Cycling UK Forum

France - It has an excellent network of quiet secondary roads with little traffic. The landscape varies enormously across the country. Cyclists are respected. The food is wonderful.

Thanks everyone for the additional comments. As for the Galibier, it will very likely still be closed. It opened last year on 8 June, and I think there was a lot of snow in the Alps this past winter.

BTW, I happened to see the Tour de France quite by accident many years ago. I cross the Col d'Allos from the south early one morning when the Tour was going to be coming partially up the north side of the pass. I only learned about the Tour route the night before. I was riding the opposite direction from the Tour. The police had closed the road to cars but permitted me to keep riding because I was a few hours ahead of the Tour. I'm glad I saw it, but it was quite a circus. I'd go out of my way to avoid it in the future.

My favorite alpine pass was one of the easiest, the Grosse Scheidegg in Switzerland. Magnificent views of the North Face of the Eiger, and no traffic.

Thanks for your comments, stu1102. We'd be doing this at about the end of the first week of June, and I'm afraid that the Galibier will likely still be closed. I see that the Croix de Fer is already open.

I biked from Cherbourg down the west coast to Mont St. Michel, then Brittany, years ago. I don't recall much about the portion from Cherbourg to Granville. South of Granville was nice with great views of Mont St. Michel. Unfortunately, to reach Mont St. Michel, you have to go a fair bit east through Avranches and then back to the west.

I looked at 22 May, and just now at 29 May. Each was different, and apparently 8 May is different from each of those. One [i]ter [/i]routing available on 29 May had a connection in Rennes, as opposed to Le Mans or Paris. The upshot is that each day searched appears to have different possibilities. BTW, [i]some [/i]of the connecting trains in Le Mans on 8 May are on TGV trains, though ones which apparently do accept bikes (for a fee).

I forgot one other detail: If you have a connection in Paris, you will arrive at the Gare St. Lazare, but your departure to Nantes will be from the Gare Montparnasse.

I'll soon be touring in France with a friend who would like to ride up at least 2 of the more famous Tour de France climbs. They could be in either the Pyrenees or the Alps. I've already biked up some of the famous and some of the not-so-famous climbs in both mountain ranges. (Personally, I have no interest in the TdF, but I do enjoy touring in mountains.) I think that our choice will come down to one of the following 2 options: Either the Col d'Aubisque followed by the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees, going west to east. Or climbing Alpe d'Huez then the Col de la Croix de Fer in the Alps.

I've already biked up the Col du Tourmalet (east to west, preceded by the Col d'Aspin) and told my friend I'd do it again if we do west to east and do the Col d'Aubisque which would be new to be. I've biked over the Col du Lauteret to Grenoble, but didn't go up to Alpe d'Huez, which begins from that road.

Have any of you biked up either of these Alpine climbs and/or the Pyrenees climbs, and have recommendations or thoughts about them?

The rest of our biking in France will be outside of the mountains, and we'll take trains between regions since our time is limited.

It is tricky to get from Caen to Nantes by train. There are no direct trains. The best option (and there were only a couple per day on the random day (a Thursday) I checked on the SNCF website) is with a transfer in Le Mans. Both trains would be "ter" trains which accept bicycles. There is usually a hook to hang a bike by the wheel on these regional trains, and you do it yourself. There is no fee for the bike. On the day I checked, you could either depart Caen at 5:58am or 6:17pm. The latter would arrive in Nantes at 9:41pm with 17 minutes for the transfer in Le Mans.

The other routings all involve going to Paris on a train which accepts bicycles, but then taking a TGV train to Nantes. Only some of the TGVs takes bikes, you have to reserve it, and there is a fee. Plus it's a longer and more expensive journey.

Here's the website I used. I searched in French. I don't know if all of the same information will appear doing a search in English. If a train in the results accepts bicycles, there is a bicycle symbol which appears next to the train information. Generally, most (but not all) non-TGV trains accept bicycles and you load and unload the bicycle yourself. It's quite simple. The rail cars which takes bikes have a symbol on the outside of the car. On TGV trains, only some TGVs accept bikes, and you have to reserve it and pay a fee for the bicycle.

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/billet-train

[quote="enigmatic"]Malaucene is no harder than from Sault, just starts steeper and less shelter from the sun.
<snip>
Col du Lauteret is the main road from Grenoble to Briancon, lots of traffic including HGV's and one big tunnel which can be frightening. [/quote]

From Malaucene, you climb 1570m in 21 km. From Sault, you drop a small amount leaving town then climb 1200m in 26 km. Of course Malaucene is harder. Much harder. From Sault, only the final 6 km are difficult, and they average 9%. When I dropped down to Malaucene, there were many signs warning of 12% and even 13% grade. If you start from Sault or Bedoin, there is a cafe/restaurant just before you begin the difficult final 6 km, and there are public WC outdoors where you can fill up water bottles.

There's no tunnel along the Col du Lauteret road. I think you're confusing it with a tunnel on D1006 west of Modane, north of the Galibier.

I visited Vaison-la-Romaine the same day I went up Mont Ventoux (from Sault) and descended toward Orange via Malaucene & Vaison-la-Romaine. Vaison is a very nice town, both the medieval town and the Roman ruins in the modern town on the other side of the river. I would not advise attempting Mont Ventoux starting in Malaucene. It's MUCH steeper than starting from Sault. To reach Sault from Orange, a ride through the Gorge de la Nesque is very nice with fine scenery and minimal traffic. I was approaching from the Luberon region.

I've biked a fair bit in the French Alps. The Col du Lauteret (riding from Briancon toward Grenoble) is a gentle climb with nice scenery, and a superb descent because you don't have to brake much at all. It's a gentle descent with few switchbacks. The outskirts of Grenoble, however, are industrial and not scenic.
I've crossed several other cols but don't have any strong recollections other than the Col de la Bonette starting from Nice was a long slog over 2 days but quite pretty.

Macon is at the south end of a very nice 70 km paved rail/trail through the Macon-Villages vineyards. There's a superb 1.6 km (1 mile) tunnel ("Bois Clair") you go through. Along much of the trail TGV trains go roaring by very close to the trail at times, and they can be startling.

Before I went to Thailand, I bought a phrase book and listened to Thai tapes from a library, mainly to become familiar with the tones. I didn't need to use the phrase book too often, but it was very helpful each time I did. People would smile at my mangled Thai but they did understand me and helped me. In Laos, I used a phrase book mainly for numbers and food, and it was helpful there, too.

I speak a few foreign languages including French and was recently touring in France. I was appalled at how many native English speakers (from various countries) simply launched into English without even asking. In recent years, however, the French have become much more accepting of the fact that English is without question the world language. Newer or remodeled museums now tend to be bilingual along with tourist information, as well.

In Flanders, I recall taking a local bus to visit a friend. He told me to ask the bus driver to let me know when we arrived at a certain landmark. When I boarded the bus, I first asked the driver if he spoke English. His response: "of course".

French speakers will often correct you. Spanish speakers almost never do, and I make a lot more mistakes in Spanish than French.

For the latter part of your route, I would urge you to follow either the Dordogne and/or the Lot/Célé rivers as much as you can. Both valleys are gorgeous, flat, and it's easy to find small roads with little traffic. Figeac westward to Cahors is wonderful.

I've crossed the Massif Central east to west a couple of times beginning in Lyon and Auvergne is great for riding with very fine scenery and generally little traffic. I once biked northward passing through Brive and Limoges to the Loire valley, and Auvergne is far nicer.

I haven't biked around Bourges, and although I recently biked to Auxerre, I approached it from the southeast. From Auxerre you could quickly join the Loire and then bike south going upriver along the Loire. (The Loire actually flows northward before turning westward.) There is a small Loire gorge almost directly west of Lyon and it's a scenic area. However from there you'll have to go westward and tackle some hills. With 3 weeks, you certainly can take your time.

How extraordinary! That is indeed my bike. It's a shame we didn't meet in person. The previous day while riding to Grandcamp, I passed many cyclists heading westward. When I arrived in Grandcamp, I shared a beer with 4 stragglers from what turned out to be a British group. They told me hadn't seen any other touring cyclists going east like the two of us. I saw several other touring cyclists in Normandy.

By the way, when I toured in Laos on my Bike Friday 2 years ago, the first 2 touring cyclists I saw were a couple on a Bike Friday tandem. The next day I met 2 others on individual Bike Fridays. They're superb bikes. Earlier on this year's ride in France, I rode it up Mont Ventoux, panniers and all.

If I figure out how to reduce the file size of my photos, I'll try and post a few.

Very nice write up.

I was there at the same time, and I wonder if the touring bike I saw in the rack when leaving the American cemetery on the morning of June 5 was yours? Mine was the folding bike.

It was an amazing experience to be in Normandy during the anniversary. I, too, had an opportunity to speak with several British & American veterans at cemeteries and museums. Very humble men.

Did you notice that in areas which were liberated by American forces, there were many more allied flags or American & French flags on display in the towns and in shop windows than in areas further east liberated by British and Canadian forces? Many more private homes were displaying flags in the areas liberated by Americans, too. I don't have any explanation for this, however. Near Utah Beach, every km or so had a small memorial naming that stretch of road in memory of an American soldier who died during the invasion. Also, the road was dubbed "la voie de la liberte" and had special km markers.

About 2 km before I arrived at Utah Beach on D913, I came across a memorial to the 800 Danish soldiers who participated in the liberation of Normandy. I had no idea. Similarly, in the pretty resort town of Cabourg there is a memorial to the Belgian & Luxembourg soldiers who liberated that town. Once again, I had no idea.

At Colleville-sur-mer near the American cemetery, the village had large vintage photographs of their half-destroyed cathedral next to the actual fully-restored cathedral. A brilliant and effective reminder. The American cemetery was particularly moving with its immense size, the perfectly manicured appearance, and the magnificent setting on a bluff above the water.

On a tiny road, D126, between Bayeux & Caen near the hamlet of Secqueville-en-Bessin, I came across a small British cemetery literally surrounded by farm fields. 99 British or Commonwealth soldiers and 18 German soldiers are buried there. On June 6, I arrived in Ranville (near Pegasus bridge) near the end of a noontime ceremony at the British cemetery. A large convoy of vintage US military jeeps was getting ready to leave. I saw these vehicles everywhere and wonder if they're just brought out around D-Day anniversaries? Nearly every time I heard any drivers and passengers talking, they were speaking French. I had to laugh in Ste-Mere-Eglise when I saw a bunch of young men dressed in vintage American military uniforms next to one of these jeeps. The young men were all speaking German amongst themselves. By the way, 2 stained glass windows in the church in Ste-Mere-Eglise have interesting references to the liberation.

There were many events I missed because of timing, such as the parachute drop at Ste-Mere-Eglise, fireworks in Bayeux, and the parade in Carentan. But others I was fortunate to come across, such as a child laying a wreath at Utah Beach while bagpipes were played.

I had biked in Normandy previously but not in the D-Day beach areas. I'm glad I waited until I was able to be there during the anniversary.

FEVE operates a network of narrow gauge trains in northern Spain, and they all permit you to roll your bike with you onto their trains. I took a FEVE train to get to the outskirts of Bilbao to begin riding last year, and used them at other times when the weather deteriorated. In the following map, FEVE lines are in green. By the way, you can take bikes on the Bilbao metro system which covers a considerable area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FEVE_map.png

Renfe allows bikes on their "cercania" (local) trains, but not on their long-distance lines in the north (I don't know about the rest of Spain). I believe they permit bikes on their "media distancia" trains in the north, but my memory is a little fuzzy about that.

I toured in northern Spain last year. I was not doing a Santiago de Compostela tour, though part of my route coincided with some of the routes. My favorite parts of northern Spain were away from the Santiago routes including the Minho/Mino valley along the Portuguese/Spanish border (the Portuguese side has a nice bike trail). Eastward, the part of the valley entirely within Spain was superb, with great scenery and little traffic. The Picos de Europa range was very nice, and there was an excellent ride in a gorge on the north side of the Picos.

There are virtually no flat roads in northern Spain!