Arrival.

Day 4:

Campsite near(ish!) Marines to Paris.

Departed: 12:15 (due to a rainy morning delaying us)
Arrived: 20:15

Total cycling time: 04:25:30
Distance: 79.99km
Average: 18.4km/h
Max: 44.7km/h
Trip total: 412.1km

And so it ends. I’ve arrived in Paris, and have set up camp at a site right next to the Seine, on the west side of the city.

It’s been a pretty gruelling four days, and I’ve cycled an average of 103km each day, through some ridiculously hilly countryside, 28 degree sunshine, and torrential rain.

Each day has been brilliant in a different way, and I’ve had so much fun along the way. Yesterday and today involved some big challenges, and required determination and will power, and to have pushed on and made it feels great.

I’ve proved a lot to myself, and shown how fit I’ve managed to get over the last 12-18 months, with all my cycling and swimming. I’m already thinking about the next tour, and definitely have the bug. Next year I’d like to cycle from the English Channel to the Mediterranean.

The full account of today, and yesterday, will have to wait, I’ll do it tomorrow probably, as Kate doesn’t arrive until late in the evening.

The two girls stayed with me again for today’s ride, and have camped here. We’re all starving, so are heading into the city (on unloaded bikes!) to find food and get a well earned beer or three.

So, so pleased to have done what I’ve done.

Numbers.

Today’s numbers before I forget…

Neufchâtel to Marines, campsite 20km further.

129.71km
20.5km/h av
53.8km/h max
06:18:26 cycling time.

Departed 11:00
Arrived 23:00

Trip total: 332.1km

Storms.

Very quick entry – far too exhausted to write a full entry. A full account of today will have to follow tomorrow.

A huge 130km day, over some very, very hilly countryside. Big, tough climbs, but long, rewarding descents. A day of opposites weather wise. 28 degree heat and sunshine, followed by torrential rain, thunder and lightning. Very challenging day, but feels great to have completed it.

Set off from Neufchâtel at 11:00, and finally arrived at tonight’s campsite at just before 23:00. Tents pitched immediately, and now some much needed sleep!

Fantastic day. Ridiculous cyclist’s tan.

Neufchâtel.

Newhaven to Dieppe by ferry.

Dieppe to Neufchâtel en Bray.

47.38km
20.7km/h av.
38.1km/h max.
Cycling time: 02:16:58

Trip total: 202.2km (including trip into Newhaven for supper last night).

Departed campsite: 08:30
Arrived Neufchâtel: 17:30

10:02 – I had probably the best night’s sleep I’ve had in months last night, despite sleeping in a tent. I was asleep by 22:00, and woke up feeling totally refreshed and ache free at 07:30. 9 1/2 hours of uninterrupted, restful sleep. I had a quick shower, and packed away the tent and gear. I left the campsite at 08:30, and it was just a quick 4km ride to the ferry terminal.

I checked in and went to the front of the bike queue, where I met two other cyclists doing the same trip as me, Andy and Julie from Sydenham. We started chatting and comparing the routes we had taken from London to Newhaven. Like me, they’re new to touring, and this is their first London to Paris trip. They’re staying at B&Bs along the way, and just finding them as and when they need to. They’re allowing much longer for their trip than I am, doing about 50km a day.

Shortly after I’d arrived and started chatting to Andy and Julie, two girls in their 20s turned up – Alice and Megan from London. They’re 23 and 24, and also doing London to Paris, and camping along the way. They could teach me a thing or two about traveling light, and don’t really have a plan.

All of us have sat together at the back of the ferry, and have been chatting amongst ourselves about all sorts of things, and now they’ve gone off exploring while I write this.

It’s been really nice to meet some like-minded people this morning, doing the same trip as me but in slightly different ways. I knew it was likely I’d meet people along the way, but to have done it so soon has been nice. The girls aren’t sure where they’re staying tonight, so I’ve said I’ll show them where I’m going and we can cycle together if they want to.

I’m really looking forward to my first few km in France, and it’ll be an easy 35km to Neufchâtel. The trip is turning out to be everything I had hoped it would be, and more. I can’t wait to see what the next couple of days and 200km or so have in store.

23:26 – When we got off the ferry at Dieppe, Alice, Megan and I had agreed we’d set off on the first leg together and stay at the same place. We left the ferry and cycled into Dieppe centre and had a quick coffee at a tabac. We then made our way out of Dieppe, picking up the Avenue Verte after a few km. This was made much easier by the fact that I had a GPS, and it would have been a lot more difficult and time consuming to navigate our way out.

The Avenue Verte is cycling heaven. It’s flat, the surface is perfectly smooth tarmac, it’s entirely traffic free, and it passes through beautiful countryside. We made really quick progress along the 35km to Neufchâtel en Bray. Megan and Alice are both pretty quick, and we settled at a decent speed we were all happy with, cycling three abreast all the way there, chatting and laughing.

I’m quite envious of how they live – they seem very free, and have come away on this trip without really having a plan. They didn’t even bring a map! I asked what was next after Paris, and they said ‘oh we’ve got a friend in Cannes, so we might go there’. Alice has just quit her job, and Megan has the summer break from university, so they’ve got as long as they need.

We arrived at the campsite at about 17:30, and went straight to the supermarket to get food for supper. After that we set up our tents and cooked, and ate a meal of pasta, chicken, bread, cheese, radishes, and tomatoes. We then sat chatting for ages, and a friendly bloke from Cardiff brought over three portions of pudding for us. We then washed up and had a coffee at the bar, and have just showered and all gone to bed.

They’re going to set off with me in the morning, and we’ll see how the day goes and whether they want to stick to my route and daily distances, or do their own thing. It’s been really fun getting to know them, and great to have some company along the way. They’re doing their trip in such a different way from the way I am, but we seem to get along perfectly regardless.

Another absolutely perfect, unforgettable day, and I’m still feeling fresh and full of energy, and definitely don’t feel I’m pushing myself too hard. Perfect cycling, on a perfect cycle track, and a tailwind all the way! I fear I may have caught the touring bug…

(Sorry, very few photos taken on the phone today, to save the battery. Most were on the SLR, so they’ll have to wait).

Buckle.

London to Newhaven

Departed 06:10
Arrived: 16:40

136.81km
18.5km/h av.
54.0km/h max.
07:22:12 cycling time

I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my trip than I’ve had today. I’m writing this from my tent, looking out of the porch towards the sunset, and feeling a great combination of worn out, happy about how the day has gone, and exited about tomorrow’s stage.

I arrived at Buckle Holiday Park at 16:40, having spent a total of 7 hours 22 minutes in the saddle today. It turned out to be slightly further than expected, finishing at just under 137km. That’s exactly the same distance as the ride I did on my birthday, to the coast and back, but on a racing bike with no luggage!

My legs feel surprisingly fresh tonight, though I’m sure they’ll be a bit tired tomorrow morning when I cycle to catch the ferry.

The campsite is ok. Nothing special, but I’ve got a quiet corner and I’m only paying £7, so I can’t grumble. It is right next to the beach, so once I’d got the tent set up earlier and had a shower, I went for a stroll on the beach. I sat there for a while staring out across the Channel, thinking about the next stage of the ride on the other side.

I cycled into Newhaven to look for somewhere to eat (adding a further 10km to today’s total in the process) and found a pub called The White Hart. If you ever get the chance to come to Newhaven, don’t. It’s a run-down dive. I asked the barman if they were serving food, and he replied that ‘nowhere serves food on a Monday’. So I had to settle for a takeaway pizza from across the road and a pint of ale. I popped into the supermarket on the way back to get some snacks for tomorrow.

I should write about what the rest of today’s ride was like after lunch really. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon’s cycling, even though I was pretty worn out. The afternoon was warm and sunny, and I cycled through yet more idyllic countryside, passing through some beautiful villages. Fletching was particularly nice. The South Downs were pretty amazing, and I’d like to come back and explore them a bit more.

The worst bit of the ride was the approach to Newhaven, which was on a fairly busy 50mph road, full of impatient and inconsiderate drivers. But it didn’t last too long.

So, overall the whole ride can be summed up as being very rural, very hilly, and very picturesque. I’d love to come back and do the route again with someone else, so I can show it all off!

It’s only 20:50 now, but I’ll probably get an early night to recover from today. Although I feel fine, I’m sure it has taken more out of me than I think it has, and there’s another three days of cycling left! An early night will do me good.

The ferry is at 10:00 tomorrow morning, and it’s only a 10 minute cycle to the terminal. I’m really looking forward to cycling up the ramp onto the ferry. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve always been envious of other cyclists I’ve seen doing it and wished it could be me. Tomorrow I’ll get my turn!

Deer.

I’ve had an amazing morning, and have completed the first 100km of the trip. I set off from Provost Street, London at 06:10, and made my way out of central London via Tower Bridge. The GPS got a little confused, as it didn’t like the fact that I’d included a pedestrian tunnel in the route, so I just decided to point the bike south and make it up, and picked up the planned route later on.

The first part of the trip was easy, and most of the traffic was coming into London, leaving my side of the road almost traffic free. After central London, my route picked up two of the National Cycle Network routes, 27 then 21, and I was really glad it did. It was the perfect way to leave the city, and almost all on cycle only paths through parks and woodland, and following a small river.

Because I left London on these cycle routes, the transition between city, suburbs and countryside was pretty seamless, and before I knew it I was cycling through rural countryside on tiny lanes and more cycle paths. Again, some of the paths took me through very picturesque woodland.

Shortly before I reached the M25, I was alone on a narrow lane and went round a bend to find myself face to face with a deer, which ran along the roadside in front of me for a short while before running off into the woods. Shortly after this I arrived at Caterham viewpoint, and had a quick rest to admire the view to the south , and call Mum to let her know I’d got out of London without being flattened…

From the viewpoint I took an exhilarating off-road path which went very steeply down the hill, and after a couple more km reached the M25, taking a tunnel underneath it.

My next stop was at Crawley Down, where I stopped at a shop for some supplies. When I was outside with my bike, a woman looked at me and exclaimed ‘random cat!!’, which perplexed me until I looked down to see the black cat which was standing at my feet.

From Crawley Down it was more very hilly countryside all the way down to where I’m now having lunch at The Elephant cafe at Sheffield Green. It isn’t too much further to Newhaven from here, so I’ll take advantage of the chance to rest and stay a while.

Lasagne.

My journey down to London was a mix of positives and negatives. I boarded the train at Lincoln and having never put a bike on a train before, obviously put it in the wrong place. The guard boarded the train and took immediate offence at this, and shouted sarcastically ‘Who does the bike belong to…?’. I said it was mine, and he told me it ‘obviously needs to be in the bike section, doesn’t it’. I can’t remember exactly how the whole conversation went, but it involved me telling him there wasn’t much need to be quite so obnoxious, rude, and sarcastic. I moved the bike, and on returning for the panniers he felt it necessary to tell me I had to move them as well. I replied that that’s precisely what I was coming back to do and I couldn’t move the whole lot at once. Anyway. He clearly realised during the journey how much of an arse he’d been, as he then went out of his way to be helpful as the train was approaching Newark. Strange man.

Things couldn’t have been more different at Newark. I was standing on the platform waiting for the next train, and one of the platform staff came over and started chatting about the bike and my trip. She was really friendly, and was happy to be finishing work at 2:30 so she could drive home to South Yorkshire to see her Dad for Father’s Day. We chatted for the 25 minutes or so until my train, then she made sure I was in the right place for the carriage my bike would be going on, and helped me with the panniers when the train arrived.

I met Kate at Kings Cross, and found her helping an old lady who was having trouble finding her daughter. They were reunited. Happy ending.

We went for a walk to the shop for some ingredients for supper, and stopped by at ‘Look Mum, No Hands!’, a brilliant little cafe/bike repair shop nearby. A bit trendy (excuse the word trendy…it was), but a really nice place.

We got back and cooked a delicious roast veg lasagne, which we’ve just finished eating, and it’s now time for an early night. I aim to be on the road by 06:00 tomorrow, so that I can get the busiest bit of London out of the way before the worst of the rush hour traffic starts.

Big day tomorrow. 120km. I’m feeling a mix of excitement, anticipation and a little nervousness… And I don’t get nervous.

Departure.

And so it begins. I’m on the platform at Lincoln railway station, and have 20 minutes or so to wait for my train to Newark. It’s strange riding a bike loaded with so much gear, but even the ten minute ride down here from home was enough to get used to the different handling. Very stable at mid to high speeds, and the weight isn’t all that noticeable on the flats (I may change my view on that…ask me after 300km), but obviously much harder work and slower going uphill.

I almost hit my first hurdle (not literally) immediately, when the lift across the tracks was only just long enough to fit my bike. Many more to come I’m sure…

Weight.

For the benefit of my uncle Alastair.

Bike: 17.1kg

Luggage: 23.6kg

Me: 73.9kg

Total: 114.6kg

I’m not converting it into old money, as I want to blend in on the continent.

I seem to have inherited my mother’s ability to estimate the weight of anything with a startling degree of accuracy. While I was packing the panniers, I was trying to distribute the weight evenly across the bike, with the majority on the rear. I didn’t weigh anything during this process, and the panniers came out as follows;

Front left: 2.3kg

Front right: 2.3kg

Back left: 6.4kg

Back right: 6.4kg

Rucksack (sits centrally on top of the luggage rack): 6.4kg

I think you’d have to say I made a pretty accurate job of that…

So there we are. I’m ready to set off. I’ve just taken the bike out for a test ride round the block, to check the new cleats fit the pedals properly, and that the luggage is all attached as it should be. Good job I did, as I realised that the rucksack was completely obscuring my rear light, so I’ve moved it onto one of the rear panniers.

Oh one more thing. I found out earlier that the Euro Internet Pass on my phone doesn’t support tethering, which affects my plans for updating the blog. I’d planned to tether the tablet to my phone’s internet, as it’s easier to write on, but that can’t happen now. Blog entries will have to be done on the phone, which will be tedious, but it isn’t too much of a problem.

Donald.

 

Quick post… 

This is the route I’m taking once I get into enemy territory:

http://www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.pdf

And the photo above is my daily totals from start to finish.