seating similar to an English coffee-and-cake café. There have been complaints that there aren't enough cake photos and in part this is due to the eateries where I have been staying which have been bar tabacs or restaurants. 

The paris-brest was designed to be a cycle wheel in honour of the Tour de France and the apple tart is a fair representation of Normandy. Eaten as a combination they represent a cycle tour of Normandy. 

Cycling through the forests around Bagnoles-de-l'Orne I see people out foraging for mushrooms so I keep an eye open for them.

Villages often like to promote themselves and provide flowers and well maintained green spaces.

As I get closer to today's destination the scenery changes becoming slightly flatter then mostly downhill into Alençon a fact I welcome as today is almost 50 miles.

I am excited about the next stage of the tour when I enter the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche. As I move on I am surprised at just how good Lonlay-lʼAbbaye was as a base for cycling.

Index

Day 13

Day 11 - Lonlay-lʼAbbaye

Normandy has a number of these structures and they are either attached to a house or they stand alone. My assumption is that they are wood fired ovens.

The weather is dry but decidedly cool, so much so that gloves and jacket are now on most mornings. I mention this as tomorrow I leave the gîte and its washing machine so today is laundry day. I will do this after today's ride and hope that my clothes dry enough to wear tomorrow without too much discomfort. 

This is my route which is one I've devised to take me out in the direction of Chanu where I havn't been yet, track over to Dompierre where I hope to get lunch, then back to the gîte via a roundabout way to add some miles and try new roads. As all the roads and scenery are predictably fantastic it is an easy planning process. Positioning the destination (the white circle) at Dompierre tells me it will take 1 h 52 to get there or three hours allowing for photo and coffee breaks. A 9am departure will see me there for lunch and if they are closed for whatever reason I have time to move on. 

For once there is space to photograph a church in its entirety; they are usually hemmed in by other buildings. This is at Larchamp.

These drovers paths are typical of the region though usually seen in quite short segments. 

This landscape is from an earlier day but is representative of today and the region generally. 

As I enter Dompierre at noon I see another pair of presses and wonder if they were used in conjunction, one to roll the apples into a mash and the other to squeeze out all the juice. 

Many of the restaurants in the area include Le Relais in the name. This comes from the days of coach and horse travel, ehen these relay stations would allow horses to be changed and travellers to get food. Lunch today is a €16 Le Menu and sausage roll (friand á la viande maison) for starter, pork for the main course, goid cheeseselectionand Floating Islands for dessert. Viande maison or House meat sounds a little bit Sweeney Todd but it is good and my guess is that it is the remains of Thursday's calf's head. So yes, very Sweeney Todd!

The ride today has been perfect, a nice short rest day before moving on, some rare straight downhill that allowed me to use the rarely engaged 11-tooth sprocket, catching a few more of the villages while enjoying the familiarity of crossing routes I have ridden earlier. Tomorrow is Alençon and a slightly longer ride with me carrying all my kit again and possibly wearing slightly damp clothes as today is laundry day. 

I came back via Saint-Clair-de-Halouze which was a centre of iron ore extraction and smelting from the 1300s through to 1978.

Though at 5pm I feel like crawling into bed the previous five days (days 6 to 10) mileage has been 43, 44, 43, 44 and 41 with total ascents of 810, 820, 660, 1130 and 710 meters respectively. 

Index

Day 12