jefnvk

So, while there is still quite a bit up in the air as this honeymoon gets planned out, I have gotten the tentative OK to make it two weeks in France on a cycling trip, assuming our vacation time ends up allowing us two weeks in the late June-August slot

I won't bother with the bikes if it only ends up being a one week trip (or if we ultimately decide on the Euro music fest plans instead), but assuming we can swing the time, I am looking for some recommendations from those of you who have toured France, based on the "compromises" I had to make to get to this point. I haven't found much on popular long distance routes in France, all the resources I have come across are more geared towards to day rides.

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Also, how are the EuroVelo routes, for those of you that have used them? One I was particularly was interested in is EV6, perhaps starting in the Loire Valley and taking it across the country to Burgandy, and then back up to Paris from there.

fietsbob

Read up on French History, to have an idea about the part of the country you are visiting..

gauvins

We did that last summer (2016). Flew into Paris-CDG and took the train to Nantes and then rode to Berlin. Fantastic.

You'd ride along the Loire river for the most part in France. It would make sense to ride towards Chagny (I mention this place because it was on our itinerary -- there's a 3-star restaurant that might be a memorable experience if you care about food). And then either north to Dijon or south to Lyon and then back to Paris on the TGV. Riding north would get you through the most prestigious wineries (ex: Vosne-Romanee). Going south would go through the Beaujolais. A terribly difficult dilemma

Feel free to ask any question you may have.

WRT trains: You can usually take your bikes on the TGV (high speed trains) but they should be packed. This is why we travel with padded bike bags instead of boxes. On TER (local trains) you'll usually be able to board designated compartments -- no need to pack your bike or to remove pedals and such. book your tickets from voyages-sncf.com and click on the appropriate button to book trains that will take your bikes.

jefnvk

Was the route dedicated paths (a lot of the pictures look like riverside trail), or just signposted roads, or some combination of the two? I presume if it was roads, they were pretty minimally traversed, yet still hit villages with some regularity?

And I'll leave the wine decisions up to her. I got to make the choices in the beerland that is Belgium. I'm more of a Spainsh wine guy

Steve0000

Try the eurovelo 1 route along the west coast or the Rhone route. Google it for more info. You could then connect Mont St Michel and the coastal route and possibly the Loire route.

gauvins

I do not remember any heavily trafficked road. But yes, a mix of tertiary roads and dedicated bike paths. You'll find food and lodging opportunities every few kms.

You may want, eventually, plan your route with gMaps or some other platform to get a feel for the terrain.

indyfabz

FWIW, the Rough Guides have some great information on line and publishes great guide books that review places:


https://www.roughguides.com/destinat.../france/loire/


Many years ago I used the one for Andalucía to plan a 7 week tour there. They don't sugar coat things, and least they didn't back then. If a hotel or restaurant sucked or a town was not worth a visit, they said so.

benadrian

In the early summer of 2016 my wife and I did this tour.
A gastronomic cycle tour in the Loire Valley | Biking France
Cycling for me and Michelin star restaurants for my wife.
In short, it was awesome. There were a lot of dedicated paths; maybe half the trip. Then it was maybe 45% country roads and 5% "average" roads.

I was very worried to start. I don't have a good grasp on the language. I was worried about being the ugly american. I was worried about getting lost. I was worried that my wife would not agree with cycling for four straight days. However, once we got there and got going, it was spectacular. The package tour gave us enough security and did all the boring work of booking hotels and choosing solid destinations at which to stop. Most importantly, there was a luggage service. We'd leave our luggage at the front desk when we check out, and then our luggage would be waiting for us in our room when we got to our next hotel/chateau.

Now that we've done it once, I'd probably be fine building our own tour. The only thing that I would really miss is the luggage service. It's nice to have better clothes for the fancy meals and also ride with unloaded bikes!

Pics.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/benadr...57669709518100

Have fun!

Eggman84

I wont try to advise you were to go but. World War I battlefields are amazing (did 3 week trip last summer) and next year will be the 100th anniversary of the armistice. The memorials, cemeteries, and monuments are all amazing and rather sobering. Interested in wine, then you can pair it with Reims and Epernay (home of Champagne and beautiful country but a little hilly).

The road system in France is amazing. If you confine your riding to smaller Departmental roads, and not nationals, then you will find there is minimal traffic. Remember, Europe is not as car dependent as the US. For navigating, use Michelin Yellow Maps, which have a 1 to 200,000 scale (1 cm to 2 km). They have them for all European countries. There is not a comparable map system for the US (our state highway maps are a sad excuse unless you are limiting yourself only to the busiest roads). With these maps, you can navigate anywhere though it can be a little tricky entering and exiting larger cities (we use our cell phones and Google Maps for this).

You should also look into the Michelin Green Guide (Guide Verte). There is one for every "region" of France, though I don't believe every region has one in English. They are way better than any other tour book I know of. You can probably find one at a Barnes and Noble bookstore, and see what it looks like to see if it would be useful. For that matter, you may also be able to find a Michelin Yellow Map at the bookstore, and see whet it looks like.

When cycling in France, we generally only make hotel reservations one day ahead of time to give us maximum flexibility. Many small town have at least one family owned hotel (again its not the US so they aren't limited to chain hotels only on the larger highways/bigger cities). We use our cell phones to locate hotels. Of course my wife is French so she can navigate a little easier than most. Unless you are going at peak times (French take 2 month vacation in July and August) you should have no problem with hotels. I suggest you go in May or September (avoid "Le Grand Vacance").

WRT to trains, you do not have to have bikes packed on the TGV any longer, just roll on. You do need to specify that you have a bike when purchasing tickets/reerving your seat though, as they will put you (reserved seats on all TGVs) and your bike in an area designated for bikes. On regional trains, you don't have reserved seating so you just roll your bike into any rail car allowing bikes. Last spring friends did a tour along the Loire and used the regional train to both get there from Paris and return to Paris. Regional train frequency is high, and well developed (nothing comparable in the US).

One thing my wife and I find handy is to get a hotel at Charles de Gaulle (CDG), then put the bikes together there and have the hotel store our bike boxes. They have shuttle buses from the terminal to the hotels, The airport hotels typically have a large room they store luggage in (many people store stuff just the day of there flight later than night, then spend the day in Paris). Last summer, we actually stored our bikes at the hotel for several days when we spent time with my mother in law in suburb of Paris. Do make this work, we spend first and last night at hotel but they are very accommodating. Oh, and there is both a TGV station and RER station (local Paris Area subway system) at CDG, so you can easily start and finish a trip at the airport.

Enough from me. Good luck and enjoy your trip if you go.

gauvins

True, but this works for select TGVs. A bike packed in a travel bag is considered as regular luggage and doesn't require a special reservation (and the additional 10 euros).

(ex: Searching for Lyon (Part Dieu)->Paris on October 28th gives me roughly one regular departure per hour, but none if you want to book a bike.)

bikemig 

I've cycled most of France at different times. The traffic by and large isn't bad at all once you get out of the major cities. There is a fine network of smaller roads you can use that are well marked and the drivers, in my experience, are very courteous. If hills/mtns are a problem, that wipes out some fine areas such as Brittany, Normandy, and Alsace. Two regions you might want to check out are the Loire valley and the Dordogne.

Eggman84

True but taking a packed bike on the TGV assumes you are: 1) staying in one city and doing day rides; 2) going to be starting/ending your tour at the same station/city (requiring that you have a place to store your bag/box); 3) carrying your bag/box on your tour; or 4) shipping your bag/box from where you are starting to where you are ending your tour. Pick your poison. That is why friends of mine took only the regional trains last spring (though slower if going any distance).

gauvins

No. We've flown several times with our bikes. We use padded travel bags. Our routine is to ride in/out of airports. We carry them on our rear racks if we ride open jaws and leave them at a hotel/B&B on round trips. A padded bag rolls to the size of a large sleeping bag of yesteryears.

If you fly boxed, you may want to consider rinko bags. These bags afford zero impact protection so I wouldn't fly this way, but on a train, they do the job if you are willing to remove both wheels. Rinko bags weigh very little and fold to the size of a water bottle.

Doug64

Jeff,
Regardless of your route, I would not cycle into or out of Paris. It is a lot more enjoyable to take the train through the suburbs going either direction.

Steve0000

Six Best Cycling Routes from Paris

Not necessarily. We followed a route into Paris from the western side and cycled through lots of parks and forest along the way with little busy roads included.

jefnvk

Thanks all!

Probably should mention that I am comfortable with the generic cultural/traveling part, I have lived and traveled quite a bit in Europe. More looking for the bike specific information. Really hoping the vacation works out, I'm pretty set on this, and she is cool with the idea!

Hmm, I did the WWII memorials last time I was there, maybe I'll consider tossing in these this time!

I forgot about the Michelin maps. I've got a pile of those from when I lived in Europe, I think my French one was the full country, but I'll dig them out over the weekend and see what ones they are.

Cool, I'll give it a look over. Definitely a plan it myself type of person, but I do like looking at some of the organized itineraries for ideas.

Were they that bad in Normandy and Brittany? I spent a week there about a decade ago, I don't remember them being that bad, but I was in a car. Hills aren't an absolute killer for us, the no climbing was more to head off the inevitable "Dont miss the Alpe D'Huez" recommendations. Some ups and downs are to be expected, but mountains are a no-no.

Yeah, not sure about cycling in and out of Paris. Even if there seems to be some decent routes, leaving/returning seems better for timing on a train. And we didn't do all that well in Brussels, I didn't much enjoy it in Reykjavik, my urban navigation leaves much to be desired!

FBinNY 

I hate to be negative, but suggest you give more thought to the whole idea. Is this your dream, or both of yours.

It's good that she's cool about it, but that could easily become cool on it.

Make sure this is something she wants fully as much as you do. Not just OK, but exited and enthusiastic. Otherwise, it'll be hard to share equally in the challenges if and when things go wrong, and you'll add "why did I let you talk me into this" to the challenges.

However, assuming you go ahead with this, I suggest you stay in the north, ie. Normandy and Brittany. Decide on the kinds of places you want to visit, maybe spending 2 days in some with a day ride in the area, so you can enjoy some easy days. You might want to stay in Paris for a while before venturing out, if the city's cultural features are to her liking.

So, take the time to decide on the kind of honeymoon that will make both of you happy. Decide on the type of trip, and any specific places you both would like to include, then pick the area and riding days that can make it happen.

BobG

The Canal de l'Ourcq (Route #1 at Steve's link above) is an excellent route from Paris north to Aeroport Charles de Gaulle. It would be the equivalent to taking the C&O canal out of DC. It does start out with some city riding before joining the canal. The final leg into the terminals is tricky but can be done. Probably wise to take a shuttle from a hotel.

https://goo.gl/ePYxBZ

I concluded a trip in southern France one year with an overnight train to Paris. I cycled from Gare d'Austerlitz out the canal to the vicinity of the airport at Tremblay-en-France. I had a few days to kill waiting for my plane so I then made a short side trip out to Epernay and back to sample the Champagne!

That gorgeous morning on Canal de l'Ourcq...

Arvadaman

If you look at Brittany, you could take a look at these guys.

https://www.bretonbikes.com/

linus

Jeez....You are planning a trip for next June and Aug.?? LOL

Come on. I'm going on a trip in Nov. for two weeks and a month in Jan. and I don't even know where I'm going yet.

acantor

If riding through a wine region is part of the agenda, and riding in mountains (and I presume, extreme hills) is a deal breaker, ensure the routes through wine regions are flattish. Vineyards are frequently planted on hillsides, and hillsides naturally occur where there are hills!

As someone else noted, don't even consider Alsace. The northern part of Alsace has a lot of rolling hills, and the cycling is pleasant; but the further west you travel, the bigger and steeper the hills become.

Burgundy is not too hilly as long as you remain in the valley, and don't get tempted by the side roads that run up the Côte d'Or, the limestone ridge that runs the length of this wine growing region. The roads along the valley are not overly hilly, and there are several famous vineyards right by the road, e.g., Clos de Vougeot.

A route that follows a river is probably safer. Maybe Loire?

Mountain Mitch

I have Rinko bags that only require the removal of the front wheel. I have flown with them on ANA. I think it depends on the Airline whether they'll abuse your bike whether in a Rinko bag, a padded bag or a box.

As for France, I recommend Provence. Lots of small towns, great culture, wines... In truth, there are some hills; but you may find a route to minimize them.

Stadjer

Bretagne and Normandy are more about apples than grapes, beeing French (which the Bretons might not admit) they make great drinks out of those too and they do produce wine, but they're not really wine regions, probably because of the rain. It's a cliche, but the Bordeaux region (Gironde) is more wine region than anything else, everything is about wine and the country side is full of chateaux which really look like palaces or castles. No modesty about their products there.

Burgundy is more rustic, less posh when it comes to wine production. The castles look like castles and the winefarms look like (beautiful) farmhouses. Burgundy's height of power was in the late middle ages and that kind of shows, their Duchy stretched well beyond Belgium and there someone who enjoys food and drink very much is still called Burgundian. You can eat and drink very well anywhere in France, but in Burgundy it's very hard not to, they seem to have set the bar a bit higher than the rest of France when it comes to simple food or a 30 euro meal. At least that's my impression. It's not very touristy, but in can get quite hot in the summer this far away from the coast and there are no mountains but it isn't the flattest part of France.

jefnvk

Our vacations are always a bit of give and take. She enjoyed our cycle trip through Belgium and Netherlands, and the last organized tour we did (just not the camping bit, which I can leave anyhow), it is not an issue. She's fine with it, again so long as we incorporate not playing in the mountains and hitting up the wine regions and sleep on beds. Plus, it is part of the agreement from the wedding itself. I really had no desire to sit on a beach resort for a week for that, so she had to give me a honeymoon that didn't involve more nothing to do but sit around in a pool drinking.

She's also familiar with hitting the "why did you talk me into this" on most of our vacations. She is smart enough now to go over any plan with a very fine tooth comb!

I see no issue with planning ahead of time. It is not easy for her to get time off work in the summer, so when her vacation requests open up a few weeks into the year, I want to have whatever we are doing nailed down. Plus, as mentioned, this is one of a couple considerations (albeit, the top one). If we were to decide on the music festivals, for example, ticketing for those starts near the end of this year. While every detail doesn't need planning now, I do have to get some sort of sense of what we would be doing, for us to make a determination. It is also nice to budget in advance, as one without a decent life savings built up to make money no issue. I generally travel on a pretty shoestring budget even overseas, I'd prefer not to do that this time.

I love the spur of the moment decision making, when I am alone. It isn't so much appreciated when others travel with you.

Good to know, seems to be a decent consensus between those two regions. I'm well aware of the cider up north, that is not dissuading me from going. I'm out of Calvados from my last visit, and they just don't sell that near me!

FBinNY 

No problem. I was just suggesting a reality check.

So, a few days in Paris followed by cycling Normandy and Brittany should make everybody happy. (as long as she knows that it's not your fault if it rains.

BTW - Deb and I honeymooned on a bare chartered 28' sailboat in the Virgin Islands. We enjoyed 3 days hiding from a passing hurricane. but ll was good.