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BIKES
Chas Roberts, Gloucester Road, Croydon: Clubman tourers, 531 frames. Bought 1997.
Friendly, knowledgeable and conscientious, and the bikes have been excellent!
Weight (excluding water bottles):
M: 28 lbs / 12.7 kg (unloaded), 39 lbs / 17.7 kg (loaded, including food)
G: 30 lbs / 13.6 kg (unloaded), 40 lbs / 18.1 kg (loaded)
Chainrings: 46 - 36 - 24 11 12 14 16 18 22 24 28
Changed in April 2003 to Campag 10-speed Ergobrain with 9-speed Shimano cassette.
Tyres: Conti 32 x 700 (no punctures)
EQUIPMENT
Milometers: Cateye (one set to miles, one to kilometers)
Compass: floating ball (especially useful in cities)
Tools: tyre levers (plastic), 2 allen keys (1 to loosen headset for European Bike Express), patches
and glue,
inner tube, oil (Finish Line Cross-Country), rags, list of repair shops; maps
(see below), cut into daily
sections - easier to keep a section in pocket than to have
a whole map on the handlebars
Cameras: Jenoptik digital JD 350 (2000-01); various disposable cameras (2002-03)
CLOTHING
Cycle shorts and socks, running trousers, quick-dry T-shirt / thin silk or cotton top, fleece,
windproof jacket, cycling glasses, headgear, track mitts, thin sole leather shoes (for toe-clips: can't
find wide enough cycling shoes without cleats or with recessed cleats), one set of clothes for evening.
Women only: A thin Kotex pad works nicely to protect the cycling shorts.
ACCOMMODATION
We usually stay in a 2- or 3-star Logis de France hotel
for several reasons. First, they are generally small, family-run and friendly.
Second, in most cases, the hotel includes a restaurant which specialises in local cuisine
and/or good quality meals. Third, if a small town has a Logis de France it is often a sign
that the town has other attractions worth visiting.
Bike storage has rarely been a problem in these hotels, and it's free,
99% of the time.
FOOD
"As for food: eat whatever you like and as
much as you like. There is no need to change your habits
just because you are cycling. The only difference between
you and a traveller who has come by railway or in a carriage
is your healthier appetite and your better mood!"
L. Baudry de Saunier, in À travers le monde,
I (1895), p. 180. (Tr. GR)
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Breakfast: Since 2002, the standard breakfast in hotels includes something other
than just bread, butter, jam and a hot drink. Either yogurt and/or cereal is on offer.
It is also more common now to find a full buffet which includes fresh fruit, boiled eggs,
cheese, cold meats, etc.
Lunch: This is always a problem because sandwiches, quiches and pizzas can be a bit heavy and
hard to digest quickly. And yet we don't like to just spend the whole day snacking, since that
usually means having yet another energy bar. Great in an emergency, but despite the variety
in flavours, they all begin to taste the same! The solution has been to buy taboulis, cold
lentil or potato and ham salads which one can get in grocery stores or
often in traiteurs. We have this with pain complet (whole wheat)
or pain 6 céréals. We eat fruit (always
bananas) and few sweet treats. Peanut butter and banana is good for emergencies. Also
good are cookies/biscuits made with fruit, such as fig bars
(called Fig-a-lu). One day we got into a
frenzy of eating an entire packet during a brief stop and I had to find a substitute as we
couldn't face them again! The lesson is to have a variety of food but sometimes our appetites
surprise us and I find our bags empty of anything other than a few emergency food bars.
Post-cycling food: If we have anything sweet from a boulangerie, it tends to be after we
have arrived and we are waiting for our evening meal. Beer or tomato juice are the drinks of choice
for our aperitif. A bag of cashews goes well with the drink. And then we eat
a 4-course dinner. It is amazing how much one can consume.
Dinner: We always have a salad if it is on offer to boost our vegetable count which can get
very low if you are always eating out. Cream sauces are avoided and we
always choose the dessert made with fruit. The cheese course is often skipped because of the
dreams it produces! A bottle of wine and a large pitcher of water are easily consumed during
the meal.
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"Neurasthenic people who are worn out by intellectual,
sedentary work, those who suffer from anaemia and those who are
prone to obesity can only benefit from use of the bicycle. ...
On the other hand, abuse of the bicycle can only harm one's health.
A top speed of 12-15 kilometers per hour is advisable, especially
on a long journey. ... Cyclists should slow down on corners and
descents. They should not climb too quickly nor struggle against
the wind for long periods. They should not expose themselves to
extreme heat. Stimulants of every sort should be scrupulously
avoided. The use of alcohol is particularly harmful to cyclists,
even during the ride ..."
Karl Baedeker, Le Nord-Est de la France, de Paris
aux Ardennes, aux Vosges et au Rhône. Manuel
du voyageur. 7th edition (Leipzig and Paris,
1903), p. xix. (Tr. GR)
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Shopping: We keep track of the day of the week since it makes such a difference to where we might
find food. G studies the map the night before so we can make sure we are going through a
largish place while shops are opened. And then when we arrive, I have to quickly put together a
menu depending on what is opened. It is easy enough to have food but harder to have balance and
variety. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are the easiest days because other than the 12:30pm - 3:30 pm
closure, one is sure of finding all types of stores opened for business. Wednesdays are a problem
because most shops do not open again in the afternoon. Saturdays vary. If it is a large town, shops
will be open in the morning as well as late afternoon, otherwise they are closed.
Sundays and Mondays are the biggest
problem because only half the shops are opened, i.e. if a shop is opened on Sunday it will be closed
on Monday. Supermarkets are on the edge of town, if they exist, so one has to make a decision about
what to buy in the town. Butchers or traiteurs shops are usually a good place to buy vegetarian pizzas, meat pies,
quiches, pâté and salads. Fruit shops often sell yogurts and some cheeses.
Pâtisseries sell the best croissants (as well as the best tarts) but rarely if ever have whole wheat
breads. Boulangeries must be visited early in the day if you want pain complet or pain 6 céréals - and
don't bother with their croissants which tend to be a bit heavy. Fougasse, which is only available in
Provençal regions, is perfect for lunch as it incorporates vegetables (olives, sun-dried tomatoes),
cheese or bacon into the bread. Supermarkets are the best place for fresh salads. These are a very
good deal and can provide two people with lunch for under £1 / $2.
WATER
Along the Route des Grandes Alpes,
there are frequent springs which provide safe drinking
water. Usually, there is a pipe coming out of the hillside or near the hillside,
with the water flowing into a large trough. As long as there isn't a "non potable"
sign, it is fine to drink.
HEALTH
Europeans: We have read that French health authorities may not accept the E111 form if it is more than a
year old, despite its claim to "infinite validity".
ROUTE PLANNING
Unless it specifically includes pedestrians, a
Route Barrée sign often means a small obstruction,
easily negotiated on foot, and a stretch of traffic-free road.
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Michelin 1:200,000 maps
(with occasional IGN TOP 100 - 1cm = 1 km - for
relief and other complications).
Typically, 50 miles a day (35 or less in mountains, 60 or more on the flat), as much as possible
on minor roads: usually about 4% on major roads (red) and about 20% on
secondary roads (yellow), but avoiding doubtful surfaces and including
one large village or small town for buying food en route.
It is possible to go almost anywhere in France, even from one big town to another,
without using major roads, but it is important to plan the route in advance.
For mysterious reasons, if using indications of distance on Michelin maps (these are rounded
up or down to the nearest half-kilometer), add about 2 miles per 50.
TRAFFIC
Check the web site
"Bison futé".
Some départements have useful "comptages routiers" (use search engines),
which give some idea of traffic intensity.
Avoid cycling through major three-star tourist attractions on a Sunday,
especially those in the countryside, as the traffic is much worse than
it would be on a weekday.
USEFUL BOOKS AND LINKS
Trento Bike Pages (on the Web): lots of excellent accounts and pictures. Especially useful
to read accounts by different nationalities.
Tim Hughes, Cycling in France (Crowood Press, 1996). By far the best book on the subject:
general tips and routes well described.
Michelin green guides. E.g. "Normandy", "Burgundy Jura", "French Alps", etc.
Larousse, Dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle (on DVD or in volumes), and various other
19th-century accounts: see the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica
archive online.
Tour de France
site and reports: good for mountains and inspiration.
Google:
search under place names and "cyclable" to find information
on cycle provision.
Yahoo.fr:
directories, weather, etc.
Cols: several sites give profiles of climbs - useful for estimating
time and effort: e.g. search under name of col, or see the following:
CyclingCols;
Grenoble Cycling Pages;
Mont Ventoux and nearby cols;
Salite d'Europa;
Virtual Alps;
Club des Cents Cols (100 Cols Club): "something to aim at"
(Tom Simpson).
Getting to France:
European Bike Express;
SNCF Train + Vélo
French bike sites
- e.g. www.velo101.com/velocistes - for addresses
of repair shops, etc.; FFCT (Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme);
FUBicy (Fédération Française des Usagers de la Bicyclette);
etc.
TRAINING
Don't own a car
+ a weekly ride of 30-40 miles.
TOUR DE FRANCE
See the special Tour de France page.
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