France Tour 2016 - Day 9 - Berck-sur-Mer to Home

This is the last day's diary for the France Tour, in case you missed it: click here for Day 1 and here for Days 7 & 8.

I hope you've enjoyed my tour diary - please feel free to get in touch or leave any comments :)

Sunday 4th September
Today was always going to be a long day but we got going at 9:30 to head to Calais and the Eurotunnel. We arrived at the tunnel much earlier than the train we were booked on but as they do at the Eurotunnel, they just put us both on an earlier train at 11:50 which was great news for us because it meant we'd get to England two hours earlier than expected which meant we could get home earlier too.

Let's go home!

Bikes all packed up and ready to go, skies were threatening showers

There was a group of 7 bikers on the same train as us who had been up to Belgium too but they stayed there for the week and rode around the Ardenne Forest rather than doing what we did and heading to France. They were all on Suzuki's so my bike blended in nicely but mum's BMW didn't!

My trusty SV650 on the Eurotunnel

Due to the bridge collapse on the M20 near Kent (which we missed by about half an hour on the way down!), we had to take a slightly diverted route home using the A229 before getting back on track and through the Dartford Tunnel.

We got to the Birchanger Green services off the M11 at around 1pm and filled up and had some food and a break with 115 miles left to go.

Diverting slightly from the route we took down to the tunnel, we rode around the edge of Rutland Water to get home and stopped for a drink at Oakham at the Grainstore Brewery where we've been for breakfast a couple of times in the past.

Knowing that we were so close to home, the last leg home passed without incident (apart from a momentary lapse in concentration which meant we rode on the wrong side of the road for about a minute...) and we made it back at 4:30, 3 hours earlier than we expected to.

After unpacking the bikes and putting them away, it was finally time just to relax and try and tell my dad a full week of stories in as short an amount of time as was humanly possible.

Daily miles: 230;
Total miles: 1150.

The whole trip was great fun and although I was, and still am, gutted that we couldn't go to Germany to do the Fairytale Route there, I know that because I'm still recovering even now from my illness at the start of July, we never would've been able to have done it and enjoyed it at the same time. It's still on my list to do though, I'll just have to hope that next time I plan to do it that I'm not ill for at least 2 months beforehand!

Until the next time then guys, ride safe
TFB

France Tour 2016 - Days 7 & 8 - Berck-sur-Mer

Click here for Day 6 if you missed it, if you didn't, read on for a quick summary of our two days off on the beach!

Friday 2nd September
After a bit of a lie-in this morning after the long ride yesterday, we got up thinking we'll have a wander and then sit on the beach and soak up the sun we've been riding through all week, but, it was miserable weather outside with clouds threatening rain as far as the eye could see. Great.

It brightened up slightly giving us some hope...

We headed out in the morning anyway and walked around the town, looking in some of the chocolate shops and clothes shops and the like before heading back to a pancake stall we'd spotted for some brunch. After ordering in pretty decent French (if I do say so myself) considering I haven't really spoken masses since GCSEs, we sat down to enjoy our delicious pancakes.

They were so lovely, I couldn't wait to eat some!

Post-pancakes, it was starting to spit the tiniest bit so we swung by the supermarket to pick up snacks and drinks to get us through an afternoon in a hotel room. It rained pretty steadily all afternoon and then tipped it down in the evening so we walked very speedily to the restaurant with our bike jackets on for protection as they were all we had.

As it's the end of the holiday, you've got to have a dessert

It was a shame we spent the majority of one of our rest days inside when we were hoping to be on the beach but we have been blessed with fantastic weather all week and it's supposed to be brighter tomorrow so I suppose you can't have it all.

Saturday 3rd September
Today was much nicer and we actually woke up to sunshine and clear skies! It wasn't boiling hot so we just went for shorts and t-shirts for our day on the beach.

Shining sunshine on the beach

The town was much busier today but as it's the weekend and a nice day, I suppose that's what's expected. In the morning we walked along the beach and the sea front before returning to the pancake store - they were just too good to resist!

The stone separators to help with tide levels

On the beach enjoying the sunshine

A walk down the rock pier at the end of the beach

...and a selfie at the end!

Pancake anyone?

We sat and read all afternoon outside in the sunshine, turning a tad red in the process. After returning to the hotel, we packed up everything ready for the morning and the long ride home.

In the evening we headed out to eat by the sea front to enjoy our final night of the holiday. Home tomorrow so a long ride! Hoping to get an earlier train so we're not getting back at 8pm

France Tour 2016 - Day 6 - Saint-Pierre to Berck-sur-Mer

If you missed Day 5 and are wondering how we ended up in Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne, click here to catch up!

Thursday 1st September 

Today was the day we actually got going at 9 like we said we would (only took us 6 days) but that was partly because we had a fair few miles to cover and we wanted a decent lunch break. 

The start of the ride was pretty standard stuff with no particularly spectacular riding but some pretty countryside as we skirted around the bottom of Rouen on route to Honfleur. We arrived in Honfleur, around 70 something miles later, at around 12 o'clock because it was actually further away than we realised but it wasn't a massive problem.

Riding through some forest around the bottom of Rouen

After a quick walk around some of the shops, we found a restaurant for lunch next to the harbour in the sunshine. As we were headed to the seaside, we figured it would be rude not out have seafood so mussels and prawns were on the order for us. We had some debate about how cheeky we could get away with being with our parking and when we got back to the bikes, it all looked good so clearly, we got away with it!

Beautiful sunny day sat having seafood in Honfleur

The boats in the harbour

Out of Honfleur over the Pont de Normandy and then it was time for the scenic route through all the "on-Sea" towns and villages up to Berck which was the aim for the day's ride so we got to practice our cornering skills around some sweeping bends followed by hairpins. However, we did get some fab views of the sea when the road brought us around that way. 

Petrol and wine gum stop

We hit a couple of more major-type roads around Dieppe to cut out a couple of the towns and knock off some miles before carrying on with our planned route. 

Around 35 miles away from our final destination, it was time for a break so we pulled up at a roadside cafe for a drink and 10 minutes off the bike. Whilst we were stopped, a few other people pulled up clearly there for their post-work drink including one guy who looked about 80 who decided he was going to try and talk to us despite the fact it was pretty obvious we didn't speak much French. 

Two separate people went and checked the plates on the bikes, verifying we had English plates on and clearly weren't French but this did not deter the old man who I told that we spoke very little French. He then started telling stories that I think, from what I could work out with my limited French skills, were about his father, Germany, England, America and potentially something else. I tried to just nod, smile and laugh along a bit to be honest..

We arrived in Berck around 6:30 and checked into our room before grabbing some food and hitting the hay after a long days riding. The next two days are days off for us before heading home in Sunday and I'm looking forward to lying on the beach after being so warm in all my kit for the last 6 days. 

Our view for the next 2 days

Daily miles: 229;

Total miles done: 920.

France Tour 2016 - Day 5 - Reims to Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne

Click here for Day 4's diary if you missed it! 

Wednesday 31st August 

Today we managed to get going at just before 9:30 after one of us overslept ever so slightly.. On the way out of Reims, we briefly stopped at the old pit garages and grandstands for the Reims road race circuit. They are literally just on the side of the road as you're riding along so it really would be rude not to stop and take some photos! 

The old pit garages with hand-painted signs

The start-finish straight a.k.a the road

They even had a stand for the media people!

Riding along pit lane

We then headed on through the vineyards and champagne region towards Charly-sur-Marne and arrived there at around 11. The reason we purposefully went through Charly, as well as the pretty countryside of the champagne region, was that it proved my name did have a correct spelling for all those people not accepting it as a "proper" spelling/name. 

Selfie by my town sign with my bike in the background

After our stop in Charly, we headed into another of France's national parks with a general aim of getting to Chantilly for lunch. This little detour also stopped us getting tangled up in the ring road around Paris. The buildings in Chantilly were beautiful but as it was lunch time, all the shops in the centre, minus the odd couple, were closed for lunch so we found somewhere to sit, slowly melting in our bike trousers in 28 degree heat, and had some lunch. 

One of the many beautiful buildings in Chantilly

Parked up in Chantilly

Pressing on in the general direction of Rouen to get to our hotel for the night, we hit a couple of main A roads just to knock off a few miles. After going to the wrong village first as I placed the flag marker for the end point in the wrong place (neighbouring villages with the same road names just makes life confusing), we eventually arrived at the hotel here at around 5:30 so it was a pretty decent days riding all in all. 

Our view from the hotel, parked in the evening sunshine

Our hotel is really lovely and right on the Seine so we've got some good tonight. We're now over halfway through our trip and roughly halfway in mileage terms too despite only having 2 days of riding left to do with a long day tomorrow to the beach via Honfleur.

Daily miles: 180;

Total miles done: 691.

France Tour 2016 - Day 4 - Reims

If you've missed the start of the diaries, check out Day 1 here or yesterday's here. 

Tuesday 30th August

After a much needed lie in (I am that person who loves sleep), we grabbed some breakfast and headed to the George Hermann Mumm Champagne House for our tour at 11. Obviously, we walked there as we wanted some champagne! 

The tour was actually pretty interesting and I did actually learn a fair few things (may have also forgotten a few after the champagne!) including that 2009 was an excellent year in the champagne region and so the bottles were aged for 5 years and the year is now considered a vintage and that somebody's job is to turn 40,000 bottles a day in the yeast removal process. 

The three different grapes used in the champagne-making process

The different sizes of bottles you can have, there are also two even bigger ones!

The tunnels go on forever, you could easily get lost

The bottle in the middle is the oldest bottle in the cellar, Cordon Rouge 1876

After the tour we got to try some champagne with some cheese that complemented the blend. It was a glass of the 2009 vintage G.H Mumm that we tasted too so it was good stuff. As a poor student though, I tend to be slightly better versed in vodka and supermarket wine than champagne...

Posing in the museum

A glass of the 2009 vintage to enjoy

We relaxed all afternoon in one of the squares before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, the light show and moving on tomorrow, I also had a nap (told you I love my sleep!). 

If you've never seen one of the cathedral light shows (I know there's another one at Amiens as well), I would definitely recommend going as both of the ones I've seen have been pretty good and there were some really cleverly done sections to the show too. 

The projections were impressive

Lighting up all of the individual parts of the cathedral

The effort to line up the projections correctly must've taken a while

Art deco section of the show

The end of the show with the cathedral all lit up

Off to Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne tomorrow and then we'll be halfway through our trip! They always go by so fast. 

Daily miles: 0 (over 12,000 steps taken though!);

Total miles done: 511.

France Tour 2016 - Day 3 - Maubeuge to Reims

Check out Day 2 of the tour diary here in case you missed it!

Monday 29th August

Today was another pretty short day in the scheme of things and we managed to get rolling at around 9:30 with waterproofs and rain covers preemptively on as it was looking a bit grey and we had some super light drizzle. Off we set through the French countryside on some fab albeit slightly damp roads. 

The place we were going to stop for a drink... nowhere was open

After around 70 miles, we stopped at a small cafe-bar in the small village of Rouvroy-sur-Audry (D978 if you're interested - it's a great road) which had some Joe Bar pictures outside and other bike-y type things inside including a Repsol Honda mini replica on the shelf so I reckoned it was a good place to stop! A drink and a few wine gums later, we set off again with the majority of the miles already under our belts. 

Joe Bar cartoons? Think we'll be good here!

D978 in the cloudy French countryside

We arrived at the hotel at around 1:30 which is a nice little 2 star in the city centre just around the corner from all the cafes and restaurants. The decor is a bit creepy though...

The bed on the left? Yep, that would be mine

Our running plan then got disrupted slightly as we were going to go out for dinner and then watch the light show at the cathedral but after getting there for 10 and finding a seat, somebody told us that they just googled it and it turned out the show ran every day except for Monday. 

Wandering around Reims before dinner

We've got a day off tomorrow and a champagne tour planned and then we'll probably have a wander around Reims in the afternoon. 

Daily miles: 111;

Total miles done: 511.

France Tour 2016 - Day 2 - Brugge to Maubeuge

If you haven't read Day 1 of the tour diary, click here to catch up!

Sunday 28th August

Today started very leisurely as we (well, mainly me actually) needed a decent sleep and so we ended up leaving Brugge at around 11am. We started off by heading to Ghent on some relatively boring roads but they needed to be done. There was actually a bit of a breeze today so it was a more manageable mid-20s degree heat.

Quick photo stop on the way to Ghent

Riding by the river is always nice

After arriving in Ghent around 12 o'clock, we had a wander around the town and the food market that was happening before having a leisurely lunch by the river. As we walked around the food market, I was approached by a guy who thought I looked Dutch and said it was really cool that I rode a motorbike which was nice.

A flower market that was on in the city

Relaxing by the food market with a drink

Overlooking the river before heading down to eat

2 and a half hours later, we finally set off from Ghent and headed south towards Mons and the French border. After spotting some old American army trucks, we decided to stop in Mons and had an ice cream in the square whilst listening to the brass band that was playing. 

The square was really busy with pretty much all of the cafes and bars looking rammed but the rest of Mons seemed a bit dead. As we hadn't really got any plans of where to stay this evening, we decided to carry on with our planned route and headed back to the bikes. As we were putting our gear back on at the bikes, two blokes drove past in their car and the passenger felt the need to shout "wow, nice bike!!!" out of the window as they turned into the car park. He then ran over to quickly talk to us as girls on bikes are great.... I've never had anyone really mention the fact I'm a female biker before but today it got mentioned twice by people who seemed to go out of their way to do so. Maybe it's a European thing. 

From Mons, we headed into the beautiful countryside and the national parks on the border between Belgium and France heading towards Roisin which is a tiny little village in the countryside which holds no real interest apart from the fact that Róisín happens to be one of our family members' names and we thought we had to go and have a selfie by the sign!

Selfie!

My one complaint about Belgium, as lovely as it is, has to be the road surface. They seem to be huge fans of concrete roads which make any bumps much harsher than they probably should be and they can make for some loud riding too. I can't fault much else though! 

You could tell when we arrived in France by the change in building style although we were unsure for a while as to whether we'd crossed the border or not because Ath has all of their signs in French but the cars were Belgian and the only flags that were around were the purple, white and yellow ones of Ath.

Eventually we arrived in Maubeuge at around 6:30 and we decided it was easiest to stay in the Campanile there which was basic as expected but had everything we needed. Overall today, we only did about 100 miles but it took us 7 and a half hours to do so!

Parked up at the Campanile

The plan for tomorrow is to head to Reims where we are staying for two nights as it would be rude not to go champagne tasting in the champagne region!

Daily miles: 122;

Total miles done: 400.

France Tour 2016 - Day 1 - Home to Brugge

At the end of August, starting on the bank holiday Saturday, my mum and I decided to do a mini tour around Belgium and France after being forced to scrap our planned trip to Germany to do the Fairytale Route due to my illness at the start of July and my strength still not quite being 100%. This is a tour diary for the trip! 

This was only my 2nd time abroad riding my own bike but the first trip of having to ride on the wrong side of the road (the last trip was in Ireland). We had three planned days off the bike to use as rest days and the main aim during the planning stage was to end on the beach as that's what you always seem to miss when you go on a bike tour. So, without further ado....

Saturday 27th August 

Our first day was always going to be a long one with 200 odd miles to cover to get from home to Folkestone for the tunnel so it was a nice and early 6am start for us so we could be on the road for 7:30. As someone who likes their sleep and had only had 6 hours sleep the night before, you can probably guess I was less than pleased with this get up time! 

In the morning, we made good time, probably because nobody wants to be on the road that early on a Saturday morning for no good reason. We'd just started riding on the A14 and were near Stanstead when it started to bucket it down. It felt like hailstones but we rode along for 5 minutes or so thinking it was just going to be a shower as we'd passed through a couple of spots earlier on. 

We then assumed it probably wasn't going to stop anytime soon as it all looked pretty grey and gloomy and so we pulled off to put the rain covers on our seat bags and I also out on my waterproof trousers as I'm wearing my leather trousers on this trip. Now, we'd stopped on a slight slope with the bikes facing downhill and when I tried to get back on my bike, I couldn't seem to be able to get my leg up to the seat to slide on at first and had to get my mum to help me balance. Not ideal but oh well! We then got back on track and were happily riding along even if it was slightly damp and then bam... Blue skies everywhere and a very fast drying road. Typical. 

Our first proper stop (I'm not counting the faff with the rain covers) was at about 10 at the Birchanger Green with 110 miles under our belts and only 90 more until the tunnel. We bought some sandwiches whilst we were there to eat on the train. 

Parked up at Birchanger Green

After arriving at the tunnel about 2 hours later, we managed to get on to train leaving 2 hours before the one we'd booked for... I got up at 6 for nothing?! Not particularly impressed but it did mean we'd get to Brugge earlier than we thought which was good. 

Waiting to board, my seat bag made a great back rest

...and now the trip begins!

Calais to Brugge along with the last 75 miles passed by pretty uneventfully apart from the fact it was about 30 degrees with no breeze so we did have to stop for a water break on the way. Being silly and from England, mum and I both still had the liners in our jackets so it was no wonder we felt like we were slowly melting. 

Stopped to remove the linings of our jackets and have some much needed water

Still in good spirits despite slowly melting

After getting sorted at the hotel and before I could fall asleep, we headed into the city centre and had some dinner, a wander and a waffle before heading back to the hotel at 9:15 and completely crashing. On to Maubeuge tomorrow via Ghent.

The fountain outside our hotel

Burning off our dinner

....and putting it all back on again with a waffle

The chocolate shops here are incredible

Total miles done: 278.