Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Sebastian Macmillan recently completed a cycling trip across France from the English Channel to the Mediterranean. Twenty-six riders took part in the ride which was organised by the tour company
Peak Tours. Here is his report.
Day 1: Ouistreham (Caen) to Bagnoles de l'Orne
Saturday 18 May 2019. With my bike and back-pack, I took the train from Waterloo to Portsmouth & Southsea station on Friday evening (17th May) cycled to the Brittany Ferries terminal and caught the overnight ferry to Ouistreham where the ride starts. It was very straightforward. The ferry terminal is near the Ibis Hotel and most of the others on the ride had stayed there. We all met there around eight o'clock. We had a simple briefing from Isabelle (our tour leader) in Ouistreham, and then set off. I am riding with a friend from St Albans, Michael.
The first section was on the Voie Verte - a wonderful asphalt path beside the river that passes Pegasus Bridge. After Caen, the path runs beside an old railway line. Very unfortunately the first puncture of the whole trip happened after only 38 km and doubly unfortunately, it was in my back wheel. It was a carpet tack, right through my brand new top quality Continental Gatorskin tyre. AAaarrghh! Later we were on deserted narrow lanes through small villages, with stone churches, small and not so small houses, and a lot of fields with cattle grazing.
About 10km from our final destination for the day, there was a road closure and we ended up riding through some lovely woodland as a consequence. Then just 5km away, there was a huge market running for 4km all along the route we were supposed to take. There was a lot of brocante (junk basically) which at first was fun to look at as we walked though, but we realised that it would take an awfully long time to pass through the whole market so we took a detour. I am navigating by my Garmin which has the routes on it but no actual maps, but luckily Michael had maps on his so we had some idea where to go. But a detour isn't what you want at the end of a fairly long day, when you've started dreaming of a cup of tea and a hot bath.
Total distance for the day was
115km with 1267 metres of climbing. We are at Bagnoles de l'Orne.
Setting off at Ouistreham
Path beside the river, and Pegasus Bridge
Path beside the old railway track
See today's ride on
Strava and
Relive.
Day 2: Bagnoles de l'Orne to La Fleche
Sunday 19 May. It was cool and misty as we left Bagnoles de l'Orne this morning and remained so through to the early afternoon. We again rode along empty country lanes through agricultural landscapes and picturesque villages. The roads were rolling - some long gradual hills followed by wonderful equally long descents. Lunch was at a beach on a lake.
It warmed up in the afternoon and the terrain was flatter. We don't ride as one group, but instead small groups form of knots of riders travelling at about the same speed. I spent the afternoon in the company of a group of six Canadians.
We arrived at La Fleche, an attractive town on the Loire River shortly before 5pm.
129km and 1480m of climbing.
Bagnoles de l'Orne
See today's ride on
Strava and
Relive.
Day 3: La Fleche to Loches
Monday 20 May. The riding today was really splendid. The temperature rose from 12C to about 17C as the day wore on, and we rode along more country lanes from La Fleche to lunch at Langeais. This is a beautiful small town with a huge chateau at its heart. Lunch itself was beside the river where our guides had laid on a wonderful picnic.
Once again I rode with the group of Canadians, including quite a few miles with one of them, Heidi, who rides at just my pace. The route was quite flat and we must I think have had the wind behind us because our average speed was a healthy 23kmh for the 126km. It's obviously not a race, but in the evenings there is a certain amount of discussion about who rides fast, who rides well uphill, and who spends most of the time at the front of each of the groups. In fact, Heidi and I left the afternoon tea stop before most of the riders and then with about half an hour to go, we were passed by a larger group who overtook us like an express train, Michael among them. Could we hold their back wheel and stay with them? After a nanosecond, we realised it would be impossible and we carried on as normal. There are some strong riders on this tour.
Early afternoon we stopped briefly for a glimpse of the chateau at Azay le Rideau, one of the glories of the French renaissance. Our final destination was Loches, a town built entirely of what I discover to be tuffeau limestone, and full of castles, chateau, a huge church of St Ours, and many other splendid civic buildings. An excellent day despite, or perhaps because of, all the kilometres cycled. Oh, and 4,500 calories used, according to Mr Garmin. So I've been eating heartily.
Lunch was at Langeais on the banks of the Loire, just outside the centre
A glimpse of the chateau of Azay le Rideau
St Ours, Loches
See today's ride on
Strava and
Relive.