London to Paris, Avenue Verte/self-guided ramble (7 days!)
GCab
Posts: 2
Hello - a small group (4 of us) are making our own way to Paris in the Summer using the Avenue Verte, on a ragtag group of bikes including ancient MTBs and commuters.
As you can see from the title this is a week-long leisurely ramble rather than a 3-day ride or organised charity event.
I suspect I'll be pestering you with more questions to come :roll: but as a starter, does anyone have experience of the Avenue Verte and would you strongly recommend one option vs. the other (Vexin vs. via Beauvais and Senlis)? The latter looks longer but architecturally more interesting, but there may be other pros and cons we don't know yet.
Another question is, will Schwalbe Duranos be OK (I've cycled in the Lakes with them and am happy with them on broken ground), or would something like Marathons be better for grip? Basically I was wondering how they'd cope with muddy parts if the weather is bad - more to do with whether they'll sink in/lose propulsion altogether in muddy puddles, rather than high-speed cornering on wet tarmac - we won't be going that fast..)
I suppose a more generic question is, are puncture-resistant semi-slick things OK, or do parts of the AV route need better traction?
Obviously the serious L2P people will be on the road the whole way, but as most online L2P-ers are in this (road) category it's hard to find reviews of the Avenue Verte terrain.
Any advice very gratefully received!
As you can see from the title this is a week-long leisurely ramble rather than a 3-day ride or organised charity event.
I suspect I'll be pestering you with more questions to come :roll: but as a starter, does anyone have experience of the Avenue Verte and would you strongly recommend one option vs. the other (Vexin vs. via Beauvais and Senlis)? The latter looks longer but architecturally more interesting, but there may be other pros and cons we don't know yet.
Another question is, will Schwalbe Duranos be OK (I've cycled in the Lakes with them and am happy with them on broken ground), or would something like Marathons be better for grip? Basically I was wondering how they'd cope with muddy parts if the weather is bad - more to do with whether they'll sink in/lose propulsion altogether in muddy puddles, rather than high-speed cornering on wet tarmac - we won't be going that fast..)
I suppose a more generic question is, are puncture-resistant semi-slick things OK, or do parts of the AV route need better traction?
Obviously the serious L2P people will be on the road the whole way, but as most online L2P-ers are in this (road) category it's hard to find reviews of the Avenue Verte terrain.
Any advice very gratefully received!
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Comments
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Lucky you! I've had a similar idea in mind for a long time, but never quite got round to it. Please post updates.0
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Cycled the Avenue Verte between Dieppe and Forges-les-Eaux in early May. Smooth, but rather boring if I may say so. Tarmac all the way to F-l-E.0
