Epic European Cycle : 2015-05-13 : La Véloscénie to Alençon

Activity
Type Name Description Service Provider Cost Kms To Date Total Notes Actions
Cycle La Véloscénie Mortagne-au-Perche / Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe $0.00 0.00 0.00 15.4km
Cycle La Véloscénie Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe / Alençon $0.00 39.00 39.00 Day 5: 23.1km: Total 229km
Accommodation
Type Name Service Provider Confirmation Location Cost Notes Actions
Bed and Breakfast Maryline in Alençon Air BnB Alençon $70.00 TERRIBLE experience! The listing promised a studio apartment with a bathroom and kitchen. The property is not in operation. She switched us to someone else's property which was a bedroom in a flop house which reeked of cat litter. I couldn't stay there because of my asthma and the cats, so they put us into the correct property, but because it wasn't in operation, it was empty, there was no hot water and no wifi. BAIT AND SWITCH - extremely awful!


Trip Log

Notes Actions
Map - Paris to Alençon - our trip so far. The section from Maurepas to Chartres was by train. The rest has been cycling.
Terrible experience trying to get into our Air BnB reservation. We went to the address, which said "Flexible Arrival Time". The building was locked. Our host only speaks French, but she had told me that she wouldn't be there, and that Sebastien would be there to check us in. I've been trying to reach her via phone, e-mail and text. She sent me Sebastien's phone number so I called him but he speaks no English, and he mumbles so we couldn't understand a word each other way saying. I kept asking him to open the door and he said he would. Brent walked down (we're at a restaurant nearby) and stood by the door. Sebastien insisted he was at the door, but I could see Brent, and there was no one else there. Finally a random guy came buy and helped make a phone call. Apparently Sebastien is at an address on a completely different street - an address that we were not given. Brent is, I think, with him right now getting things squared away. I hope so. We're almost out of cell phone credit, and laptop power. SHEESH!
Most of our ride yesterday was on the old railbed (Greenway), which provided only limited scenery. Today was intended to be a lot more of the same, but La Véloscénie is intersected by various local cycle trails, one of which provided a great diversion from the monotonous Greenway. At La Mesniere we left La Véloscénie to follow local Boucle cyclable n8, La Mesniere - Le Mele-sur-Sarthe. It added about 10km to our ride for the day, which honestly, I really didn't need, but it was still enjoyable to get off the Greenway for a while.


Photos