Hi all,
I'm long time cyclist and collector based in Brittany, France - looking forward to sharing some of my collection (mainly French & Italian) with you and hopefully getting help with technical stuff.

Welcome!

Welcome Davelo22, stick around it is a great forum. I am in the UK but drive down to Périgord every year to my retirement project (can't call it a house yet, lol!), maybe see you on the road sometime!

Hi awac, Perigord is a lovely region - we pass through every now and them. I see you own a '77 Carlton Clubman - one of my first proper bikes was a mint green '78 Carlton Criterium - I loved it!

Welcome.
Carlton Criterium?
excellent cosmetically and all original.....

.... I just never bonded with it.

Welcome!

I've been to Brittany four times, on my way from and to Paris. Always a lovely experience.

Another resident of Brittany, Donnylove recently joined the forum too.
My spouse and I spend a few months in France each year, usually in fall. We have a pied a terre in Reims but have traveled around France quite a bit. Lots to like in that country!

Wildwood - that is a beautiful example and takes me back to 1978, I was 16 years old and just started work and had a bit of money to spemd - the Carlton was my first "real" bike and I loved it.

Downtube42 - Britany to Paris 4 times - were you doing Paris-Brest-Paris by any chance?

Aubergine - We've passed through the Reims area a few times - never had the time to have a proper look, but it's on our list of things to do. I have to say we've been in France 20+ years now and we love it - cycling is a joy with good roads and less traffic (than the UK).

Welcome, from SE Wisconsin, USA.

Have fun in our Vintage Bikes subforum and enjoy your stay!

Indeed. It's a spectacular ride, in large part because of the wonderful and gracious people of Brittany.

I have to say they are a friendly bunch - I live on the route between Uzel & Corlay. I'm hoping to do it in 2027.

Welcome from New Jersey.

We hear a lot about French cooking here. What are some things you eat frequently?

When you mention French cooking - here it's just called cooking it's difficult to be precise as it's a large country and every region has different cuisine - so although we've travelled throughout France I can only really talk about our region.
We've lived in Brittany area of France for over 20 years now, it is quite rural but you don't have to travel far to find good food / restaurants. Being a coastal region fish and particularly mussels (moules in French) are a speciality here. Crepes and galettes ( sweet and savoury pancakes) are sold virtually everywhere in Brittany in restaurants called Creperies they're very tasty and usually served with cider (Brittany is well known for cider making) - they are the equivalent of fish & chip shops in the UK. If you like pastries there is a regional one called "Kouign-amann" which is similar to a croissant but with more butter and sugar! Our local restaurant serves it as a desert with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and salted caramel - lovely! On the whole they take food & drink seriously and are very particular about the quality (not so much about the quantity though). Unfortunately I'm just scratching the surface - but I hope you get the idea?

Good luck! Maybe we'll both be there.

I'd love to take a slow ride across France, rather than the frenetic pace of PBP, to enjoy the food, wine, and culture. In '23 I did take it as easy as possible, skirting with the time limit in order to enjoy the ride. I sat in a coffee shop in Brest, enjoying espresso and a croissant, watching the riders go by as the clock ticked away my banked time. Glorious.

welcome on board Davelo. I am from France too. I used to go in Brittany for my holidays when I was a teen