...thanks to a dynamo I bought in Rennes two days ago (the voltage adaptor and cache battery bumped the price up):
Originally I wanted to freestyle the route using a compass instead of GPS, but on the way to Rennes, my compass led me onto a road, which turned into a dual-carriage way, which started to feel very much like a motorway and I got freaked out. At one point, a lorry hurled past me and blew its horn right next to my face, which almost made me crash. I'm not sure what the driver's intention was, but I found an exit shortly after and decided to get a dynamo and use GPS, so I could avoid big roads and stay alive.
Having a dynamo also means I can extend the gaps between paid accommodation stops, so it might pay for itself in the long run.
What's been happening?
Last Saturday the weather turned very nice:
And I learned how to strap a two-foot baguette to my bike:
I also had dinner and spent the night with a French family, thanks to Gaby, who recognised my cycle touring gear (from her own trips) and invited me to her parents' house nearby in the countryside.
We had Raclette cheese, melted on a hot-plate in the centre of the table and eaten with potatoes and deli meats, followed by a dessert of homemade apple tart with apple sorbet. A big change from pesto pasta and cheap cake.
Luckily, enough people spoke English for me to chat, and I found out that Gaby's father is an ex-fighter pilot (not 'X-wing' pilot unfortunately) and her brother, at 24, is an aerobatics pilot!
After dinner I went to bed, and in the morning was given a farewell with a pile of fruit (from the garden) and a handful of walnuts. Thanks Gaby and family for a lovely night!
Getting caught wild-camping
I seem to get discovered every time I set up my tent in a 'hidden' location.
On Sunday night, I set up amidst the sound of gunshots from the surrounding fields (wild deer hunting) and then had one of the hunters, gun in hand, walk right through my camp. During the night, I also heard hooves around my tent (presumably from the deer), which was disconcerting.
On Monday, I found a particularly good spot to spend two nights (so I could have a rest day). The next afternoon I ran out of water, and after drinking the same water I cooked broccoli and potatoes in (broccoli and potato tea), I risked leaving my tent to buy more in the nearest village (fifteen minutes away by bike). On my way back, I spotted the worst possible thing: A car backed up to my tent with the boot open! I raced to the field, then ran towards the car (my bike is slow on grass), feeling slightly better having my Opinel knife in my pocket (not that I would know what to do with it). The 'thieves' turned out to be an old French couple who were gathering fallen branches from under the same tree as my tent, presumably for their fire!
Finally, as I'm writing this, I turn to look out at the field I'm in, and a farmer has snuck up on me!
He doesn't speak English but I gathered he doesn't own the land, he just asked if I was cold last night (my face was cold, but my body was warm in my sleeping bag... I couldn't say this in French). Edit: I think he was actually another hunter.
Where are you?
Thanks to the dynamo, I'm now writing this on my phone instead of my Kindle, which is far easier and means I can show an exact location!
Here is a photo from yesterday on La Vilaine, a river that I'm following south:
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