D940 Calais-Boulogne

[les tocknell]

We are going cycle camping in Pas de Calais in early July. Can anyone comment on levels of traffic on the D940 coastal road? It sounds like a good scenic route but if traffic is heavy I would prefer to use side roads where possible.

[andy D]

I've ridden this road a couple of times and traffic levels can vary. You have to remember that it also takes people to the various beaches and Caps between Calais and Boulogne so it can get busy at the weekend. The last time I rode it was on a Sunday last year in June during Calais CC 100k 'sportive' but as well as using the D940 they also used a few minor side roads just to add a few more hills. The French drivers are normally OK with cyclists but I found it was the odd British driver that came a bit too close or didn't have the patience to wait before overtaking. Don't forget that there are also some cracking hills to be climbed on the route.

[Cyclefrance]

Yep - the coastal road is busy and hilly.

Try our day 1 route from last year and strike west after a nice lunch at Wierre Effroy

http://www.geocities.com/cyclefrance2008/day1.html

[MartinBrice]

Although slightly off-topic, last August I used the D940 southwards from Boulogne and found it to be very busy indeed, lots of traffic, nand very noisy. Not at all pleasant. It seems to be the main road for people who want to get to the coast. However, there was a rather good cycle path next to it for quite long distances though, which is why I persevered with it. South of Etaples it was also busy. When I cam to return northwards I used the country lanes about 2 miles in from the coast and hardly saw a car at all. So you may find the same.

[fietslogies]

The (once signposted) LF1 Noordzeeroute starts/ends in Boulogne-sur-Mer and takes advantage of more quiet roads. http://www.gpstracks.nl/googlemap.php?xmlfile=maps/f-lf1-noordzeeroute.xml&naamroute=LF1%20Noordzeeroute
http://gpstracks.nl/fietsroutes-lf.php?id=257
Can be combined with the first 15 km of http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Calais-Ardres-Watten-Canal-de-Calais-Aa where it follows the towpath (chemin de halage) along the canal between Calais and Ardres.
Regards,
FL