bluenotebob
Veteran
- Location
- France
This is a thread for anyone planning to ride Eurovelo #1 between Roscoff and Nantes in 2024.
At least two people intend to ride this route in September … @The Crofted Crest and @SafetyThird. I’ve also tagged @Cathryn and @roubaixtuesday - but I reckon you'll both be travelling further east and so shouldn't be affected by the following.
Eurovelo #1 between Pontivy and Redon, ie where it follows the Nantes-to-Brest canal towpath, has been badly affected by autumn/winter flooding in the Oust valley. This is a significant part – roughly a third – of the route between Roscoff and Nantes.
The floods have now receded but the towpath has been damaged and diversions are in place (or the towpath has been closed without any diversion signs). I suspect that not only has the towpath been damaged but there may also be a problem with tree roots – some of the plane trees that line much of the route may have become de-stabilised by the flooding.
The last time this happened was February 2014 .. and they were still re-surfacing the towpath in 2017 .. so I expect that a lot of these problems may still exist in 2025 and 2026.
If you’re happy to take the diversions, that’s fine (but remember this is France and signs for les déviations may be incomplete – or simply non-existent) – but you’ll find that some stages will take significantly longer to ride than they would have done last year, for instance.
I’ve split the route from Pontivy to Redon into three – and this is what I know so far:
Pontivy to Josselin: probably OK up to the point where the Oust joins from the north – east of l’écluse de Boju. I’m going to try and visit a couple of sections of the towpath here in April/May and will report back.
Josselin to Malestroit: the section from Guillac to Montertelot has been closed since October 2023 and a somewhat unpleasant diversion is in place. From Montertelot to Roc St André is OK, I think – but I passed over this section of the towpath on another Voie Verte last week and there was no-one at all on the towpath (which is unusual). The towpath is closed south of Roc St André with a large sign cemented into the ground saying ‘Towpath Access Forbidden’ and no diversion signs in place. I think it’s OK between le Pont de Bagotais and Malestroit .. I met a couple of cyclists who’d done it and they said it was OK (but a large section of that stretch is a canal cut, separated from the Oust, so it should be OK).
Malestroit to Redon: The section east of Malestroit is closed – I don’t know to what extent .. but it would be easy to find an alternative if you’re carrying a road map (or smartphone with map access on it).
Other than that, I was told the area south of Redon is OK – but I don’t know about SE of Redon – and it’s too far away from here for me to get down there to have a look.
I’ll update this thread when I have more information.
Bonne route, bonne chance et bon courage
At least two people intend to ride this route in September … @The Crofted Crest and @SafetyThird. I’ve also tagged @Cathryn and @roubaixtuesday - but I reckon you'll both be travelling further east and so shouldn't be affected by the following.
Eurovelo #1 between Pontivy and Redon, ie where it follows the Nantes-to-Brest canal towpath, has been badly affected by autumn/winter flooding in the Oust valley. This is a significant part – roughly a third – of the route between Roscoff and Nantes.
The floods have now receded but the towpath has been damaged and diversions are in place (or the towpath has been closed without any diversion signs). I suspect that not only has the towpath been damaged but there may also be a problem with tree roots – some of the plane trees that line much of the route may have become de-stabilised by the flooding.
The last time this happened was February 2014 .. and they were still re-surfacing the towpath in 2017 .. so I expect that a lot of these problems may still exist in 2025 and 2026.
If you’re happy to take the diversions, that’s fine (but remember this is France and signs for les déviations may be incomplete – or simply non-existent) – but you’ll find that some stages will take significantly longer to ride than they would have done last year, for instance.
I’ve split the route from Pontivy to Redon into three – and this is what I know so far:
Pontivy to Josselin: probably OK up to the point where the Oust joins from the north – east of l’écluse de Boju. I’m going to try and visit a couple of sections of the towpath here in April/May and will report back.
Josselin to Malestroit: the section from Guillac to Montertelot has been closed since October 2023 and a somewhat unpleasant diversion is in place. From Montertelot to Roc St André is OK, I think – but I passed over this section of the towpath on another Voie Verte last week and there was no-one at all on the towpath (which is unusual). The towpath is closed south of Roc St André with a large sign cemented into the ground saying ‘Towpath Access Forbidden’ and no diversion signs in place. I think it’s OK between le Pont de Bagotais and Malestroit .. I met a couple of cyclists who’d done it and they said it was OK (but a large section of that stretch is a canal cut, separated from the Oust, so it should be OK).
Malestroit to Redon: The section east of Malestroit is closed – I don’t know to what extent .. but it would be easy to find an alternative if you’re carrying a road map (or smartphone with map access on it).
Other than that, I was told the area south of Redon is OK – but I don’t know about SE of Redon – and it’s too far away from here for me to get down there to have a look.
I’ll update this thread when I have more information.
Bonne route, bonne chance et bon courage