As these rides wind down, it all so bittersweet.You've been out on the road inching to get back home and stop living out of your luggage and you rush the last day to be back to hotel, disassemble your riding equipment and jump into the shower and clean up. Then slowly you migrate into the hotel lobby and for a couple of drinks before dinner prior to dinner. Some folks need to catch the early train for other adventures, some folks will depart in personal cars in the morning and the majority will catching the bus to the airport, some for departures in that evening and others for early morning flights the following day. In short, the scattering begins. It's now time for this small group of friends that have come together to enjoy the companionship that comes from shared effort and sometimes exhaustion with the common wish of maybe just one more week or one more trip.
The two weeks in Brittany had been really fun, some would say magical. When the trip planning begins, the organizers tries to put the odds of a successful trip in their favor by selecting the correct location, the best routes and hotels and the best time of the year. However "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry". Fortunately, this year, for this trip, the plans held firm. Not every day was perfect, not all routes were without obstacles, but I would not have traded this trip for anything.
Just feet away from our lunch stop we discovered the following work of art constructed from sticks that had grown in the nearby pond. It's both intimidating and fascinating at the same time.
After lunch, we experienced quite a bit of downhill fun followed by some increasing urban traffic as we returned to our starting point, the Novotel Hotel in Rennes.
Our task at that point was to return our rental bikes to the original condition (remove our peddles, replace our seats and saddlebags and remove our cycle computers and load the bikes into the van for return to Paris.
It was still pretty early in the afternoon, about 4PM, a large number of us gathered in the lobby to discuss the ride and what rides may be in our futures.
Tomorrow, many of us will board a bus to return to the Charles De Gaulle Airport. A couple of us will fly out Sunday evening with additional riders flying out Monday morning and some additional riders staying in the Paris area for an additional vacation.
All in all, a wonderful experience.
To view today's photo album, click here
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