home from Bordeaux

barwhit

have been thinking of a cycle home (Edinburgh) from Bordeaux via Amsterdam. I have fallen in love with touring over last 3 years, but it has all been around Scotland and included bagging my Munros. Never done it abroad and both apprehensive and excited. I travel fully kitted up for camping. Is there a classic touring route up the Atlantic coast, and does a fortnight to complete seem reasonable?

Kenjaja1

I am not an expert but as no one else has responded I will throw in a few pointers which I hope will help.

Getting there: You have three options.
1) Train (talk to Rail Europe they are very helpful) If you travel intercity on French trains make sure you have a reserved place for your bike. Some trains will take bikes if a place is reserved; some cannot. Local trains are not usually a problem. Beware of Eurostar. They take bikes as 'booked luggage' and do not guarantee to get the bike on the same train as you. In theory you could arrive in Paris and have to wait 24 hours for your bike to catch up. Also Eurostar might be funny about some camping stuff (knife, fuel bottles for stoves & I am not sure about gas canisters.)
If you buy an intercity train ticket in France then you either need to be absolutely sure they have reserved a place for the bike (I think that is a flat fee of 10 Euros) and your ticket will have the word 'Velo' on it.) Alternatively, if you can remove the wheels easily you can pack it up and take it as hand luggage. (that may also be possible with Eurostar who operate a size restriction that makes a packed bike acceptable).
2) European Bike Express (I think they go to Bordeaux. I was not able to use them as I could not get a slot when I was travelling recently but all reports rate them pretty highly. Make sure you book early.) They would be my choice from London.
3) Fly: Plenty of flights from London - but you will have to search the web for flights from Edinburgh.

General point: Everyone in France goes on holiday in August so any kind of holiday facility (e.g trains) can be a problem at that time. Any other time you should not have a problem and would not need to book train journeys too far ahead. You will probably be OK with a small tent at most campsites even during the summer.

If you work out an approximate route you can use the viamichelin website route finder to give you a route suitable for cycling. (It is not perfect as the back roads it sometimes chooses for cycling journeys end up being too complicated.) I have used a map to pick out villages etc and then used that & local road signs for navigation. The worst that can happen is that you can get lost and have to back track (rarely) but you can find yourself passing through delightful places (though you will also probably get the occasional industrial site!) I always carry a compass. and use that to keep me in the right general direction.

There are plenty of pleasant places if you cycle up the Atlantic coast but I would not hug the coast too closely. Any coast ride will be a bit tough because of the frequent hills and dips and the Atlantic coast can throw some nasty weather at you. If you do follow the coast make sure you pitch your tent securely even if the weather seems to be OK. (I did not follow that advice, was a bit lazy about pitching my tarp which then tried to become a kite in a surprise storm at 5:00am one morning). Even if you opt for coast hugging I would have a Plan B up my sleeve if I were you. If the forecast predicts wet weather then get inland a bit - you will still have the rain but without the wind driving it into you.

Camping: many French local authorities have a municipal campsite which is usually pretty good and cheaper than other options. Some people may not agree but I personally would avoid wild camping in France unless you are well off the beaten track.

Your mixture of apprehension and excitement is healthy. The apprehension will help ensure you plan the trip well and the excitement will help you make the most of the French food and scenery. In spite of the friction which is reputed to exist between England and France I have mostly found french people friendly and helpful. Almost every village has a damn good restaurant - usually with good reasonably priced house wines and local specialities.

Bike stuff: You do not need to go mad on carting too many spares with you. They have plenty of bike shops and, if you hit a problem on a weekend there will plenty of weekend cyclists about - at least one of whom will try to help. You will want to take the basics puncture kit, spare tube etc - maybe a few spokes if you are hauling a lot of weight. But apart from that a few well chosen tools (multitool etc) should be enough to keep you mobile under most circumstances.

Roads & Drivers in France: I have found French drivers pass a bit too close for my liking but it is really a matter of getting used to it. It is no worse than commuting in the UK - but I do not do that any more so was a bit rusty. Generally they are reasonably considerate and will not deliberately give you a hard time (unlike some UK drivers). Roads are generally at least as good as UK roads, often better.

Best of Luck

Gadge

<does a fortnight to complete seem reasonable?>

I suggest thinking in terms of hours per day that you want to spend pedalling.
Five is enough for me on tour as I want to have fun not slaugher myself and see nothing.
I do about 8 to 15 miles per hour depending on the road/track taken. YMMV :-)

There are good routes from Bordeaux to Brittany coast eg St Malo.

This may be worth a read...

http://www.wrington.net/archive/2010/montpellier.htm

andymiller

Eurostar (or at least the security people in London) are definitely funny about both gas cylinders and knives. I was told that ordinary penknives were OK but Opinel-style knives aren't (even if the blade is less than 3 inches long

LeDomestiqueTours

andymiller wrote:

Eurostar (or at least the security people in London) are definitely funny about both gas cylinders and knives. I was told that ordinary penknives were OK but Opinel-style knives aren't (even if the blade is less than 3 inches long

The gas thing can be a bit of a nightmare - eurotunnel because of the confined space in the tunnel. My advice would be to buy a stove that you know works with readily available french gas cylinders and stock up once you arrive. Or buy a trangia and use Alcool a bruler 90 which is readily available in any supermarket.

Choose your French crossing point carefully depending on what your appetite for hills is!