France - Belgium - Holland Cycling : 6

Distance this section : 279km
Distance completed : 1833km

In the tunnel.

I follow a cycle path alongside a railway line from Ghent as far as Antwerp, it is very flat.  In fact all the land here is flat, no sign of hills, the horizon is not far away, it does make this country feel kind of small.  Barring my way to Antwerp is the Sheldt, somehow much bigger here than in Ghent - how to get across?  The answer turns out to be a tunnel, quite exciting with its funicular style lifts.  Antwerp is a big, busy port city - I do glimpse some historic looking bits, no time to stop though.  Along a canal to the wonderfully named Sint Job in 't Goor, where I camp and obtain pizza, and yes, more yummy beer.

Polders.

I ride into Holland without noticing, it is also very flat, but seems to have more trees than Belgium.  There are lots of other bikes here, all going faster than me, though I do notice many of them seem to be electric - can't help but feel this is cheating.  I ride along the top of dikes and past windmills, then through Dordrecht, a large and industrial seeming place.  A little to the north of the city I find a rather expensive campsite, but at least have a cheap meal of tent pasta.

Much water, very wet.

More Dutch scenery follows, I ride through polders, narrow rectangles of cultivated land between parallel drainage ditches.  Then through the outskirts of Rotterdam and back into the countryside - Holland is really very wet, my path is often a little strip of land with substantial bodies of water to either side.  Getting into the afternoon, I ride alongside the river Amstel, this is turning into a long day, finally I make it into Amsterdam, and then out the other side to camp at Durgerdam.  This is a familiar spot, it is still very nice with the little wooden houses on one side of the dike, and houseboats moored up on the other.  Seems I am here just in time for the weather to change, I take a day off during which it rains a fair bit, so I mainly sit around in Amsterdam and drink beer, then back to the campsite - last night's burger was good, and so, it turns out, is the spätzl.

Durgerdam.

Photos to go with this post can be found here

France - Belgium - Holland Cycling : 5

Distance this section : 243
Distance completed : 1554

Missing of the Somme Monument.

I continue along the Veloroute Memoriale as far as Arras, passing many WW1 cemeteries and indeed monuments - a notable one being to the Missing of the Somme, some seventy thousand names engraved on it, just those whose bodies were never found, in this one region, and in fact just from the English and South African forces.  A little further on is the  Canadian Monument at Vimy Ridge, here the ground is a mass of craters, and there are restored trenches for me to walk through, wondering about the huge sacrifices made a hundred years ago, for so little.

At the Belgian border.

My route takes me into the Pas de Calais, a populous region it seems, and there are massive slag heaps showing the mining history around here.  This, the canals, and brick houses makes it all feel quite English.  I ride through the suburbs of Lille, a very big place, big enough to have actual young people, and also beggars.. then a bit of countryside, and I am into Belgium without ceremony.  Not far to my first Belgian campsite at Tournai, a nice place with cobbled streets, and a substantial triangular 'square' hung with guild banners.  I get a pizza and some Leffe, well I am in Belgium now.

In Sint-Baafskathedraal, with whale skeleton.

I follow the river Scheldt out of Tournai, very easy and flat cycling this.  On through Oudenaarde, where some sort of horse festival is happening, there are all sorts from tiny ponies to big draught animals.  I make excellent time to Ghent, which turns out to be a really nice place to take a day off, there is much to see, such as the splendid medieval castle.  I visit the Cathedral and at least look at a copy of its famous altarpiece, the 'Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' - there is also an unexpected whale skeleton.  And my friend Chris has come to visit, much consumption of the wonderful Belgian beer ensues.

The Castle of the Counts.

Photos to go with this post can be found here and here

France - Belgium - Holland Cycling : 4

Distance this section : 253km
Distance completed : 1311km

Crossing the Seine.

From Brionne, I follow a pleasant cycle route as far as Évreux, where I need to detour to Decathlon to buy some gas for cooking - it seems to be the only French stockist for standard threaded canisters.  I cross the Seine at Vernon, then ride into Giverny, where there are lots of tourists, day trippers from Paris it seems, drawn by a parade of gardens and art galleries.  A little further and I find myself on a familiar route, the Avenue Verte from London to Paris, indeed tonight I am heading back to Dangu, my first campsite in France back in 2016.  Good to get there, it has been a long day, sadly this time though there is no peacock.

Camping at Dangu again.

The next morning I ride a little further along the Avenue Verte, then a decent road route for most of day.  This seems to be chalk country, I see little quarries, and chunks of flint in the fields, it feels very English.  There are lots of other cyclists, generally (even!) older than me, they have better bikes though.  Mind you, I don't think their racers would be suited to the last fifteen kilometres or so of my route, the 'Coulée Verte' is another old rail line, but the 'verte' bit is right - much of the surface being grass.  Camp is at Loeuilly, not a lot here but it is no problem to ride a couple of kilometres back to Conty for beer and merguez.

On the Coulée Verte.

From Loeuilly, the Coulée Verte continues a little way, then I ride into Amiens, a substantial place which takes a while to get through, though much of it on riverside paths, so nice and flat.  Indeed I'm now alongside the 'Somme Navigable', and I am starting to pass World War 1 cemeteries - this will be a theme of the next few days.  But a short day today, good as I am tired, need to rest and do some washing.  Camp is in a proper town, Albert, so I treat myself to a fine dinner, there is ficelle picarde, it is good.

Relics of war in Albert.

Photos to go with this post can be found here

France - Belgium - Holland Cycling : 3

Distance this section : 291km
Distance completed : 1058km

Lovely riding by the sea.

Two days should be enough rest, in fact it is more like two and a half, as I only have a short day out of Donville.  I ride past my parents' old house, it is still there.  A few big hills today, I feel a bit stronger but still need to push sometimes.  Nonetheless I get to Tessy-sur-Vire where I plan to camp not much after 4pm, however the campsite is shut, they are setting up for a festival on it.  My GPS comes to the rescue, there's another campsite nearby in Domjean, it seems to be free and is very nice, it has toilets with actual paper!  Also a shop next to it, where I buy strong beer by mistake...

One of numerous memorial tanks along the Norman coast.

That beer was definitely an error, next morning I ride the wrong way for an hour, not great.  The right way has some nice cycle route by a river for a few miles, but after that there are many steep hills.  Destination today is Bayeux, I remember last time I was around these parts I took a direct route along main roads which worked well, this time I follow a signed cycle route which is... not great, lots of climbing, lots of weaving about.  I don't really have time to sightsee in Bayeux, instead I head straight for an excellent Chinese buffet.  It has whelks, well this is France.

Pegasus Bridge.

From Bayeux I head to the coast, and then ride along it, easy and scenic riding, also interesting as these are the Normandy Landing beaches, there are many memorials, informational plaques and so forth.  I pass the ferry terminal at Ouistreham, then cross the historic Pegasus Bridge before heading back to the coast, tonight's stop being the pretty seaside town of Houlgate.  I briefly consider taking a day off here, but I'm only three days out of Donville, and it would mean a seven day stretch without a break next, onwards it is then.

The throbbing heart of Brionne on a Sunday.

I leave the coast, through charming countryside with many half timbered buildings, some even have thatched roofs, very quaint.  An easy enough day too, mostly flat including a section of old railway leading out of Pont-l'Évêque.  I've managed to forget it is Sunday again though, doh.  Brionne has many bars, all shut, I am directed to the football club by the campsite who sell me a couple of beers, then thankfully a creperie is open and I can get a decent meal.  Time for that day off, I have just about earned it, nice to have a rest, do washing and bike maintenance, I also find time to visit the ruined eleventh century Donjon overlooking the town, and even read one of the campsite's collection of French children's books.  And tonight the bars are open, yay.

Photos to go with this post can be found here

France - Belgium - Holland Cycling : 2

Distance this section : 303km
Distance completed : 767km

I love the baby cheeses.

Leaving Amboise, at least I no longer have an appointment to keep so the days are slightly shorter, it's still hilly however and I'm feeling tired. Pleasant surroundings though, France continues to be very rural, although there are different crops here in Normandy, cider apple orchards and fields of maize line my route. I make camp at Houssay, just south of Le Mans, it is very cheap, the girl on reception says that is because we're in Normandy. A nice place anyway, with a big lake where one can hire pedalos and such like, I've pedalled enough though so instead I get merguez and frites, and of course a beer or two.

Roman temple remains.

More Norman countryside the next day, and a few points of interest - I pass the Babybel factory at Evron, then ride through the Roman town of Jublains, where there are the ruins of a pre-Christian temple. Normandy seems a little more civilised than further south, I'm actually seeing convenience stores in many villages, this is good. But still, I have failed to allow for the fact that today is Sunday, my plan was to buy some food and eat at the campsite, I'm staying in Mayenne which is really quite a large town so there are certainly shops, but of course they are all shut. All the restaurants seem shut too, maybe I can get takeaway food and a beer or two in a bar? Nope, bars are all shut as well - in the end I get takeaway pizza, and they sell me a few cans of beer too. Stupid country though...

Time for another test of the brakes.

Day seven of cycling, and I am feeling rather broken, my legs have no strength and pretty much every hill sees me pushing the bike. It is nice therefore to do a stretch on the 'veloscenic', a signed route running from Paris to the Mont Saint Michel, this section is along an old railway line and so nice and flat. I'm sorry to leave it and head north towards Avranches, not least as I remember from my last ride through the town it is built on top of a large hill. But in the event this time I find a better route, and from there it is only a little way further to Donville-les-Bains, where as luck would happen my parents now have a little pied-à-terre. It is very nice indeed to have a couple of days rest there, in a proper bed and everything.

Patton Memorial in Avranches.

Photos to go with this post can be found here

France - Belgium - Holland Cycling : 1

Yes, it's another cheap tent from Decathlon.

Distance this section : 464km
Distance completed : 464km

Is it time for another little adventure?  Why yes, I think so - really quite a little one this time, a cycle ride of just a bit over 2,000 kilometers.  What, that is totally little!  Anyway, the plan is to start from Lacanau-Océan on France's Atlantic coast, where I've been enjoying a convivial family holiday, ride north to hit the English Channel in Normandy, and from there west as far as Belgium and Holland before taking a ferry to England.  Should be fun and hopefully largely flat.

Giving the bike a bit of a test out on a forest track.

I begin with a lovely ride to Bordeaux, along a beautiful, flat and well-surfaced cycle route through pine forest, and make good time - seems I have not completely lost my ability to do this.  A small hitch does arrive in Bordeaux, my planned route over a very large bridge is impassible as the cycle path is shut, necessitating a detour on what is already a long day.  Still, the detour, involving another big bridge, does at least let me ride past the fascinating, and massive, World War II submarine base, sadly I forget to photograph it though.  I have as far to ride again after Bordeaux, and the way is hilly now, this is hard going.  I cross another bridge, the impressive Pont Eiffel, stop for lunch (cheese of course), and find I am running low on water - I try to use my GPS device to find a shop but then its batteries die, oops, I really need a shop now.  I try to navigate by the sun, this does not work too well, and remember all too late that French villages don't really have shops, barring of course the boulangeries that a) only open in the morning and b) only sell bread.  I at least manage to find water from some random roadside taps, then remember that I can navigate using my phone, this gets me to La Roche-Chalais where there is an actual supermarché,  I make camp, cook some pasta and drink wine, all good.

Fortifications in  Château-Larcher.

There's a big thunderstorm during the night, my new tent holds up well - yes, another Decathlon £20 job - even though I only bothered to use three tent pegs.  Today I'm riding through familiar country from two years ago, there are many rivers, I bomb down to cross them but it is hard work getting up the other side, often there is pushing involved.  I also do a bit of off road, the bike (also new from Decathlon, believe it or not) just about copes.  I make good time, today to the familiar campsite at Mansle, getting there for 5pm.  Plenty of time to find a restaurant, one I'd wanted to visit last time but it was of course shut.  I am not disappointed by the monstrous burger washed down with much wine.  From Mansle, I follow my route from 2016, but in the opposite direction of course.  There are chateaux, vineyards and fields of sunflowers ready to harvest, it is all very pleasant... a slight shame I've left my cycle helmet in Mansle, never mind, honestly I don't go fast enough to really need it.  A little bit more off road action, and more annoyance with rural France as there are no shops for me to buy lunch from.  Eventually I eat a late one in Poitiers, there are mini pizza crackers and even some beer, worth the wait.  Then only a little further to Bissay, a nice place with, of course, an impressive chateau, not to mention an actual bar.

Amboise.

One more long day will get me to Amboise - I've been forcing the pace a little, the plan being to meet my brother and family for dinner tonight, they had an extra few days in Lacanau-Océan and are now driving north, moving rather more quickly than me.  But in fact, I make pretty good time, much of the route being along the river Vienne, making for largely flat, and also very scenic riding.  Then a little up and down, and I'm in Amboise before 5pm - actually beating Dan which is nice.  A pleasant little campsite too, located on the Ile d'Or in the middle of the Loire, there is a good view of the chateau from here.  And if communication issues at the restaurant result in rather more charcuterie turning up than expected, well, not the end of the world...

Photos to go with this post can be found here