London to Paris (via Dieppe)

A few months ago two of us (5 pints deep) decided what a great idea it would be to ride to Paris for lunch. After all how hard could it be. Simple ride down to Newhaven , catch the ferry to Dieppe and then cycle to Paris. Original idea was to do it in two days. Thankfully common-sense prevailed. Day 1 became home to Newhaven and then catch the 5pm ferry to Dieppe. Stay Dieppe overnight and then cycle 102 km to Lalandelle.  Day 3 was ride to Paris 112 km away. Take the obligatory photo at the Eiffel tower then head to Gare Du Nord for a lunch and catch the 6.04 train home, hopefully tucked up in bed by 9 pm London time.

The route

Looking fresh and keen. Only 320 km to go.

All of this....

..went into this.

Lunch day 1. Carbs, carbs and carbs.

Walking our bikes onto the ferry at Newhaven

Departing Newhaven. the last view you have as you leave the port is of a massive scrapyard. The irony did not pass me by.

Meet Johan. Swede living in south London. He was riding to a conference 20 km north of Paris. Carrying 2 panniers full of gear plus a tent and having just done 9 hours from London to Newhaven you can understand the posture he assume IMMEDIATELY upon sitting down.

Rolling hills of Northwest France covered with Rapeseed.

The Start of the ''Avenue Verte''. It starts just outside Dieppe and is a disused railway track that has been ripped up and placed with a tarmac lined cycle / pedestrian way that runs for 60km from Dieppe to Forges le Eaux.. My type of cycling. Straight and flat.

Many of the abandoned old train stations have now being converted into cafes. No better excuse needed for a coffee stop every 5-6 km !

The BnB at Lalandelle was probably one of the best I have stayed in. 

Every town had a Boulangerie and it would have been a travesty not to take advantage of their offerings.

Boulangerie 'offerings''

Some impressive architecture along the way

Saw quite a few of these beauties

An ideally named town !

Every town had a mayors office that was a great place for a loo stop. This was once a school. Note the different entrances for male and females.

What looked like an impressive residence ( and it probably was once ) is now a horticulture college. Impressive nonetheless.

Not all the cycling done was on smooth cycle ways or roads. Forests outside Versailles.

First sighting of our destination. 1.5 hours of cycling away !

Destination achieved

Never did a carbon bike feel so heavy.

Conclusion of a ride photo.

The first beer at Gare Du Nord Terminus Brasserie slid down rather quickly. So too the bottle of Sancerre that followed.

Our carriage home

A farewell song for the passengers

Going home rather quicker than we arrived !

Observations.

1. We were lucky with the weather. I wouldn't want to do it in anything but the dry
2. A headwind is public enemy no.1 to a cyclist
3. Cyclists are admired and respected in France. In the UK you are villified.
4. There is little to no roadside debris or rubbish on French country roads. The UK on the other hand...who in their right mind can't be arsed to carry an empty Lucozade bottle in their car as opposed to piffing it out the window. Same with cigarette packets.
5. Hills are a cyclists public enemy no.2
6. France is over governed. Does every single village , no matter how small , really need a mayors office?
7. You can ride 3 days in the same gear. Wash it each night and its design is such it dries by the next morning.
8. A stretching regime after every days cycle is a good thing. A necessity in fact if you are over 45
9. A beer tastes infinitely better after a solid workout
10. Eating in rural France is ridiculously good value for money.
11. Never underestimate the restorative power of caffeine
12. Paris traffic is a mess.
13. French bread really is the best in the world