Brittany - Voies Vertes

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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Randy
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Joined: 4 Nov 2008, 7:25pm

Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by Randy »

Anyone have first hand experience with these cycle paths? Planning a Brittany cycle tour and hoping to utilize some of these.
The web sites I have found indicate this is quite an extensive system but I know from other experiences that sometimes promoted cycle paths are less than ideal or a works in progress.

Many thanks,
Randy
Canada
jake
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Joined: 9 Feb 2007, 7:08pm

Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by jake »

Try: www.voievertes.com . This site was recommended previously on here. While not a true Avenue Verte, I've just read an interesting article on a 100 mile traffic-free cycle along the Nantes to Brest canal.
dodger
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by dodger »

Quite a pleasant run from Morlaix to Carhaix and again part of the way from Carhaix towards Loudeac. A new road being built cuts through at one point and then you veer off to the Nantes-Brest Canal and back again to the track just past Gouarec.
Also been on parts of the Mauron to Questenbert route - nice surface.
Followed the N-B canal from Carhaix to Redon 2 years ago. OK, but it does get a bit boring and it's not a fast surface. Scenic in places though and plenty of wildlife - saw kingfishers, wild birds aplenty, wild boar, deer, an otter (I think) and not too many humans, except in the hot spots. Pontivy, Josselin and Malestroit all nice stopping places.
The Voie Vertes maps are so small that they do nothing, but you can follow the routes approximately from the route descriptions, giving the place names.
Finding the starts of routes sometimes requires a bit of searching too.
Have fun
JJF
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by JJF »

I rode on some voies vertes in Brittany last year. I devised a route and accompanied a novice cyclist with limited stamina.
Look at http://www.af3v.org
The routes visited were as follows:
1 Morbihan to Mauron. Tarmac. Former railway. Trees gave good shelter from strong winds which were gusting up to gale force.
2 Canal d'Ille et Rance from Rennes to Hede. Level surface. "Sol stabilise". Easy to ride. The tree lined canal meanders. Picturesque.
3 Medreac to Trevran. Tarmac. Former railway.
Back to 2 above near Trevran. To Dinan.
4 Outside Dinan to Dinard. Former railway.

All the routes were easy to ride, very rural and nearly deserted. Would suit beginners/children.
Whilst level ground is welcome, many cyclists would welcome diversions on to more undulating territory.
JJF
CanAmSteve
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by CanAmSteve »

No doubt mentioned elsewhere, but I found it difficult to find printed VV maps available to order online - just too many "almost right" choices.

I did find a UK supplier of French topo (OS-style) maps at reasonable prices though

http://www.mapsworldwide.com/
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al_yrpal
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by al_yrpal »

Voies Vertes are all marked on the Michelin Local 1-200000 maps which to me are the best maps to navigate with in France. Personally I found the Voies Vertes often surrounded by trees rather boring as is the canal after a bit. The best bits of Brittany are mostly in small villages.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
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simonineaston
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by simonineaston »

al_yrpal wrote:Voies Vertes are all marked on the Michelin Local 1-200000 maps which to me are the best maps to navigate with in France. Personally I found the Voies Vertes often surrounded by trees rather boring as is the canal after a bit. The best bits of Brittany are mostly in small villages.Al

+ 1 for the above. I'm fast coming to the conclusion that their best use is as part of a mixNmatch approach to touring in Brittany, forming a minor variation on a theme rather than the bulk of your itinerary.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
dodger
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by dodger »

Agreed, but they can be great for the less confident rider. My wife loved the route from Roscoff to Redon, avoiding all busy roads.
bretonbikes
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by bretonbikes »

simonineaston wrote:
al_yrpal wrote:Voies Vertes are all marked on the Michelin Local 1-200000 maps which to me are the best maps to navigate with in France. Personally I found the Voies Vertes often surrounded by trees rather boring as is the canal after a bit. The best bits of Brittany are mostly in small villages.Al

+ 1 for the above. I'm fast coming to the conclusion that their best use is as part of a mixNmatch approach to touring in Brittany, forming a minor variation on a theme rather than the bulk of your itinerary.


Couldn't agree more. We often get people wanting to do the whole Nantes-Brest or all cyclepaths and I do steer them away from it generally - they are lovely for a break or for younger children, but as the canal tends not to go through villages you miss out on so much. For example the section west of Gouarec has about 70 kms where there is not one single bar/shop etc in sight and nothing resembling a village. When the roads are so quiet and the villages so wonderful you've got to have a really good reason not to make them a major part of any ride.
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
groberts
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Re: Brittany - Voies Vertes

Post by groberts »

I have only used the St Malo to Dinard path in Brittany which was very good. However, I have used the Voies Vertes extensively in neighbouring Normandy and written up some of my experiences here if you're interested: https://roundthebendpart1.wordpress.com ... june-2011/

As you'll see my conclusion is similar to others; whilst well surfaced and very good to cycle on they can often miss interesting places, don't go by shops etc for food and, being old railway tracks the sides can often lined with trees that obscure attractive scenery. The solution is to use them in combination with smaller roads - I use the Michelin 1: 150,000 (yellow) maps which also clearly show the voises vertes.
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