Cycle touring is never a singular activity; we enter a parallel universe where time and place are abstract concepts, no longer separate from what we see, living in the eternal now where anything is possible. Impervious to the vagaries of the road possessed by an unflappable  ‘Joie de Vivre‘ (joy of life).

Riding amongst the oak, and chestnut forests of Versailles, fresh acorns explode beneath our wheels, passing lines of tourists queuing to see themselves reflected in the gilded Hall of Mirrors, we camp with squirrels, buzzards, and pheasants beneath the fortified Château de Rambouillet, sharing a meal of blackberries wild pears and plump figs. 

Cycling from Paris via the Velosenic Paris to Mont Saint-Michel Velo Route, taking eight days to cover almost 500 kilometres, passing through an enchanted landscape overflowing with living history. Along the way, we visit many cities, towns, and communities, each with its own unique history, a colourful thread in a complex pattern that weaves through the rich cultural tapestry of French life; local people here guard their history. Most of the Veloscenic, after Alençon, birthplace of Saint Therese, is on the Voie Verte a dedicated greenway that passes gently through farmland and forests.

Rolling into the shimmering heat haze of a French Indian Summer, the Couesnon River estuary opens up before us as we catch our first breathtaking glimpse of the legendary Castle of Mont Saint-Michel, Its glimmering Gothic silhouette soars dramatically off the Normandy coast dominating the skyline for kilometres.

Mont Saint-Michel has had many incarnations since its inception in 709, when Bishop Aubert built a sanctuary on the rocky tidal island after experiencing a vision of the Archangel Michael. During the 100 Years’ War against the English, additional fortifications were built. After the French Revolution, the abbey was closed and converted into a state prison, named the “Bastille of the Sea”. A brutal place of helplessness, the prison was eventually closed in 1863.. During WW2 the Mont was under German military occupation. In 1979, Mont-Saint-Michel became a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today Mont-Saint-Michel is a busy tourist attraction.

For three days we explored the relic besotted with its ever-changing appearance, as the tides and light shifted around the “La Merveille” or “The Marvel” as it’s called we enjoyed a unique immersive experience, able to photograph the Mont from a distance, up close under clear skies at night and in the early morning, when it appeared as a ghostly apparition rising from the mist, each encounter more compelling than the last. 

Pausing on the walk to the Mont from our campground we met a Mexican couple who were quietly weeping tears of joy, overcome with the scale and beauty of what they were seeing.