The French Collection

The Hand

Lashed and on board

 September's planned cycle holiday did not get off to the most auspicious start. It nearly ended before it started due to a fall outside the Liphook Loafer's front door.  The resulting gashes on the heel of left hand and left leg and the bruised ribs left me doubting my ability to cycle to the shops let alone average over 60km a day, but... you're never too old to be bold, so at 0700 I boarded the ferry in Portsmouth on Saturday 3rd September, destination Ouisteham.  My plan, as far as it went , was to follow La Velo Francette from the port down towards La Rochelle before heading back to Dieppe to meet friends Mike & Tina who were heading to France a week later in their Motor home.  I had booked a couple of nights in hotels and had taken a tent ... just in case... but as it turned out I didn't need it so gave it to M&T when I met up with them!  My first night was in Caen, in a Le Hotel Univers in a room on the 4th floor with no lift! I'd cycled the 16km along the cycle track that runs along the side of the canal with a young couple who were also intending to cycle all of La Velo Francette.  Posing for photographs by the Pegasus Bridge, the strategic bridge held during the D Day landings by 6th Airborne Division, we parted company in Caen and wished each other well , half expecting to bump into each other later in the week - we never did! 

The Pegasus Bridge

La Velo Francette

The setting up of Caen Market in the area outside my window ensured an early start for me as  I headed for Flers 87kms away.  My route took me mainly on a Voie Verte which are traffic free paths used by walkers, horses & cyclists.  The way was flat and the weather was sunny and warm.  Lots of  other cyclists and runners and with great views over the Normandy countryside.  The second part of the route was on small country lanes and was more undulating.  My arrival at the Hotel Lion ensured that my O level French was put to the test, having to speak to someone who could have been in Guadeloupe, for all I knew, on the phone.  They proceeded to give me directions as to where I could find my room key and how I could access the bike store. Eventually a receptionist did appear and gave me duff information about which restaurants were open, after all it was a Sunday, and nowhere opens! After much walking around the deserted town I found a Kebab shop so celebrated with a bottle of Leffé Blonde and chicken tenders and frites!  Back at the hotel I did not see or hear any evidence of any other guests - it was like The Marie Celeste. 

Monday's destination was to be Mayenne a mere 75km away.  The route again was on a Greenway through the wooded Parc de Normandie.  Coffee and croissant were taken in a small Medieval hilltop town called Domfront and being Monday...very few cafes and bars were open!  My choice of accommodation for the night was The Best Hotel Mayenne, which did indeed turn out to be exactly that

Best Hotel ?

They allowed me keep my bike in my room on the ground floor - I even was able to ask for "une chambre au rez de chausseé". After washing my cycling clothes in the shower and hanging them outside my room on a makeshift line, I headed to the fleshpots of Mayenne for something to eat.  Alas, the rapidly approaching thunderstorm put a spanner in the works so I scuttled back to the hotel to witness a hail storm with hail stones the size of golf balls rain down!  This storm of Biblical proportions also scattered my newly laundered cycling clothes all over the car park.  I dined gormet style that night in McDonalds!

At this point I had to make a decision, to keep heading south and meet Mike & Tina later than arranged or head back towards the coast and meet them in Dieppe as arranged,  and so after much deliberation I opted for the latter and headed west to Fougeres some 65km away.  By this time my injuries had improved somewhat: the ribs no longer hurt but the hand and leg were still sore, The first port of call was E. LeClerc for a breakfast and to stock up on things for lunch.

A French Collection

The first and last parts of the day's cycling was on the busy N12 but for the most part I was on country lanes populated mainly by tractors and trailers carrying the harvested sweet corn that is grown in abundance in this part of France. I arrived in Fougeres and found my Campanile hotel early so decided to have a look round the town.  The main streets were blocked off as the town was hosting a cycle race on wet cobbles....resulting in plenty of spills from the riders!

Fourgeres to Vire which is where I was going to pick up the EV 4 , The Velo Maritime should have only been an 80km ride.  It ended up being the longest day of riding (103km) throughout the trip, as explained in the short video below!  During my extended day I met a young swiss couple who had spent their summer touring round the Loire, Brittany and Normandy and were now heading back home.  They had more gear than I did AND they had their little dog with them which sat quite happily in the front saddle bag!

Thursday 8th September 2022 is the day that marked the death of Queen Elizabeth II so will no doubt be one of those dates people remember what they were doing and where they were for ever.  A bit like  when JFK got shot in 1963 or the Twin Towers were attacked in 9/11.  I was sitting in a restaurant in Bayeaux having just cycled the 66km from Vire. So I and a few other Brits raised our glasses to the late Queen.  Even the French TV news channels had non stop coverage of the story.  I didn't see any sign of the Tapestry but Bayeaux has a magnificent cathedral!

Bayeaux Cathedral

The following morning I was en route for Deauville, a posh seaside town 82km east from Bayeaux. The route was entirely on back roads and was well signposted with the green and white signs of the EV4 or Velo Maritime.  The wind was behind me so progress was fairly swift. The Museums and memorials to the Day Day landings were very visible along the stretch which was known as Sword .

Sword Beach

I stopped in Ouistreham where I had arrived on Saturday on the Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth and retraced my steps back to the Pegasus Bridge and then north up the estuary before heading east to Deauville. The descent into Deauville was fast and smooth and led me to the seafront where the Casino is along with the marina housing the millionaires yachts.  Deauville is also famous for its horseracing track which I witnessed in the autumnal mists the following morning as I climbed my way up the steep hill still cycling east on the EV4 and heading for Fecamp, 92km away.  If  Wednesday had been the longest ride, Saturday's was to prove to be the hardest day of riding, due mainly to the weather although my route choice in hindsight was probably not the best!  Rain had been forecast for most of the day so I was pleased that by the time I had reached Honfleur, a delightful medieval port, I was still dry.  Coffee and crosissant were consumed in a little cafe overlooking the harbour and all was well in the world!

Honfleur

As I left Honfleur the storm clouds were gathering and by the time I had reached the road bridge that crosses the River Seine it was bucketing down. The Pont de Normandie is the main road link between Honfleur and Le Havre and is a little over 2km long. I was about to take my life in my hands by cycling across it in a downpour on a cycle lane that was about the width of a plank with traffic hurtling towards Le Havre who seemed to be completely oblivious to my presence!  I waited for a lull in the rain but none came so, grabbing the bull by the horns, or more exactly grabbing my handlebars very firmly, I went for it.  Pedalling as hard as I could with a determination and steel that even surprised me, I made it.... just.

Le Pont de Normandie

It was with much relief that the final few metres on the bridge as I approached the Toll Booths  the rain stopped so my ride into Le Havre was relatively pleasant! Those who know French ports will know Le Havre to big a major container and tanker port.  You can smell the fumes before you can see the cranes.  The EV4 route takes you through some of the less salubrious parts of this vast city so reaching the outskirts of the eastern side of the city took me a lot longer than I'd anticipated.  I stopped at the only supermarket in France that didn't sell any alcohol and once I realised I couldn't get any wine to go with my ham, cheese and bread I plonked my basket down and headed for Aldi down the road!

Heading for Le Havre

 Fécamp appeared in sight much to my glee and the Ibis Budget Hotel just outside the town welcomed me with ma chambre au rez de chaussé so I was able to charge the bike in the room and dry wet clothes and repack the bags!  A gourmet McDonalds was preceded by a Pastis and a sunset over the harbour and a cycle past the Benedictine Palace, a masterpiece of renaissance Gothic architecture, built by the founder of the liqueur of the same name!  Fécamp's other claim to fame is that it's twinned with Barry.  I pondered what  Fécamp's equivalent of Gavin & Stacey would be like.

Fecamp Sunset

The Benedictine Palace

  Being a Sunday I decided to stock up of lunch items before I set off from Fécamp for my destination which was to be Dieppe, so I found the only shop open, Aldi! Armed with my croissant, bread, cheese, ham and wine I made the steep climb out of Fécamp and followed Le Velo Maritime which was not particularly close to the sea but did manage to grab lunch in the very pretty village of Veules les Roses. After clocking up 83km my arrival in Dieppe, a bustling busy port was celebrated with a cold beer in one of the many bars overlooking the commercial docks which was packed with fishing boats. Another Ibis Budget Hotel which would be home for 2 nights was conveniently placed within walking distance of bars and restaurants which were surprisingly busy given it was a Sunday. It was now just a case of waiting for the arrival of Mike and Tina who were due to arrive the following day.

Leaving Fecamp

Dieppe Marina

 

I decided to spend Monday morning exploring the Avenue Verte which runs from Dieppe to Paris so toddled off on my unladen bike (which was a novelty!) south for 13 kms.  Another Voie Verte or Greenway was traffic free and flat as it follows the old railway line. After a few kilometres I came across a little village with a picnic area that was geared up for bikes, including ebikes!

The Avenue Verte

After the morning ride I met up with Mike & Tina and we lunched on fish and chips and spent the rest of the day sat outside their motorhome sipping wine and eating cheese and planning the next couple of days.  After much discussion we decided to head south the following day on the Avenue Verte to Forges Les Eaux about 60km  from Dieppe and then return on the Wednesday in time for me to catch the ferry back to Newhaven.  A leisurely lunch on Tuesday for Mike & I of steak , chips and a couple of carafes of wine made for an interesting arrival in Forges Les Eaux.  I headed for Le Hotel Continental whilst Mike went to find Tina who had parked the van in an Aire - a free parking spot for motorhomes!  

Le poisson et frites

Van, vin et fromage

After booking my passage back to blighty I had decided to check with DFDS whether there was anywhere to charge my e bike before boarding the ferry.  Much to my shock I was told that they could no longer carry ebikes due to safety concerns from the batteries! Protesting in my best French didn't seem to sway the reception staff but they did assure that they would look into it and send me an email.  So my last 12 hours in France was somewhat tainted by the worrying thought that I might not get on the ferry home!  All the worry was in vain - I changed my ferry time from a midnight departure to a 6 pm one, bade farewell to Mike & Tina gave them my tent and sleeping bag which I had been carting around for the last 10 days and rode onto the ferry without anyone batting an eyelid, never mind worrying about my batteries catching fire!

Homeward Bound

Arrival in Newhaven in the dark saw my one and only mechanical/electrical failure! As I cycled off the boat my computer display unit wouldn't work and hence no power assistance.  This was worrying as I had 30km to go to Lancing and my friend Malcolm's house.  I called into the departure lounge and plugged in my charger which immediately fired up the display unit much to my relief!  Just under 2 hours later and having  seen more urban foxes than a foxes convention I arrived in the early hours of Thursday morning at the house to be flagged in by Malcolm and a cheese sandwich and a glass of red wine at the ready.  Just what the Doctor ordered. 

A few hours of sleep and we were back on the bike!  Heading out for lunch in a pub that had the most miserable land lord and landlady!  If you're ever visiting the village of Upper Beeding...avoid the Kings Head like the Plague!

Big Bird

The final section of my cycling journey was from Lancing to Liphook so as I left Lancing at 0700 on the Friday morning it was with a reasonable sense of achievement of all the kilometres that I'd cycled.  Out along the coast and then up passed Arundel Castle and over the South Downs and finally back into Liphook saw me arrive to a fanfare of trumpets.... actually I just loaded my bike onto the car and headed back to South Wales!

Back in Liphook

So the journey was 907km in total with a total ascent of 6920 metres and I was away for 14 days.  Lessons learned?  Don't cycle at night. Practice your French before you go. Take a friend!  Anyone up for the Tour De La Manche next year ?

And remember - you're never too old to be bold!

LLantwit to Norway and back!

 The title may be a little misleading - the truth of July's cycling adventures is that I caught the train from Bridgend to Chepstow and then cycled to Hampshire to stay with the Liphook Loafer. Over the course of three days, I stopped in Bristol and Marlborough before being joined en route a couple of kms outside Liphook by the aforementioned Loafer.  A couple of days later we met up with the other stalwarts of the team at Gatwick, namely the Pedalling Physio, aka Hywel and the Highgate Viking and  flew to Norway for  four days where we were joined by The Mallorcan Mayor (To Be) and the Oslo Turkey, aka, Tommo and Justin.   During our time in Vik, courtesy of the Highgate Viking, we hired mountain bikes and explored the the tracks around the ski resort of  Mrykdalen for a day and spent the other days vainly attempting to catch fish between bouts of eating an drinking.  Tommo & Justin headed back to Oslo and the rest of us for Gatwick.  My return to Chepstow started from Ringwood after The  Loafer volunteered to give me a lift to help me on my way and show off his new electric car and test out his tow bar.  So Ringwood to Yeovil was the first leg by bike, followed by Yeovil to Bristol and finally Bristol to Chepstow and then the train back to Llantwit.  All in all I was away for 12 days and covered 470km. Points worth mentioning:

Komoot doesn't always get the route right - on one section from Marlborough to Liphook, the route took me down a bridal path that looked as it hadn't been used for about 150 years, was very isolated and very steep  and ended up in a farm yard - note to self... always check the OS map against the Komoot route

The scenery in Norway is stunning, the ski tracks are steep and the bike hire is expensive.... but then so is beer, meat and almost everything else!

UK Border force need to get their act together and fix those Passport machines - 10 minutes wait in a queue to get to a machine that then rejected my passport was followed by a 40 minute wait in a queue to see some dreary humourless official who treated me as if  I was an illegal immigrant - BREXIT is a POS

The North Dorset Cycleway is delightful and well worth a trip- pretty villages with thatched cottages and quiet country lanes.

Yeovil makes Bridgend look posh,  its a one horse town and the horse seems to have f***** off - drongos hanging about street corners with cans of strong cider, shopping precincts that wouldn't look out of place in Zombie films and a plethora of fast food emporiums clustered round a Wetherspoons pub - all went some way to make me feel at home!

Avoid cycling on the A303 at all costs! I didn't as a result of some of the backroads being closed due to the massive civil engineering works going on to improve that cursed road!  It was like cycling on the M25 during the rush hour. The A37 wasn't much better either.

Wells to Bristol provides a couple of very steep climbs but spectacular views from Priddy in the Mendips.

Chepstow Railway station needs upgrading for wheel chair users and ebike users! - There is only a footbridge that allows access from one platform to the other so arriving in Chepstow by bike and wanting to go west by train means a struggle up and down the steps - Network Rail take note!

Enjoy the selection of photographs, they can tell the story better than I can!

Ready for Departure

Crossing the Severn Bridge

Bradford on Avon

Caen Hill Locks

Amesbury White Horse

Norway breakfast

Myrkdalen

Myrkdalen again

And again

Sneaked out for a cheeky one

Nice car!

North Dorset heading for Yeovil

Around Glasto

Back to Wales

Back roads in Mallorca

I have always been aware that Mallorca is a top destination for cyclists having been on many holidays there.  Indeed, many of the professional teams use it for preparation for Le Tour, the Giro and La Vuelta because the island is able to offer good weather, fantastic road surfaces and a variety of terrain. So whilst Sue & I were there a few weeks ago on holiday I decided to hire an electric bike and put the backroads of Mallorca to the test.  I was not disappointed.

Our base for the week was a house in the middle of the village of Sant Joan.  Sant Joan lies in the middle of Mallorca and is about as far from the coast as you can get on the island. 

 It's also home to our friends Richard and Catalina who live and work in the village and it was on Richards's recommendation that I chose to hire a bike from Bike Experience Mallorca. The booking process was easily done on line and the  delivery was prompt and to my door - I opted for a Giant Explore E+ 1 Pro with a Yamaha motor and a 625amh battery.  I decided that 3 days rental  was going to be enough for me and give me time to sample some of what Mallorca had to offer for the discerning cycle tourist! So  I selected for a first ride of 55km taking in the villages close to Sant Joan and set off just before 10 0'clock as the temperature was rising!  The cycling was made easy with a gentle breeze blowing me along and the flat road that  headed west passed golden fields of barley.   

There was very little traffic and the occasional lycra clad cyclist would raise a hand in acknowledgement as they passed me and the sun rose higher and the temperature with it! As I got close to Porreres I decided that it was time for some liquid refreshment so stopped in the village square for a nice cold glass of beer. 

With my thirst slated and aware that day was getting significantly warmer, I headed for Felanitx before turning north to Petra and back to Sant Joan.  The village square in Petra was bustling with hoards of German cyclists eating and drinking in the many cafes that surround it so I joined them briefly for a swift half.   By the time I arrived back at the house I was so hot that my first action was to flop into the swimming pool to cool off.  The ride was better than I'd expected - quiet roads, picturesque villages and some delightful scenery.

In view of the previous day's heat I decided that my second ride should be a little shorter so from Sant Joan I headed north west to the village of Lloret and returned on some single track roads which were betted suited to a mountain bike than a touring one.  Again the scenery was stunning with the golden fields edged by red poppies set against an azure sky.  My only encounter with any traffic came in the form of a local farmer on his tractor, piled high with boxes of some produce or other.  His walnut brown weathered face looked somewhat bemused when he saw me and his expression definitely said, "Mad dogs and Englishmen etc" - regardless,  we exchanged a friendly wave.

For the third ride I chose another circular ride from Sant Joan only this time taking the very back road to Sineu, a small town with a railway station with links to Manacor and Palma.  It also hosts a weekly market which swells the town in high season every Wednesday.  People are bussed in from all over the island and there are a huge variety of stalls ranging from local produce to live chickens and goats. Sineu is also a popular stopping point for cycle tourists and the local cafes and bars are well geared up for their arrival with bike stands outside almost every establishment. As they had put all this effort into welcoming the cyclists I felt duty bound to stop and rehydrate in a cafe overlooking the main square. Suitably refreshed I headed home, again enjoying the warm sunshine and the magnificent road surfaces.

The bike was collected the following day with the same efficiency and punctuality as its delivery.  Mallorca is a perfect destination for cycle touring and the "amuse bouche" that I tasted over the three days has left me hungry to taste the seven course "gourmet meal" that is definitely waiting to be devoured there!

Meanwhile in London, the Highgate Viking has been out and about.....

We can't wait for the report of his trip.....