Euro Bike Tour

April - Juni 2016

Ein 71-Tage Abenteuer von Pedalling Pipey Weiterlesen

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Pedalling Pipey Euro Bike Tour
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- 16.04.2016, 13:30
- ⛅ 9 °C
- Höhe über NN: 39 ft
- Frankreich Normandy Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Val de Saire Cherbourg Railway Station 49.63373, -1.6221449°38’1” N 1°37’20” W
Tag 1
Arrival, Cherbourg
16. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
OK so here we go. After last night's sleepless night at The Queens Hotel in Bournemouth, due to an over 60's Tango Weekend at the hotel, it was a rushed start and a very quick 6 mile ride to the ferry port in Poole. Made the ferry by the skin of my teeth and now had 4 hours to kick back relax and plan this little 10 week tour!Weiterlesen
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Did you not want to join in the Tango!?
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Pedalling Pipey Euro Bike Tour
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- 16.04.2016
- ⛅ 9 °C
- Höhe über NN: 36 ft
- Frankreich Normandy Carentan 49.30567, -1.2428349°18’20” N 1°14’34” W
Tag 1
Day 1 - Cherbourg to Carentan, 39 miles
16. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
After being told that Normandy was flat I was looking forward to a gentle start to the trip. So I was slightly surprised to roll off the ferry and be greeted by a huge hill surrounding Cherbourg! After two wrong turns and a quick jump off and push after hitting a hill I physical couldn't ride up all in the first 5 miles it wasn't the start I was looking for. Still the sun was out and there were 10 weeks and 3,000 miles in front of me!

The ride did improve very quickly and the initial steep climb turned into glorious rolling countryside, no traffic and small village after small village. My first stop was at Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Two reasons for the stop - One the first stage of 'LeTour' travels through and to say the roads are smooth on the route is an understatement. Two it is home to the US Airborne Museum and for anyone who has watched Band of Brothers you'll know what I'm talking about. The 82nd Us Airborne division landed here during D-Day including one guy who got caught on the cathedral and spent 2 hours playing dead not to get shot.

After the quick museum visit it was into my accommodation in Carentan. A little B&B run by lovely couple who could have not been more helpful and welcoming. They even did my room out fit for a Princess like I asked!!

All in all great first day.Weiterlesen
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- 17.04.2016
- ⛅ 9 °C
- Höhe über NN: 154 ft
- Frankreich Normandy Bayeux 49.27644, -0.7031449°16’35” N 0°42’11” W
Tag 2
Day 2 - Carentan to Bayeux, 40 miles
17. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
After a great French breakfast in the B&B (I'm going to eat a lot of croissants, ham and cheese on this trip!) it was an early start in glorious sunshine to head round the Normandy coast visiting the historic sites from World War 2 and the D-Day landings. The highlight (not really the right word but I'm sure you know what I mean) was the American War Cemetry where over 9,000 soldiers are buried. Incredibly moving place and somewhere that really makes you realise how lucky we are.

For anyone who has not been the Normandy coast is stunning. Omaha beach has to be one of the most incredible beaches I've ever seen. Goes on for miles with prefect flat sand. Crazy to think what happened there a little over 70 years ago.

Today wasn't really about the riding or weather or anything else so after a very moving day I headed to Bayeux which turns out to be a beautiful small place with a large cathedral in the centre. Accommodation was in a lovely old house right in the centre of town. After heading out for a burger and a pint and turning down the advances of Nancy a 50 year old American tour guide it was time for bed.Weiterlesen
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Pedalling Pipey Euro Bike Tour
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- 18.04.2016
- ⛅ 10 °C
- Höhe über NN: 154 ft
- Frankreich Normandy Le Mont-Saint-Michel Le Mont-Saint-Michel 48.63606, -1.5114648°38’10” N 1°30’41” W
Tag 3
Day 3-Bayeux to Mont St Michel, 20 miles
18. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
(plus 75 miles by train!)

Slight cheat day today. After relaxed morning in Bayeux the train was boarded after lunch (banana and Nutella crepes are my new favorite thing) for the 2 hour journey to Pontorson and then short ride to Mont St Michel. For anyone who has not been this is a must. Turns out it's the third most visited tourist attraction on France and you can see why. An Abbey built on a rock that gets cut off by the sea twice a day. After popping up the during the day and wandering around I went back after dinner for the sunset and for anyone that knows me im a sucker for a sun set.

The big bonus for me today is Mont St Michel will be the 'Grand Depart' for Le Tour this year. Might not mean much to many people but to any cyclist this was a big box ticked.

Inbetween I checked into my guesthouse a couple of miles in land in Beauvoir. Lovely place and Claude the host was very welcoming even if I wasn't sure what eye to look at!

Great day and will be getting a few more trains to see more things as so easy and cheap. England could learn a thing or two.Weiterlesen
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- 19.04.2016, 14:00
- ☀️ 15 °C
- Höhe über NN: 46 ft
- Frankreich Bretagne Saint-Malo Intra Muros Plage du Mole 48.64934, -2.0256748°38’58” N 2°1’32” W
Tag 4
Day 4-Mont St Michel to St-Malo, 35miles
19. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Part 1

Awoke to another glorious cloudless sky and left early to get to St Malo by lunch. The best ride so far. Completely flat, along the coast and with a slight tail wind which any cyclist will tell you is heaven when on a bike. From one small town to another within a couple of hours I rolled into St-Malo which is a large town with an Old town by the harbour that is surrounded by a huge medival wall. Amazing place and somewhere you could easily spend a long weekend or even a week with the kids if you have any. Great restaurants, bars, history plus amazing beaches.

After a few hours around St Malo it was time for another quick cheat and a 3 hour training journey to Le Mans via Rennes. Got a little confused at the change over in Rennes and very nearly ended up going to Paris. Really need to learn some basic French!

Onto part 2...Weiterlesen
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- 19.04.2016, 19:00
- ☀️ 17 °C
- Höhe über NN: 282 ft
- Frankreich Pays de la Loire Le Mans 48.00611, 0.1995648°0’22” N 0°11’58” E
Tag 4
Day 4 - St-Malo to Le Mans, 20 miles
19. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
(plus 150 miles by train)

Part 2

After getting off the train at Le Mans first thing I noticed was jump in temperature. Feeling a lot more summer! Accommodation for the night was a small guesthouse 15 miles south of Le Mans but first was a quick visit to the Le Mans race track. Thinking it will be a quick photo outside I soon realised that apart from the main grandstand straight the rest is on public roads. 7 miles later (did not realise one lap was this far) I came back to the start finish straight and although it's not been verified yet I'm pretty sure it was the fastest lap by a balding twat from Luton on a push bike! Great experience and another tick boxing day.

Onto accommodation and another lovely guesthouse and after arriving starving and my a restaurant in sight they could not have been more helpful and whipped me up a ham and cheese baguette. I swear the French eat nothing else. My jambon and fromage baguette count in 4 days is already 6.

Fully carbed up it was time for bed.Weiterlesen
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Pedalling Pipey Euro Bike Tour
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- 20.04.2016, 14:00
- ☀️ 18 °C
- Höhe über NN: 223 ft
- Frankreich Centre La Riche 47.39414, 0.6848447°23’39” N 0°41’5” E
Tag 5
Day 5 - Le Mans to Tours, 55 miles
20. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Part 1

Awoke to glorious sunshine and a lovely breakfast made by Sara the host at the small guesthouse I stayed in last night. Little did I know what the next 5 hours had in store. The perfect start of the trip came to an abrupt end with one of my hardest cycles. 55 miles, 2,000 ft of climbing, most of it on a busy B road, nothing interesting to see and all of it into an 18mph (with gusts) head/side wind. It was like cycling from Slough to Swindon with someone slapping you in the face the whole way. A ham and cheese baguette (HCB) break was the highlight of the ride!

This journey did have a purpose and I eventually rolled into Tours on the Loire River where things improved drastically. A beautiful city set by the river with a huge cathedral, small lanes, markets and a busy center.Weiterlesen
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- 20.04.2016, 23:18
- ☁️ 15 °C
- Höhe über NN: 138 ft
- Frankreich Centre Langeais Langeais Railway Station 47.32464, 0.4089947°19’29” N 0°24’32” E
Tag 5
Day 5 - Tours to Langeais, 18 miles
20. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Part 2

After another HCB stop sat by the cathedral it was time to change direction and head West taking the Loire Velo route to my bed for the night in Langeais.

Wow what a change to this mornings ride. The change in direction West now meant the wind was behind me and the Loire a Velo route hugged the river so all flat and the love for the trip was back after all the swearing and head down riding earlier.

Passing the chateauxs of the Loire Valley I arrived into Langeais to check into yet again a lovely guesthouse and wandered round the small town and finished the day with a pizza and beer by the old church.

In summary, crap morning, amazing afternoon and a head wind is the devil in disguise!Weiterlesen
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Moray Tuach Huw says you're pathetic. "Man-up" :)
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- 21.04.2016, 22:38
- 🌙 13 °C
- Höhe über NN: 135 ft
- Frankreich Pays de la Loire Angers 47.46654, -0.5590847°27’60” N 0°33’33” W
Tag 6
Day 6 - Langeais to Angers, 71 miles
21. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
Wow what a day. 71 miles along the Loire Valley using the 'La Loire a Velo' cycle route which tracks quiet roads and river paths whilst taking in all the main sights, chateau's and towns. It really doesn't get much better. Also picked up a companion along the way in the form of Carsten a German cyclist doing 6 months round Europe with the kind of beard I couldn't grow even if I didn't shave for 20 years.

The blue sky's have gone though and experienced the first cloudy day of the trip with couple of light showers which wasn't too bad as kept the temperatures down but we did have a nice tail wind for the whole day (apologies to the non cyclists as I will probably mention the wind quite a bit on this trip).

Not going to lie the last 10/15 miles were tough today. After yesterdays 70+ miles the knee, bum and thighs were starting to ache towards the end and Angers and my b&b (which turns out to be run by a lovely Indian couple) couldn't come quick enough.

Wasn't too happy with 4 flights of steep stairs to my room but after a shower it was a quick turnaround to find a restaurant. We were recommended an Italian (run by a lovely German couple) and after a beer and bowl of pasta each each we also went for a pizza. My Garmin stated I burnt 3,400 calories today so didn't feel that guilty!

After a quick couple of beers in an Irish bar (they really do get everywhere) I'm writing this from the comfort of my bed where I will rest before tomorrow's 70 mile ride to Nantes!Weiterlesen
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- 22.04.2016
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Höhe über NN: 92 ft
- Frankreich Pays de la Loire Nantes 47.21918, -1.560747°13’9” N 1°33’39” W
Tag 7
Day 7 - Angers to Nantes, 65 miles
22. April 2016 in Frankreich ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
From a riding point of view it was a great second day of following the Loire a Velo cycle path. Flat terrain on a mix of tarmac and gravel paths and a few bridge crossings it was nice and relaxed but despite the odd flooded path it was a pretty non eventual ride from a sights point of view.

Arrived into Nantes by mid afternoon and by looks of things a very nice city which I will explore more tomorrow. Day off the bike tomorrow due to the knee and bum needing a rest so will have a wander round Nantes and have a few more beers tomorrow night before a Sundays leisurely ride to the Atlantic coast.Weiterlesen
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