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@skive
pretty sure that was the hottest weekend of cycling i've ever done.
what a weekend to decide to ride from london to paris!
paris was 38 degrees as we cycled in and i've never consumed to much water.
me and mate followed the donald hirsh route which goes from dieppe into paris following the avenue verte, an old railway which is now paved, and some amazingly quiet and beautiful roads. it routes into paris through the forests which is well away from the traffic full roads.
we cycled from london down to newhaven on saturday to catch the overnight ferry. no problem on the english leg save only being able to get 2 hours sleep on the ferry, not quite what you need for a 130 miles the next day.
once we'd arrived we set off along the avenue verte having not really thought about how dark it might be in rural france at 0400 in the morning. turns out it's pretty dark. our blinky blinky lights were next to useless in illuminating the way but did highlight the edges of the path and a couple of metres in front of us. luckily the path is superbly smooth and there was nought about save us and lots of rabbits. it's also pancake flat and real easy riding.
as the sun came up and we started to follow the roads it was very obvious that no-one seems to be about on a sunday morning. traffic was minimal, the odd car an hour for parts of the early hours. we rode some beautiful roads, the tarmac is always so so smooth.
our only problem seemed to be food. france doesn't really do sundays in the commercial sense so upon hitting any of the towns we rode through the only option for sustenance was from the boulangerie. we ate a lot of croissant but seeing as the only sell bread and not butter that wasn't an option either.
the route is long, 129 miles, but well though out and takes in some great roads. safe to say it was a lot lot hiller than i was expecting but my choice to take the gears paid its dividends. there are some great climbs and absolutely super descents.
we arrived in paris for the glory shot of the eiffel tower and then booted up the train station to sort the bikes for the train, wash and eat and then pass out on the train.
25 hours from brixton to paris ain't bad going and with a grand total of zero mechanicals made it one of my best rides to date.
routes:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1444263
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1444435
http://www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.html