However you travel to us you must plan to arrive sometime in the Saturday afternoon, sometime between 2.00pm and 6.00pm - any other times need special arrangements. This means we have time to do a lot of sorting out in the afternoon, generally we can give you your bikes then so you can have a wobble round the area and so get a head start for the morning. All hotel customers will have a short ride that Saturday afternoon/evening, so arriving too late to do this will need special arrangements. Depending on room availability it is possible that your hotel may be a 10 minute minibus ride away - if so we arrange and pay for this and you leave your bikes with us (but take your panniers) and then we pick you up again in the morning to set you off. With people arriving spread-out like this we have time to show you how to use equipment etc so that it doesn't have to be done in the morning - this 'spreading of the load' means that although Kate and I will be dealing with perhaps 40 people, we still have plenty of time for each of you. In all cases bags and cars can then be left behind, though we cannot guarantee security the crime rate in Brittany is vanishingly low and to date no-one has had anything stolen or damaged. If you have particular valuables, cameras, jewellery, we take them back to our house for safe keeping.
Campers
Then at 9.00am on Sunday morning we come down to the campsite and take you straight to a small bar just outside the campsite where we sit down together and have a relaxed breakfast of 'bottomless' pot of coffee/hot chocolate, french bread, jam, crepes and cake (this costs e5.50). The purpose of this is it gives a moments calm where we can chat, answer last minute worries and generally get to know you - we also give you your routes so you can have a read. After breakfast we saunter over to our marquee at the campsite and we give you all your equipment, fit you to your bikes and help you pack up, this can often take a couple of hours - there's no rush and it's much better to solve any niggling worries then than later.
Hotellers
Once you arrive we kit you out and then send you odd to your first hotel. This first ride will take a maximum of 1.30 hours though for most people it will be much less than this. Most routes begin at Bon Repos which is only 3 kms down the canal towpath, but as the hotel only has 5 rooms late bookers may find themselves having to ride up to 15 kms. After your luxurious bed you eat breakfast at the hotel and then set off on your adventures. Though we are always ready to come out to sort out last minute panic/tweeks/adjustments it is obviously best if this can be done on Saturday afternoon when you arrive.
At the end of your holiday you return to Gouarec and we meet
up on the Saturday anytime before 5.00pm, normally you are near on Friday night and this does allow an early 'escape' if you need it!Then you tell us your stories and return all equipment. We don't
charge an equipment deposit as we consider all damage to be 'wear-and-tear'
- our philosophy is that if you give people good, well looked
after equipment, people will take good care of it and any damage
is unavoidable - so far our trust in our customers has proved
well founded. In return we do ask you to point out any damage.
Last year someone returned and said nothing - on inspection I
found a dent in the frame that was obviously caused by a fall
- normally my inspection will find such things but if I know a
bike has been involved in an accident I will inspect the bike
very carefully to find hidden cracks and the like. Don't
worry I won't go mad if you've totalled a bike, I just need to
know for safeties sake.
Then lastly if you like you can send us any articles, web links
etc that I can link to on the site so that other people can have
an idea what to expect.
See Breton Bikes new venture! BB Sportscar Hire!