Voies Vertes book

[skytandem]

We're planning a Calais to Collioure (via Mt Ventoux) tandem trip down through France in August/September and are busy planning a route. It would be really useful if we could acquire a book detailing the "Voies Vertes de France". Does anyone know where we can purchase such a book?

Thanks in advance

Jonathan

[ericonabike]

Not sure if such a beast exists? We were in Normandy last year and used some of the V Vs there, but my impression was that they were a regional, rather than national initiative. It also got a bit boring after a while, constantly following an old railway line, which is what I think they all are, even more so than our sustrans routes!

[skytandem]

Not sure if such a beast exists? We were in Normandy last year and used some of the V Vs there, but my impression was that they were a regional, rather than national initiative. It also got a bit boring after a while, constantly following an old railway line, which is what I think they all are, even more so than our sustrans routes!

Yes - we don't plan to use them all the time, living in the Yorkshire Dales we're kind of used to hills and find flat-cycling a bit boring... To get around the odd city (Reims, Dijon?) though, they might well be useful in avoiding major roads.

[matt_twam_asi]

I've never come across a book but http://www.voiesvertes.com/ has some pdf downloads, and there may be some routes you can use on http://www.opencyclemap.org/.

[robgul]

You could look at these sites :

http://www.af3v.org/
http://www.cartovelo.com/
http://www.la-bourgogne-a-velo.com/index.php?lg=fr

I have ridden the Voie Verte from Beaune/Givry to Macon in Burgundy - fantastic, and at nearly all of the road crossings cars have to give way to cycles

There is also a "Geneva to the Med" cycle route being introduced (IIRC cartovelo has some leaflets) - think Sustrans BUT much more direct and tarmac surfaces ... bits are already constructed and signed ... it pretty much follows the Rhone. (We rode on part of it in Sept 2008 and the tarmac was so new we thought we were going to catch up with the machine laying it!!)

Have a look at my http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk site and the Other/France section for our book Wine-ding Down Through France which is now available on CD (for a charity donation) with a complete route map

EDIT : Forgot - there is an IGN cycle routes map and some published by Excellent Books - try the Map Shop at Upton on Severn for IGN (French OS) maps

Rob

[Philiparm]

I have a copy of "La France par les voies vertes" ISBN 2 7373 3848 4, it isn't bad, lots of nice pictures, but published in 2006 so a bit out of date. amazon.fr has second hand copies for 7 euros