French N roads should I or shouldn't I

ram038
ram038 Posts: 187
edited September 2018 in Tour & expedition
I am off on my first tour in a couple iof weeks. I will be heading across the Pyrenees the east to west. I am in the process of working out my route and have noticed that my routes take me along N roads for most of the way, red on the maps. I was told to avoid these roads by someone as they are main national roads and very busy with heavy traffic. Has anyone ridden along the N116, N32 and N20 in that area and can they confirm this or advise alternatives please.

Comments

  • smifffymoto
    smifffymoto Posts: 13
    Down here there is usually just one sensible route or the long way round,if you can go on a D road do as they are quieter.Having said that,once you get out of town roads are quieter anyway.
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    Any Nationales that don't carry traffic (and quite a lot that still do) have been transferred to the regions or départements and renamed D something. If it is a Départementale with a number in 3 or 4 figures starting with a 2, 5 or 9 assume that it is a converted Nationale. If you want to know if it takes traffic the best guide is the thickness of the line on the Michelin map (or on-line planner).
    There are some ex-Nationales that run parallel to free motorways and are virtually traffic free (but not always the case). I can recommend the old N20 going south from Vierzon; I think it gets called the D520 in Haute Vienne. However around Toulouse it is a death trap and between Paris and Orleans it is as bad as the motorway due to the lorry traffic.
    Don't forget that D roads normally change road number at each départementale boundary.
  • cycladelic
    cycladelic Posts: 641
    ram - I went across the Pyrenees from Pau in France and did a few N roads.

    I have a journal on Crazy Guy which includes some snaps of that ride.

    My mate and I did some of the N230, N260 and N152 going towards Barcelona.

    Take a look...

    http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=R ... 6355&v=1T2
    It's an uphill climb to the bottom
  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    Unfortunately the road classification system only gives you a bit of a guide to how busy the roads are. Roads between big towns will obviously be busier than a road between villages. Roads where there's a faster free alternative (or a tunnel) will be quieter. Try posting a shortlist of posible alternatives: it's quite possible someone will know the road.
  • ram038
    ram038 Posts: 187
    Thanks for your replys guys.
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    andymiller wrote:
    Unfortunately the road classification system only gives you a bit of a guide to how busy the roads are. Roads between big towns will obviously be busier than a road between villages. Roads where there's a faster free alternative (or a tunnel) will be quieter. Try posting a shortlist of posible alternatives: it's quite possible someone will know the road.

    Unfortunately the road classification system doesn't give you any useful guide at all any longer. There are D roads that are banned to slow vehicles (like bicycles)! The line widths used by Michelin indicate the type of road construction, which is about the best you can get, unless you have access to local knowledge.
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    cycladelic wrote:
    ram - I went across the Pyrenees from Pau in France and did a few N roads.

    I have a journal on Crazy Guy which includes some snaps of that ride.

    My mate and I did some of the N230, N260 and N152 going towards Barcelona.

    Take a look...

    http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=R ... 6355&v=1T2

    N230,N260 and N152 are all the Spanish side of the border. They might carry less traffic because they are essentially east-west routes when the principal flows will be north-south in that region.
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    I have been looking at the map and you don't have a lot of choice in the matter because there is very little in the way of parallel minor roads. An alternative would be to go into Spain on the D115 via the Haut Vallespir and the Col d'Ares into Spain then C151/N152 to Andorra, but allow 1-2 days longer. The N20 north of Andorra is one of the principal routes across the border so it will be very heavy - lorries, cars, caravans, le total!! You will have to go over the Col de Puymorens, which should be ok, there's a tunnel for the traffic.
    I haven't found the N32; where is it? Does it still exist?

    These would not be my personal choice of roads for a holiday, except perhaps in the autumn. Going further north from Perpignan would give a better choice of minor roads.

    Note that the N20 ceases to be useable at Tarascon-sur-Ariège going north. Until there it will be busy.
  • cycladelic
    cycladelic Posts: 641
    I don't think Andorra is worth it - that is one busy road.

    The route I did - linked above - was great. The N230 in Spain was very quiet. Crossing over from France on it was wonderful. It's the D618a on the French side. It's just a bit busy near La Seu - where the Andorra traffic goes to/from.
    It's an uphill climb to the bottom
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    cycladelic wrote:
    I don't think Andorra is worth it - that is one busy road.

    The route I did - linked above - was great. The N230 in Spain was very quiet. Crossing over from France on it was wonderful. It's the D618a on the French side. It's just a bit busy near La Seu - where the Andorra traffic goes to/from.

    +1 except that on my map it's the N125 on the french side. I did a work déplacement in the marble works at Fos about 10 years ago. They have quarry galleries that cross the border.

    Cheers Jo
  • dodgerdog
    dodgerdog Posts: 292
    What is your aim? To tranvesre the Pyrennes? complete a route from X to Y in a certain duration or what?

    Did the Route du Col a few years ago, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin from Biarrits, lasted as far as Bagneres du Luchon before my lack of backside hardening got the better of me and I had to bail out - cycle to Montrejeau to get a train. Maybe I should have holed up for a couple of days but had been too ambitious and only allowed my self 10 dyas between flights Biarritz-Perignan.

    Most of it was on D roads, Biarritz/ St Jean Pied du Port/Arrete/Laruns/Argeles Gazost/Cautrets/Bagneres du Luchon. Great scenery, fantastic (if exhausting) climbs, not too much traffic and amazing descents.
    Allez Triple (hairy with mudguards) - FCN 4
    Ribble Gran Fondo
  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    I find Google Streetview is great for getting an appreciation of the type of road you're thinking of using. Sounds simplistic, but it works for me, the visual clues are usually enough to get a feel for how fast/busy it will be.
  • cycladelic
    cycladelic Posts: 641
    Jo, just to clarify - I didn't ride into Andorra and arrived in Spain via Bagneres, cycling east-ish from Pau to Barcelona.

    The Google map on my journal shows the road north of La Seu as the N145 up to the border, then CG-1 on the Andorran side. In France , it seems to be numberd E09 and N20.
    It's an uphill climb to the bottom
  • ram038
    ram038 Posts: 187
    Dodgerdog wrote:
    What is your aim? To tranvesre the Pyrennes? complete a route from X to Y in a certain duration or what?

    Did the Route du Col a few years ago, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin from Biarrits, lasted as far as Bagneres du Luchon before my lack of backside hardening got the better of me and I had to bail out - cycle to Montrejeau to get a train. Maybe I should have holed up for a couple of days but had been too ambitious and only allowed my self 10 dyas between flights Biarritz-Perignan.

    Most of it was on D roads, Biarritz/ St Jean Pied du Port/Arrete/Laruns/Argeles Gazost/Cautrets/Bagneres du Luchon. Great scenery, fantastic (if exhausting) climbs, not too much traffic and amazing descents.

    dodgerdog I am planning to cycling from Perpignan to Bayonne and take in as many of the cols of the Raid Pyremean as I can and then head up the West coast to St Malo.
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    cycladelic wrote:
    Jo, just to clarify - I didn't ride into Andorra and arrived in Spain via Bagneres, cycling east-ish from Pau to Barcelona.

    The Google map on my journal shows the road north of La Seu as the N145 up to the border, then CG-1 on the Andorran side. In France , it seems to be numberd E09 and N20.

    Thanks Iwill look it up; it might be easier than pouring over my road atlas looking for the numbers. The N20 on the french side can't have been too much fun though.
  • mz__jo
    mz__jo Posts: 398
    Dodgerdog wrote:
    What is your aim? To tranvesre the Pyrennes? complete a route from X to Y in a certain duration or what?

    Did the Route du Col a few years ago, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin from Biarrits, lasted as far as Bagneres du Luchon before my lack of backside hardening got the better of me and I had to bail out - cycle to Montrejeau to get a train. Maybe I should have holed up for a couple of days but had been too ambitious and only allowed my self 10 dyas between flights Biarritz-Perignan.

    Most of it was on D roads, Biarritz/ St Jean Pied du Port/Arrete/Laruns/Argeles Gazost/Cautrets/Bagneres du Luchon. Great scenery, fantastic (if exhausting) climbs, not too much traffic and amazing descents.

    It is wise to be humble before the mountains, they have a way of outlasting us and don't readily make friends. At least that's what most of my french cycletouring freinds seem to say!
  • Garrigou
    Garrigou Posts: 145
    Ride on the D918 & D618 for as much as you can. Those are the 'col roads' over the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin & others.
    The N116 gets quite a lot of traffic - I'd leave it at Prades & head over the Col de Jau on the D14 and then over the Port de Pailheres on the D25.
    The N20 over the Puymorens is horrible. Full of HGVs and coaches going between Spain, Andorra & France.
    Cheers.
    Between me & Eddy Merckx we've won pretty much everything worth winning on a bike.
  • ram038
    ram038 Posts: 187
    Garrigou wrote:
    Ride on the D918 & D618 for as much as you can. Those are the 'col roads' over the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin & others.
    The N116 gets quite a lot of traffic - I'd leave it at Prades & head over the Col de Jau on the D14 and then over the Port de Pailheres on the D25.
    The N20 over the Puymorens is horrible. Full of HGVs and coaches going between Spain, Andorra & France.
    Cheers.

    Thanks Garrigou you have just confirmed my own thinking on this. I did want to do the Col De Puymorens but thought that that road looked a tad busy\dangerous so have decided to leave it out.and head north at Prades to the Col de Jau.and then on to Col de Port.
  • smifffymoto
    smifffymoto Posts: 13
    Ram038
    I would give Col de Port a wide berth as kit's popular with camping cars. Col d'Agnes brings you more or less to the same place but because it's a much narrower road it is not used anywhere near as much and I think a road with better scenery.
  • frenchcy
    frenchcy Posts: 47
    Garrigou wrote:
    Ride on the D918 & D618 for as much as you can. Those are the 'col roads' over the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin & others.
    The N116 gets quite a lot of traffic - I'd leave it at Prades & head over the Col de Jau on the D14 and then over the Port de Pailheres on the D25.
    The N20 over the Puymorens is horrible. Full of HGVs and coaches going between Spain, Andorra & France.
    Cheers.


    Exactly what I was going to advise. We got fed up with the trucks on the Puymorens and asked the CC de Béarn wheher we could substitute the Jau; they said okay and this is now our Raid route.
  • welton
    welton Posts: 65
    Having cycled over just about all of France I would agree with most of what has been stated. I would add that it is best to avoid July and August if at all possible because of the French on holiday together with visitors. Then it is busy almost everywhere apart that is for very minor roads which often provide alternative routes, albeit longer and sometimes poorly surfaced.
    However, apart from the obvious major routes and large towns, the N roads are not normally that congested, particularly compared to the UK.
    Have a good trip.
    Charity Tour de France 2011 ~ The Prostate Cancer Charity. See more at http://www.charitytours.org
  • Not quite Pyrenees I know but if you bike along the N260 from Spain into France , be careful . At the border , it becomes the D914 and I got to Argeles sur Mer and decided to turn round back to my base in Spain . Sign said , in French. “ no bikes allowed “ . I didn’t see any such signs when I was headed north - maybe it was just my mistake but I don’t think so .