July 3, 2023
Epilogue
London to Nice in 12 weeks.
This year we started our 1500 kilometres of touring in chilly London and Norfolk wearing five layers.
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We finished in Nice having daily swims in the warmth of the azure Mediterranean, in between enjoying a wonderful experience of the trails of France. These took us through parts we’d not encountered before; they included some spectacular scenery in the Dordogne, relaxing riding along the Charente, and wide open spaces on the Vélodyssée, as well as interesting historical sites all over.
We pretty much kept to what we had planned, and benefited from the information available online and in blogs - particularly those on Cycleblaze. Many thanks to those who had covered that territory already and provided useful details of routes and places of interest. We were uncertain about what to expect from the elements and found that early days in Spring were generally a bit nippy and damp, but by mid May we were discarding the heavy stuff and bringing out shorts and tee shirts. And this was a non camping trip; I have to admit that the anticipation of a place of warmth waiting at the end of the day, made putting up with the vagaries of weather easier at times.
The reason for opting for a Spring trip for our 2023 tour came from the commitment to a family wedding in London in March. If managing the weight involved in taking our bikes, as well as wedding mocker, was feasible, the possibility of some cycle touring was definitely appealing. We were keen to try a little cycling around London and also fancied the idea of exploring Norfolk. After that, there were parts of France that looked easy to access from the south east of London and although we had seen a little of Brittany in 2016, we’d not ventured into the Dordogne or Provence before. We opted for flying home from Nice once again - we know the city and airport location reasonably well, and that also includes the sources of bike boxes! One uplifting feature of a Spring trip was that it also brought with it an abundance of new plant life.
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Excluding our beloved Marmot from our trip was a bit of a wrench, but leaving it at home as well as some of our cooking gear, meant a lighter load. We still took our Jetboil for brewing up and used our new collapsible cooking saucepan for pasta and potato cooking on a few occasions.
As for accommodation, this trip we used Warmshowers, Booking.com and Airbnb, and friends of friends and these overall, were fine. Although we only made use of the facility twice, our Warmshowers hosts were exceptional in their generosity and hospitality. We are also very grateful to our friends in London who showed us such warmth and hospitality, (we’ll be back!) and to Joan in Provence who took in two kiwis for some days, and was such a wonderful host. We were also fortunate in finding accommodation that offered apartment facilities for cooking etc as well as some wonderful outlooks. Although washing machine and oven instructions were sometimes lost in translation. The appeal of camping has to lie in its low cost, sustainability, some picturesque sites, and the ease of being able to roll up to reception, without booking and all the palaver therein.
As well as gaining a room with a view, we were blessed with several central locations (Sarlat, Villeneuve, La Rochelle, Les Ezyies) that enabled us to walk about the historical centres easily. We also managed to keep costs to around an average of about $120 NZ a booking. As has occurred in the past, a constant question for prospective accommodation hosts was whether they had a secure place for bikes. At times the answer could be found in reviews but for most places there was usually somewhere suitable. If not, as on a couple of occasions, when we were dissatisfied with what was on offer, we simply shared our accommodation with our bikes.
The quality of paths and signposting in France was uniformly high and is a tribute to those who have pushed for investment in cycling infrastructure. We used voie vertes on several occasions on this trip and invariably found them relaxing and beautifully designed. I know some cyclists enjoy the challenge of a hill, and we’ve climbed a few, though nothing excessive, but there’s a certain relief, when on a former railway voie verte, in knowing that trains don’t climb too many steep hills. We especially appreciated the Cavaillon and the St Pardoux La Rivière voie verte on the route between Nontron and Thiviers.
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There were some beautiful trails that stay in the mind. The route between Thiviers and Perigueux was one such. We really didn’t know what to expect because it was described as a recently developed trail, but as we wended our way through the peace and quiet of the Vallēe del’Isle, it really seems to epitomise those days that sometimes come, when you know that the only way to truly appreciate a landscape is by bike. As we cycled on, the valley opened before us, feeling remote, pretty much car free and stretching away into the distance.
The route from Reillanne to Forcalquier and on to Manosque was also one that provided us with a memorable day’s cycling . We had a clear day and despite the fact that our route required us to do a little uphill work, it was relaxing even though we were surrounded by distant peaks, some with villages atop. The ride down from Forcalquier to Manosque was mainly a gentle descent with a few climbs, but the view over, and the connection to the landscape was sensational in places.
The shady green of the Charente made this route a beautiful ride, providing quite a contrast to the wide open spaces of the early parts of the Velodésse we had just left.
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We enjoyed the Lot heading west, but the proposed route east of Cahors looks like it will be even more picturesque once it’s completed. Cahors Youth Hostel must be one of the most well placed for views.
The trails of our Norfolk jaunt were either off road or on minor roads and were also well signposted. We adopted Brit Rail’s ‘see it , say it, sort it’ for creating a revised and slightly truncated version of the Rebellion Way as we were interested in looking at Cambridge and Ely which meant our approach to the semi circular configured Norfolk, was clockwise and so left out some of the longer sections. Overall the roads and cycleways were easy, the towns interesting and the people we met really friendly and welcoming especially if you advertised the fact that you hailed from NZ. Invariably there was a connection. The only really heavy traffic was encountered between Langham and Cromer. It seemed an interesting region for a cycle trip and there’s plenty more to explore there, especially the Broads. Using rail worked really well and was easily managed, possibly because there were few other cyclists about.
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We would have liked to have cycled more in London, but enjoyed the central area around Hyde Park, Park Lane and Hyde Park Corner. Richmond Park and the Towpath along the Thames will have to wait for another day.
We didn’t visit a great number of museums and art galleries but enjoyed the National Gallery in London and the Victoria and Albert as well as the Norwich Museum featuring the discovery of the 17th century vessel “The Gloucester”. That was an intriguing story with political aspects as well in addition to the hazards of sailing off the Norfolk coast. In France Les Eyzies’ museum of prehistoric existence was fascinating and in Angueleme the museum of comics and graphic art was a favourite. We were also pleased to be able to fit in a couple of musical performances- the first, a piano and violin recital, was held in The Salvation Army Hall in Oxford Street. The contrast between the shopping hordes outside and the quiet interior of the hall was uncanny at first, but the performances were inspiring. The second concert, the organ recital by Hans-André Stamm, we heard in Nice. It was memorable for its energy and for including a majority of the organist’s own works.
Each trip leaves abiding memories and emotions. England and Wales, the first countries we ever lived in outside of New Zealand, still hold their appeal. We spent five of the formative years of our lives and had our first child in London. It’s a city that has a hold on memory and feeling. I had thought some of the novelty of London might have worn off, but we really enjoyed our forays into the city and seeing places that were still familiar as well as places new.
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We’ve cycled or driven more kilometres in France than any other country and the attraction of the cycle paths, the food and wine and the has yet to wane. This trip, in contrast to some others, had more transitions by train between regions, and each of these was quite different and had its own points of interest. We very much appreciated the preparedness of French drivers to share the road, and respect cyclists, but we also loved the way there almost always seemed to be a quieter option to a busy road. And also how, no matter how remote you thought you were, another cyclist would appear. I still have the vision of a cargo bike piloted by a dripping ponchoed rider coming towards us out of the dark, mid-thunderstorm, in the forêt before Les Sables del’Olonne.
Naturally the markets and boulangeries held special appeal, and the 1.10 euro baguette is especially missed. We noticed how very rural France still is, and the difference in demographic between these towns and the larger cities. Since leaving, the storm of social unrest has once again struck and we can only hope there can be a just resolution. Finishing our trip in Nice, a baguette’s toss from Italy, was wonderful and of course close enough to Italy, the country that once claimed it, to be even more alluring. The city with that unique mix of beach life, old historic city and centre of arts and music continues to charm.
Finally, in common with all cycle tourers, one of the features of our trips are the often brief and incidental meetings we have with people along the way. Meetings that nevertheless are retained in the memory for whatever reason. Like the fellow cycle tourers we joined forces with as we waited to board the ferry for St Malo; their forced jocularity in the face of such adverse weather and the cheery words of advice.
The Scots couple with their tandem that we chatted to earlier in the ferry building. They were braving the spring rains and heading north with a tent. On the Fens in Norfolk we were assisted by two locals in getting our bikes over a creek crossing and then did the same to help them, after exchanging stories of our travels. In Angoulême we met an Irishman who had cycled the Camino on a 50 euro bike after his own had been stolen. He’d travelled in winter, and in the cold, even snow, but remained joyfully enthusiastic about the whole venture. We also loved the lively group of three women we shared a dining table with in Cahors. They were walking together, doing the Camino in stages. One Spanish and two French. It was a lively meal as we coped with making conversation based on our French and their English. Most generously they shared their bottle of Malbec with us. On several occasions too we were grateful for people asking if they could assist with directions- even if, occasionally the put us off piste! In Kings Lynn, in St Nicholas’ Chapel, we enjoyed an interesting chat with a local, a former architect, who was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about this place where he volunteered time. He drew our attention to the wonderful carved angels and the wooden rafters of the chapel’s ceiling with obvious pride.
As the air miles took us further from Nice and closer to Dubai, we were both lost for a while in these memories. We were leaving behind us the warmth of summer and a special part of the world we celebrated knowing just a little better, as well recognising that we’d managed the physical challenge of making our own way around it, and being very grateful for having had that chance. Nearly twenty hours later we crossed the coast of a mistier greener place- home.
Today's ride: 1,500 km (932 miles)
Total: 3,248 km (2,017 miles)
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