Search found 18 matches

by jimt
20 May 2021, 5:46pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Calais or Dieppe to Nice Routefinding
Replies: 9
Views: 937

Re: Calais or Dieppe to Nice Routefinding

I did something similar when I retired 11 years ago. Inspired by Rick Stein taking a boat trip from Calais to the Med, I plotted my route to follow wherever possible towpaths & rural lanes across northern France to the river Marne and joining the Saone south of Dijon.

I wasn’t sure how far I would manage each day so didn’t book accommodation in advance. I used my then new iPhone to book accommodation when I had had enough each day without problems. However I started at end of May so not French holiday season so booking ahead for August probably advisable.

I went as far as Arles down the Rhone Valley (I had a rest day there and cycled to Camargue to see flamingos) before striking off across country as far as Aix-en-Provence. I had to replan from there because I’d planned to go via a town called Draguinan which 2 days before had been devastated by serious floods. On my replanned route I crashed and friends came and took me to Antibes so I can’t say what the inland route from Aix to Nice is like, but up to that point no serious hills with exception of a climb up to Chemin des Dames north of Reims which is a detour well worth it for views.

I didn’t have any route planning tools then, so used Michelins online maps to plot cycle routes between towns which I then tweaked by inserting waypoints to either make stages more direct or to use preferred rural roads. Ironically Michelin maps show dedicated cycleways as red & white dashed routes, but their software didn’t use them!

I kept a Blog and maps if you’re interested.
by jimt
20 May 2021, 4:36pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Caen (France) Ferry to Railway Station
Replies: 13
Views: 1137

Re: Caen (France) Ferry to Railway Station

On exit from ferry port just keep canal on your immediate left and follow towpath (GR36) to marina in centre of Caen , from there its about 3/4 mile to station, see attached map. Station is near green cross.
by jimt
10 Jun 2014, 9:21am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Calais to Dijon, or not ...
Replies: 10
Views: 6909

Re: Calais to Dijon, or not ...

Ben (?), I've sent you a message with my email address. If you send me a mail i'll reply with copies of the maps I used. They are quite detailed and trimmed up fit the map case of my bar bag perfectly.
by jimt
5 Jun 2014, 3:20pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Calais to Dijon, or not ...
Replies: 10
Views: 6909

Re: Calais to Dijon, or not ...

4 years ago I cycled from Calais to Perugia and the route I chose through France was to follow the Canal network to the Med (inspired by Rick Steins culinary TV journey by canal barge). Inevitably there wasn't towpath all the way but when not on tow path, I was largely on country lanes and D (B) roads. The route to Dijon was broadly Calais - St Omer - Douai- Cambrai - St Quentin- Blerancourt - Reims - Chalons-en-Champagne - Vitry-Le Francois - St Dizier - Joinville - Chaumont - Langres - Dijon. Much of the stretch from Champagne to Burgundy (roughly from Reims to Dijon) followed a cycle way between the two areas which followed the canal through the Haut Marne where the scenery was stunning. The track for much of the way was a metalled track a cars-width wide, but forbidden to motors except maintenance vehicles (about 1 a day!). Having driven through Northern France many times before I was expecting to have to endure miles of empty, featureless farm land but in fact there was very little like this on my route. I planned the route using viamichelin.com which allowed me to choose the quietest roads. I kept detailed maps and notes of my route if you want more info.
by jimt
5 Jun 2014, 2:46pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: FIRST TIME FRANCE
Replies: 28
Views: 8265

Re: FIRST TIME FRANCE

A couple of years ago my brother and I cycled from Dunkerque to Ouistreham ( the port for Caen) and then spent 3 days exploring Normandy beaches before returning to Portsmouth on the sea cat from Ouistreham (about 3 hrs). We stayed in Ouistreham and had one day cycling into Caen down a dedicated cycle way which passes the famous Pegasus bridge (about 30km round trip), one day circular route along the coast to Arromanches - much on dedicated cycle paths to see Mulberry harbours (the museum is an absolute must) and back by country lanes skirting Bayeux (about 75Km) and a third rather over ambitious trip to Omaha & Utah beaches which involved a couple of train rides (about 130 km cycling plus trains) and finishing in the dark. I can email you some maps if you like.

Ouistreham is a very bike friendly port compared to Dover, Dunkeque and Portsmouth. My experience of sea cat has been great. We were first to embark and disembark. At Portsmouth we were out of the port before the first car had disembarked!
by jimt
5 Jun 2014, 2:02pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Thames path
Replies: 22
Views: 8258

Re: Thames path

I too have walked from the source to Thames barrier and much isn't suitable for cycling. You can pick up National Cycle Route 4 in Reading at the confluence with the Kennet. As an alternative you could do NCR4 from , say Bath. I've done Reading to Bath on the tow path. Generally speaking , where NCR4 takes to country lanes its with good reason - the tow path being too narrow or rutted to make safe, comfortable riding. An example is the stretch from Marsh Benham to Hungerford: on foot a pleasant walk, on a bike its like riding cobbles because of tree roots.

There are some stunning sections around Bradford on Avon.
by jimt
9 Apr 2013, 9:05am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Santander to St Malo/Caen
Replies: 36
Views: 7820

Re: Santander to St Malo/Caen

Re: Conrad's Post in March;



"On the left side of the route quoted above there is a grey dashed line marked as EV1 that runs pretty close to the shore (see picture below).
Launching GoogleEarth it appears that this line is not just a fake line but underneath it there is a real track."

Now my question is: does anybody know what type of track is it?? In other words is it paved, unpaved, sandy, ... what are we supposed to expect from it??"

Please see attached photo (Hope I've cracked the photo upload issue)
In some places the surface is a two foot wide concrete strip. others firm gravel track / tarmac & NB there are also tarmac forestry roads closed to traffic but permitted to cyclists. I travelled all the way down the west coast using these paths without incident.
by jimt
9 Apr 2013, 12:29am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Santander to St Malo/Caen
Replies: 36
Views: 7820

Re: Santander to St Malo/Caen

You may have already planned your trip in detail now but herewith some info from my trip last year in the opposite direction from Caen to Bilbao (actually Solpelana a suburb to NW.)

It took 19 days including 3 no-travelling days and I stayed in hotels rather than camped.

I planned my trip using the viamichelin.com website & took screen prints of the maps to take with me cut to size to fit the map case on my bar bag. I can email copies if you wish.

Loosely the route in Spain was (in reverse):

Day 1 - Solpelana, Mungia, Guernica, Lekeitio - 62Km . Reasonably flat to Guernica then a couple of stiff climbs.

Day 2 - Lekeitio, Mutriku, Deba, Zumaia, Geta, Orio, San Sebastian via Passeo del Padre Ortolaga – 69 Km

Day 3 – San Sebastian, Lezo, coast road which involves a pretty stiff climb to Hondaribbia, and into France at Hendaye – 36Km ( a deliberately short day – going the other way I stopped two nights in San Sebastian).

Apart from some long climbs, there were no traffic problems at all with this route

Again in reverse ,the French section of my route was largely on cycle ways up the west coast as far as the mouth of the Garonne where I took the ferry to Royanne, Then on up the coast following minor roads / cycle ways to La Rochelle , Sables d’Olonne, Bernerie-en-Retz ( a small sea-side resort) before swinging inland to Nantes, Ingrandes (a small village on the Loire) and then north via more lanes and cycle ways to Chateaux Gontier, Domfront and Caen

A tip: Michelin maps of France show these cycle ways - they are marked as dashed red & white lines.

They don’t appear on most maps but are great for avoiding busy roads

If you click the link below you can see an example.

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Routes ... eConso=5.6


Once the map is displayed , centre it on Bassin d’Arcachon and zoom in until the scale is 2 miles / 2km in the bottom right hand corner. You will see quite an extensive network of these north of the Bassin d’Arcachon extending to the mouth of the Garonne River. There is also a passenger ferry which will take bikes at Arcachon to Cap Ferret . It's web site is

http://www.bateliers-arcachon.com/TRANS ... Ferret.php

Click on Horaires for timetable.

Cycle ways also extend south of Arcachon. You can follow these ( or metalled forestry roads closed to cars but permitted to cycles) almost to Biarritz.

Let me know if you want any more info.








.
by jimt
8 Apr 2013, 10:51am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Bilbao to St Malo 2 Week Trip
Replies: 19
Views: 8638

Re: Bilbao to St Malo 2 Week Trip

I can’t recommend any camp sites since I stayed in hotels.

However as I said the coast from the mouth of the Garonne down to Bayonne is almost literally one long camp site. I set out on 20th June and would have passed through in early July. On every site there was frantic activity preparing for the start of the French school holidays later in July (grass cutting, painting etc . Most appeared open but with only a few tents/ camper vans so I reckon you could just show up.

If you prefer to know where you are headed, I suggest you pick a likely spot for your stays each night & google camping in that village. They nearly all have Tourist Offices with lists of campsites.

Another tip:

Michelin maps show cycle ways - they are marked as dashed red & white lines.

These don’t appear on most maps but are really useful for avoiding busy roads.

The majority of my trip was on these. If you click the link below you can see an example.

Once the map is displayed , centre it on Bassin d’Arcachon and zoom in until the scale is 2 miles / 2km in the bottom right hand corner. There is quite an extensive network of these north of the Bassin d’Arcachon.


http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Routes ... eConso=5.6


I planned my trip using the viamichelin website & took screen prints of the maps to take with me. I could up load an attachment with them in if you like.




Lastly, I found the website for the ferry from Arcachon to Cap Ferret which would mean you could avoid going into Bordeaux. The website is below. Click on Horarires to see timetable. If there isn't one running to suit you could still use cycle ways to skirt the BAssin.

http://www.bateliers-arcachon.com/TRANS ... Ferret.php
by jimt
3 Apr 2013, 11:37am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Bilbao to St Malo 2 Week Trip
Replies: 19
Views: 8638

Re: Bilbao to St Malo 2 Week Trip

You may have already planned your trip in detail now but herewith some info from my trip last year in the opposite direction which may prove useful.

If you are still starting in Bayonne, rather than going into Spain and out again to add distance, consider coming back from Caen (It's ferry port is actually Ouistreham about 15km north) There is a fast sea cat which will get to Portsmouth in 3 hrs. I did Caen to Bilbao in 19 days with 3 days "off", so from Bayonne eminently doable (about 650 miles). If you had time in hand you could always divert to Normandy beaches for a bit of sight seeing.

Also, I see your route goes via Bordeaux. I guess you have spotted the ferry across the mouth of the Garonne, but there is also a summer time passenger ferry which will take bikes at Arcachon ( I think it starts in late June or early July) which would mean you can take advantage of the almost continuous cycle ways all up the west coast to the mouth of the Garonne. Also this coast line is almost one continuous camp site so you would have no problem finding somewhere.

Reversing my route from Bayaonne it was , roughly, : up the coast form Bayonne, via Vieux Boucau, Biscarosse, Lacanau Ocean, ferry across bay of Arcachon, ferry to Royan, La Rochelle, Sables D'Olonne , Berniere-en-Retz, then inland to Nantes, Ingrandes (on the Loire) and then north to Chateau Gontier, Domfront, Caen, Ouistreham. The section around Chateau Gontier followed about 80Km of riverside cycle ways.

If not too late I can let you have a lot more detail. Good Luck.
by jimt
1 Oct 2012, 10:29am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Roads In France
Replies: 17
Views: 9964

Re: Roads In France

I've cycled from Dunkirk (near Calais) to Caen in Normandy , and , separately, from Caen to Bilbao. I planned both journies using Viamichelin.com's website using the "Cycling" option . I then viewed the proposed route and modifed it by putting "stops" to force it to recalcualte to take quieter (white) roads. Lastly I took screen shots and saved them in a file and cropped them to fit my bar bag map case.

Also via Michelin maps show major cycle routes as red & white dashed lines with a thin red border. Perversley it doesn't use these when plotting cyle routes! However if you plan your route to take you near them you can simply take them instead of roads. As an example one days ride from Domfront to Chateau Gontier - 125 km- included about 100km of dedicated cycle paths on disused trailways and towpaths.

Combining these two methods my Caen to Bilbao trip was 90% on quiet roads and often all day on dedicated cycle ways particularly down the west coast of France.

Also check out http://www.voiesvertes.com/ for details of extensive cycle network in France.
by jimt
21 May 2012, 10:05am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycling the length of France
Replies: 14
Views: 9219

Re: Cycling the length of France

This may be too close to your departure date to be of any use. Two years ago I cycled from Calais to Perugia in Italy. My inspiration for the French part of the route was, ironically, Rick Stein's TV programme in which he went from Calais to the Med by canal boat. In many shots you saw people on bikes & mopeds riding on tow paths. There were many stretches of metalled towpath forbidden to traffic. A particularly good section was 3-days worth in the Haut Marne from near Reims to Dijon. Where there wasn't I was almost always cycling on quiet country lanes.This worked pretty well and from Calais to Arles there were only one or two serious hills including a worthwhile diversion to the Route Des Dames. I spent time in Reims, Dijon & Lyon en route and was able to spend a day in the Camargue to see flamingoes & bulls from a base in Arles. Having driven through Northern France dozens of times on the motorway I was a bit concerned that that part of the journey would be boring ( as other contributors have suggested) but that simply wasn't the case and I only experienced a half day of open "prairie".
by jimt
25 Apr 2012, 1:48pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Biarritz to Bilbao
Replies: 11
Views: 12870

Re: Biarritz to Bilbao

Thanks all. You've answered my questions fully. I'm finalising route and bookings now. Anyone wants a copy, just ask.
by jimt
25 Apr 2012, 8:28am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Biarritz to Bilbao
Replies: 11
Views: 12870

Biarritz to Bilbao

I'm planning to cycle to friends in Bilbao, starting in Caen towards the end of June. I've worked out my route as far as Biarritz but am unsure about the last legs. I'm contemplating taking a coastal route through San Sebastian and Lekeitio and thence through Gernika to Bilbao. I'm having difficulty judging how hilly this route is and therefore how long to allow. Also should I cut inland from Lekeitio to Gernika, or take the longer coastal route via Elexalde? I shall be staying in hotels / B&Bs and want to book ahead so working out daily mileage is crucial. Any advice about route and "hilliness" will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
by jimt
23 Apr 2012, 7:15pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: New to touring. Need some advice!
Replies: 15
Views: 11372

Re: New to touring. Need some advice!

PANNIER RACK
From my initial experience of touring, I wouldn't scrimp on the pannier rack. Make sure you get one strong enough to take the weight of your luggage. I made two mistakes:

1) The sides of the rack didn't extend as far back as the side of the pannier. Riding with a lightly loaded pannier in hot weather, the plastic stiffening softened and allowed the edge to catch in the spokes.
2) the brackets which attached the rack behind the saddle were flat strips of shiny metal with a 90 degree twist in them. These aren't very rigiid and heavily laden give a wierd feel to the ride. Also when the problem at 1 above occurred in rural Italy , they folded up like paper. I had to take a train to the nearest city to buy a new rack with stonger straps - actually metal bars. A lot of hassle and expense which could have been easily avoided.

The Madison Summit rack is an example of one with what I regard as appropriate brackets, the Topeak Super Tourist DX has the type which failed for me. Both have the right shape to support the rear edge of pannier. ( I would add I haven't used either of these myself - just picked to illustrate my points).
TYRES

I fitted Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tyres and travelled 2500km without a puncture including a few of days on unpaved towpaths.

Good Luck.