If you have ever seen a photograph of Mont-Saint-Michel standing alone over flat green fields, with a small windmill in the foreground, there is a fair chance it was taken here. Moidrey is a village on the Couesnon, close to Pontorson, and its old mill stands in the polders that were reclaimed from the bay over centuries. The mount sits on the horizon, a few kilometres off, shrunk to the size of a thumbnail and a little unreal, and in the early morning when mist lies in the hollows it floats above the grass.
The flat fields here are the opposite of the dramatic island, and that is what makes them so good for a pause. Sheep graze on the salt meadows, hedges mark the fields, and drainage ditches run straight toward the sea. The Couesnon, whose mouth was tamed with a dam in the twentieth century, is the border between Normandy and Brittany, and the river's history of changing course is part of local legend. The mill itself is a modest stone tower, and the view is the draw.
Riding here is simple and relaxed. The small roads between Pontorson and the bay are straight and flat, and the traffic is mostly local, with farm vehicles and cyclists. In summer the main road to the mount is busy, so the back lanes are better. Wind off the Channel can blow hard across the polders, and rain can come in quickly, so a waterproof is wise.
Pontorson, with about four thousand people, is the town for fuel, bakeries and a bed, and Roz-sur-Couesnon is a smaller village nearer the coast. Eat the lamb raised on the salt meadows, and drink the local cider, dry and cloudy. The route from here heads east across Normandy to the D-Day beaches, so the day begins with a medieval dream and ends with twentieth-century history, which is a strong pairing. Stop at the mill at dawn or dusk, and bring a good camera, but also take a minute to look without one.