Day 7 - 30th June 2023
- Conor Smyth
- Jul 3, 2023
- 2 min read
Our final day came around quicker than we thought and we set off from Rostrenen at approx 8.45am. We had 106kms ahead of us, but ended up being 120kms - more later....
Tired, but determind we headed off along the canal path meandering it's way between Brest and Nantes, passing several lockgates as we went. Then the hill climbs, coupled with the rain (we were starting to wonder, we're we actually in France?!). The hills were relentless and we decided to stop at Melrand to get some food, but nowhere seemed to be selling anything to eat. We were soaked to the skin and hungry, and resorted to making our own sandwiches in the rain on top of our bike paniers. The local bar allowed us to take shelter with a few welcomed coffees to warm us up.
Upwards and onwards, and it was upwards for the next 45kms. Everytime we reached the summet of a hill, there was another one within view. Googlemaps took us down a few wrong roads which meant we had to climb back up to get back on track, and some paths didn't exist.... A bridge in repair meant we had a detour which added another 15km to our day, making our final day the longest and hilliest of our 7 day cycling venture.
We were joined by two friends with 60km to go, Yves le Joubioux and his godson, Antoine, both from St Armel. It was great to have their support and encouragement and we realized we were truly nearing the end of our fundraising cycle in memory of our Daddy.
We reached the town of Vannes and now knew we were edging closer to our destination. We pushed on to ensure we would make the small ferry between Sene and St Armel and boarded it at approximately at 5:45pm.....We had arrived!
30/06/2023 St Armel 6:05pm
6.5 days - Newry -- St Armel - approx 576kms
Almost £13,000 raised
Thank-you to everyone who has cheered us on, left us a comment, given us a like, donated to our charities, we are greatly thankful to you all. We have raised an enormous amount of money for Alzeimhers society, Dementia NI, Marie Curie and Newry Hospice. We intend to leave the donation page open until the 21st July for anyone else who might like to donate.
Many thanks again
Yvonne & Conor
Well Done Guys, Amazing Adventure, so inspiring
Well done Conor and Yvonne. Wonderful achievement in memory of your wonderful Daddy.