I did it.
Having beer in Dieppe waiting for ferry, having beer.
Route was ok but there is a boring, flat bit of France between Normandy and the Loire that I'd forgotten about.
I'll write a bit more shortly
Yeah it's called la Beauce, dedicated to large scale grain farming. It has its charm but lucky for you it wasn't harvest season, the building-sized machinery has no mercy :)
Epic ride btw, having a look regularly at this thread makes me wonder how people do this
would be keen on hearing a ride report. have fun.