The last three days of our French bike trip were spent in Brittany, a peninsula that juts out into the British Channel in Northwestern France. The region is very rural and agricultural, and has its own identity. We were told that recent polls found that a majority of its people would welcome more independence from France.
We based out of the lovely seaside city of Saint Malo … it’s old city has a full wall that can be walked.
My guess is that the local beaches are very popular during warm weather months. We completed beautiful rides through the countryside.
The picture above not only shows Mrs Bear’s skill as a model, but also the Roman influence in the bridge behind her.
Perhaps my greatest thrill was passing by a home that General Patton used as his headquarters for about a month in 1945. The owner of the home required us to take our photo from the edge of his property, but still …
The photo above was taken with our great guide for the trip. Every time I missed a turn, he was impressed with my ability to quickly reorient myself. But Mrs Bear still sees me as earning the nickname: WRONG WAY.
The other highlight ( or lowlight ) of our rides through Brittany occurred on our last day. We completed a lovely ride to Cancale, the oyster capital of France.
The oysters are grown in farms just beyond the shoreline. I admit that I have never eaten a raw oyster before … but having passed on trying the guinea pig offering in Peru, I felt that I had to try an oyster in this beautiful seaside village.
I wasn’t impressed by the culinary experience, but the tradition here is to throw the shell onto the beach for good luck. And it worked … Upon missing a turn and getting separated on the ride back, I was lucky enough to stumble onto the correct route and make it back. Mrs Bear remains stumped by my ability to leave before her and arrive after.
I really liked this tour and convinced Mrs Bear that we should do another one. So we signed up for a bike tour in Nova Scotia next year.
The Adventures of Barry Brink 
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