Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
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Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
Prompted by this thread I've posted up a guide to the first part of the EV1 - from Roscoff to Nantes - hopefully it'll help a bit and add a couple of places where you can have an alternative route https://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cy ... n-brittany
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
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Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
Sorry to hijack this thread briefly , but wondering how busy campsites in France will be first three weeks of July. Contemplating doing this then, but only heading halfway down, as did Santander to Caen last year, much on Velodysse
Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
teamonster wrote:Sorry to hijack this thread briefly , but wondering how busy campsites in France will be first three weeks of July. Contemplating doing this then, but only heading halfway down, as did Santander to Caen last year, much on Velodysse
July and August are, as I’m sure you’re aware, the French school holidays and peak season. Within that the peak, peak is mid July to mid August ie the public holiday around bastille day in 14 July and anothér public holiday around 15 August. Add in the tour de France (depending where it’s going this year) and it will be busy. Having said that generally rural smaller campsites have some availability whereas seaside ones with all the bells and whistles will be booked up.
Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
Last summer I did France (July) then up to Belgium/Germany/Netherlands (Aug). France was Caen, south/southeast to round Tours area, back up Chartres, north of Paris, ... https://psamathe.eu/france-2018-cycling/ (track can be a bit slow loading as it's rather a lot of points).
Through France I generally phoned ahead to next nigh's campsite and asked if I needed t make a reservation - and they always said no and when I arrived there was always loads of space. BUT, the costal bits were earlier in July, later was a bit more inland.
I asked at a lot of campsites how busy they got in Aug and most said "we'll always find room for a cyclist". Only "difficult" campsite the entire trip was up by Breskens (expensive, full, rip-off ...).
Ian
Through France I generally phoned ahead to next nigh's campsite and asked if I needed t make a reservation - and they always said no and when I arrived there was always loads of space. BUT, the costal bits were earlier in July, later was a bit more inland.
I asked at a lot of campsites how busy they got in Aug and most said "we'll always find room for a cyclist". Only "difficult" campsite the entire trip was up by Breskens (expensive, full, rip-off ...).
Ian
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Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
Thanks both - May chance my arm and give it a go, I think it’s going to be my only window for a tour this year. At least Le Tour is over in the East this year
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Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
teamonster wrote:Sorry to hijack this thread briefly , but wondering how busy campsites in France will be first three weeks of July. Contemplating doing this then, but only heading halfway down, as did Santander to Caen last year, much on Velodysse
As others have said the first three weeks are out of season and the chances of not getting a place for a single tent even in the most touristy areas are close to zero. There are however three proviso - one is that more and more campsites are becoming little more than housing estates for chalets and mobile homes and so some have few IF ANY emplacements for lightweight camping. For example one campsite 10 km from here has no places for real campers and many consider a 5m square of rubble as the perfect place for a lightweight tent. As someone who relies on campsites for our cycling business and as proprietor of a campsite I'm pretty cheesed off by this and at the moment pushing hard to try and organise at least a classification of 'real campsites' where at least 50% of emplacements are for moving-on campers - in fact it's a campaign I may try to get the CTC involved in... For example one campsite 10 km from here has no places for real campers and many consider a 5m square of rubble as the perfect place for a lightweight tent.
So look carefully at campsite descriptions in guides to see the ratio of mobile homes etc to emplacement 'nu' and avoid anything with just a few like the plague.
The other proviso is 'local events'. For example here at Gouarec there is a big Triathlon and for the weekend in June that's on we will be rammed (though we always have a corner for lightweight campers in this situation we are the exception).
Lastly, I've rolled up to campsites to find that a campsite supposedly open in fact has just had the proprietor drop dead, the campsite toilets flooded, 'closed for renovation' etc - and so for that reason I'd always phone ahead - you never know...
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
bretonbikes wrote:.....There are however three proviso - one is that more and more campsites are becoming little more than housing estates for chalets and mobile homes and so some have few IF ANY emplacements for lightweight camping......
I noticed quite a lot of those last summer. Both private and municipal. They often have caravans that have clearly not moved in years (and almost certainly could not be moved), decking, lawns, people spend their days getting their lawnmowers out from their sheds and moving their 3 sq m lawn, then pruning their 10 bedding plants ...
Also stayed at a couple that are more temporary housing for migrant workers. 6:00am the white vans arrive and collect the mainly male workforce, then 20:00 they return and the workers go back to their chalets.
It's not an encouraging trend.
Ian
Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
bretonbikes wrote:Prompted by this thread I've posted up a guide to the first part of the EV1 - from Roscoff to Nantes - hopefully it'll help a bit and add a couple of places where you can have an alternative route https://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cy ... n-brittany
Small correction or update: "Surprisingly it begins in the UK rather than France, in Cornwall and Devon," - the continuous (AFAICT) part of EV1 currently begins in Dungarvan, Ireland, then crosses Rosslare to Fishguard and joins NCN 4 then 3 to get round to Devon. And at the Spanish end, reportedly the route now continues to Pamplona, but is little more than signs bolted to lampposts in many places.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Re: Velodyssee Eurovelo 1,. September
mjr wrote:bretonbikes wrote:Prompted by this thread I've posted up a guide to the first part of the EV1 - from Roscoff to Nantes - hopefully it'll help a bit and add a couple of places where you can have an alternative route https://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cy ... n-brittany
Small correction or update: "Surprisingly it begins in the UK rather than France, in Cornwall and Devon," - the continuous (AFAICT) part of EV1 currently begins in Dungarvan, Ireland, then crosses Rosslare to Fishguard and joins NCN 4 then 3 to get round to Devon. And at the Spanish end, reportedly the route now continues to Pamplona, but is little more than signs bolted to lampposts in many places.
Thanks for that - the offician Velodyssee site has it just in Devon and Cornwall - I wonder if they are differenciating it from EV1.
Sometimes they make these things so complicated - the Tour de Manche has chopped of a lump in the UK (Brexit?) but looks like it might be combined in some way...
Anyway thanks for that - I'll chase and correct as necessary
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...