Paris to Utrecht

disquieting_museeuws

Me and my girlfriend plan to ride from the Paris vet show (mid-June, Porte de Versailles) to the Tour de France start in Utrecht.

We (well, I) would like to take in some of the Tour of Flanders signed route on the way. It looks like there is a long-distance path along the Schelde into Oudenaarde which would be convenient coming from northern France? Also passing through Zeeland would be good, where we may meet up with family.

We will be on a tourer and cyclo-cross bikes respectively, so cyclepaths are OK.

Anyone have any route recommendations? Also, how is getting out of Paris on a bike?

Thanks.

andymiller

Go out of Paris along the Canale de l'Ourq (from Place de la Bastille)?

meanredspider

I'd start by turning on the Biking filter on Google maps. There looks to be a route out of Paris to the NE for instance. Once in Belgium and, better still, in NL, you'll probably be spoiled for choice.

My one recommendation for NL is that you'll find Google's solid green line routes the best and fastest. Where they are green dotted, they can be a bit hit-and-miss on a road bike in particular - recognising that the locals are generally riding 20kg+ clunkers with big tyres and sprung seats. I've been caught out a few times planning routes where I've ended up on some very rough "bike tracks".

I'll probably head down to Utrecht to catch some of the atmosphere since it's so close and I missed being in the UK last year. Be aware that bike theft is big business in NL and I'd imagine the crooks are looking forward to a feeding frenzy.

disquieting_museeuws

Thanks for the replies so far. That canal route looks good. We have the advantage of my girlfriend being Dutch, plus we've got NL cycle maps and somewhere to stay in Utrecht. Cycling in Paris / bikes on Eurostar / where to stay in Paris I'm not so sure about though!

andymiller

Bikes on Eurostar:

http://italy-cycling-guide.info/getting ... -eurostar/

Coming back, you might want to think about the ferry via the Hook of Holland.

Cycling in Paris is probably not that different from cycling in London - only I think you're not allowed to ride in bus lanes.

disquieting_museeuws

Thanks for the useful link about Eurostar, Andy.

Any other thoughts on the route in general are welcome