Route advice needed for France

Cathryn

It's looking increasingly likely that I'm going to get to do my long dreamed of tour next summer and need some advice. I need to get from Aix en Provence to Interlaken and need advice on how to get there.

My original plan was to go via Manosque, Grenoble, Aix les Bains and Geneva but that looks like murder, mountains-wise. So then I looked at going via Orange up towards Dijon and then across to Bern and down slightly. Does anyone have any thought on this?

We do between 40 - 60 miles per day and have never done mountains, although we're happy to try!

Any advice appreciated!!

Eurostar

Mountains are the highlight of any tour - all you need is low enough gears. You MUST do them - they're the whole point of cycling in France! Pick the squiggliest smallest mountain roads and you'll see incredible scenery with no trucks, motorhomes etc.

Route planning is very easy in France. The yellow Michelin maps http://www.michelin.co.uk/travel/local.htm show all the minor roads - stick to D and C roads, not N roads (which are like A roads here). Pretty roads are marked with a green stripe. Just stick the map on your bar bag and wend your way from village to village. The only bit you really need to plan is your night stops. On my first tour I found myself having to go up the steepest road in the Pyrenees to get to a town with a hotel. I'd already done 60 miles and was ready to put my feet up, but it was a case of either getting over the mountain or retracing my steps. Sheer bad planning!

Edit - any particular reason for having a list of big towns/cities on your route? Do you want the bright lights and tourist attractions? I prefer sleepy villages, forests, mountains, cows, goats...!

Cathryn

We ARE heading to Switzerland for a week, so I was planning to climb a bit there, but I love the passion you have for mountains!! And WHY didn't I think about viamichelin - thank you!!!!

Eurostar

You're welcome! Just remember that the flatter roads attract more trucks and stuff. A lot of traffic has to get from France to Switzerland and the Alps do tend to get in the way! The steepest climbs are marked with a double or even a triple arrow - they will have the least traffic and a more rural feel.

Viamichelin doesn't have much detail and doesn't show all the minor roads or the small villages. It's the same scale as a national paper map with a red cover. You need the local ones with the yellow covers. I don't think you can look at them online.

The perfect road is a white one with a green stripe!

andymiller

Eurostar wrote:

Route planning is very easy in France. The yellow Michelin maps http://www.michelin.co.uk/travel/local.htm show all the minor roads - stick to D and C roads, not N roads (which are like A roads here). !

It's also worth looking at the http://www.geoportail.fr site for more detailed IGN topographic mapping. You could also buy something called GeoRando from IGN http://www.ign.fr which gives you about a dozen maps plus software on one DVD for 40euros (in fact I think they have a special offer on at the moment). The software will produce route profiles and calculate the total amount of climbing (and there is an English version). You can also get the IGN maps from that site - a lot cheaper than buying in the UK.

jumbolugs

I support what Eurostar says about the Michelin "Local" maps - they are ideal. Re the type of roads that are most suitable for cycling - I would say yes, stick to D roads (or C roads which are not very common) but I would be a bit more specific and say stick to the "white" D roads - avoid the ones marked in yellow if possible.Those tend to be straighter and flatter but (not surprisingly) quite busy - sort of like rural A roads in Scotland (where I live) or B roads in the more heavily populated parts of England. Sometimes they are busier than N roads.

Fortunately France has a very dense network of D roads so there's rarely a problem finding quiet ones.

Basically just allow yourself plenty of time, don't try to pick the shortest route from A to B (it's very tempting to do that when you're planning a moving-on tour, I seem to do it every time).

Cathryn

Some cracking advice, thank you all so much. Am going to take advantage of the rain to do some planning instead of cycling!!