Inactivity can now be defined as a French traffic jam

Fortunately the church bells are silenced between 11.00pm and 7.00am so we managed to get some sleep in Roscoff - but if anyone knows the reason why Churches ring the chimes for each hour twice (about 2 minutes apart) I would love to know.  We set off today to (approximately) follow the route of the 'Velodyssey' a long distance cycle path from Ilfracombe to Spain. We had already been on part of it in Devon, where it masquerades as National Cycle Route 27, but we hoped to pick up the official signs in France to save ourselves some navigation. A lot of the route is off- road on old railway lines, canal towpaths and newly constructed routes, but all thoughts of the smooth Tarmac on the Bristol-Bath cycle path were quickly dispelled.  When the French say off-road, the mean exactly that, so we found ourselves on rubble strewn farm tracks, dirt tracks and loose gravel.  

Before we reached these delights we rode through the town of St Pol de Leon, passing a sign which appeared to say that there would be a period of inactivity in the centre of the ancient city from 14th July to end August. I thought they might mean they had pedestrianised the city centre over the summer holiday, but it appeared they actually meant that the traffic would remain stationary over this period. We rolled up to a junction behind an ancient tractor towing what appeared to be a large marquee ( fully erected) on a low loader. It attempted to head down a street barely wide enough for two small cars to pass on opposite sides, with vans parked up on the pavement, a lorry coming the other way and a bus at a strange angle blocking everyone. We waited and nothing happened - not even the sound of horns and Gallic swearing. In the end we got the bikes on to the pavement and sailed past everyone and out on to a completely clear road. The bus passed us over an hour later, during which time we had stopped for photos and a spot of map studying, so I'm glad I wasn't relying on it to get me anywhere at a specific time.

Mid morning we found ourselves in the town of Morlaix. We had been warned that although the Velodyssey is well marked in places where you can't possibly go wrong anyway, all signs stop as soon as you enter a town. This turned put to be sadly true and with bonkers French drivers all around we had  a slightly nerve-wracking time to get through and out the other side. We then had about 15 miles on a dirt and gravel cycle path, which was incredibly slow and, after a while pretty tedious. We bailed out and took to the roads, only to discover that our 1:150,000 road map only shows a selection of the roads that exist - not necessarily the ones you are actually on!!

Luckily it was a short day mileage wise so we still got to Huelgoat in reasonable time, where the Mechanic treated me to a night out at the launderette. Observations so far are that as long as you keep away from main roads and towns there is virtually no traffic, the flowers are amazing with deep rich colours you don't often see at home. Don't expect to find anything open from 12.30 - 15.30 unless you are in a tourist hotspot and plan to get lost - a lot.

Pictures today are of the cycle signs we are attempting to follow, except when we're not, a nice warning to motorists and some strange guy I found at the roadside