I was hoping to do another UK tour so I looked at my phone to see if there was a gap in the grim weather we had been having. What I saw was beautiful weather in France. I would have been there myself already but some things “came up”. But I could be there very soon now if I plan, pack and book my ferry right away!
Fortunately I had a bit of a plan: cycle.travel had reported on a route from St Malo to Nice which sounded nice, including some nice places I have been to but I wouldn’t mind visiting again. But rather than Nice (been there – it’s hilly) I would turn north near Avignon and return via Vichy, Paris and Dieppe. It should fill most of a month which is the longest travel insurance I can get now I’m over 65!
The forecast for France had one or two very hot days (37) – but you expect that in France. I’ll just be careful!
It started well. I was suffering in the heat, but drinking lots of water with mineral tablets dissolved in it kept me going – and putting on a freshly rinsed shirt from time to time helped with the heat and the laundry! A rechargeable fan in my tent helped with sleep!
As I rode up the valley of the River Vienne I decided to try out an app I had recently heard of and paid to join (€36) called “Welcome to my Garden” where you stay in gardens which have been offered for free through the app. There were campsites to fall back on if it didn’t work out – but it worked just as it should and my hosts were friendly and helpful, their garden was nice and their shower was just what I needed!
They were interested in my ride and supportive, but in the morning Didier warned me that the forecast was now for severe heat for 1 or 2 weeks at least (42°C or more). I couldn’t cope with that sort of temperature – it would have meant only a few hours riding each day in the early morning and finding somewhere to cool off for the rest of the day.
A new plan was hatched. I would ride back to Poitiers and use regional trains (that carry bikes) to get back to the channel coast where cooler weather (well, less hot!) would be blowing in from the UK. So I turned back the way I had come.
My bottom bracket had become annoyingly clunky. I think that was partly the heat as it was less bad in the early morning – I guess the aluminium housing expands more than the steel cartridge. In Poitiers a bike repair shop lent me the tools to fix it in exchange for some beer money in the “jar”. We had a nice chat as it was the owners lunch break (and there was air conditioning).
I used the SNCF app to book my tickets and bike spaces on regional trains but it says you also have to go to the regional trains website to see if you must pay for the bike reservation. I paid €1 for my 2nd reservation (Tours to Caen) but it looked like I didn’t need to pay for my 1st space on the Poitiers to Tours train.
At Poitiers station I asked the ticket office to check if my booking was correct. After about 30 minutes research one of the staff found that I should also pay €1 for the 1st train too. Nobody ever checked my reservations – it is a terrible and incomprehensible system even to professionals – partly because the regions operate like separate companies
So I went to Tours by train, camped and then went on to Caen by train. My plan was to follow EV 4 along the coast to… well, I hadn’t planned where to stop!
The campsites I found were very nice, but then around Boulogne I struggled to find a site that took tents with the exception of one that closed too early (paying in the morning was not an option as I must set off early while it’s cooler). That’s why I went back to “Welcome to my Garden”. WTMG gardens and hosts were the delight of the rest of my tour; I would be nervous before I arrived but the hosts were all friendly, helpful and kind – even to an Englishman! I enjoyed every one of the varied gardens I stayed in and the company of their varied hosts.
The intense heat still gave me problems including drowsiness; once, I fell asleep and nearly crashed! Other times I had to sit in the shade to cool down.
I kept on past Calais so my ferry home would have to be from Hook of Holland – but I wanted to go further. I chose Berlin as my destination but that was problematic – on top of being wet and drizzly; campsites (even gardens) weren’t conveniently placed and buses back to the Hook (Rotterdam) were inconveniently timed. I changed to Hamburg for better camping, but realised that Bremen (which I had just passed) was much more convenient for buses. My motivation was waning – so I decided it was time to head home from there with another little ride around the Netherlands because… well, why not?
Welcome to my Garden can be found at
https://welcometomygarden.org/
I like it. There are gardens in the UK too. If you add yours then maybe I will come and visit one day!
Thanks to Didier, Axelle, Arnaud, Kris, Nico, Laura, Ruud, Suze, Nicolette and Ernst, Frauke and all their families! Big thanks!
And that final sunset was really beautiful!
3 Comments
Another brilliant video. You certainly packed a lot into that tour, even if you didn't actually know where you were going! Great bit of editing blending in the stills with the film. As we get older, it is definitely more difficult to cope with the heat. You probably did the right thing staying close to the coast and cutting the tour short. At least you got to eat lots of French cakes!
Excellent video, thank you.
Brilliant video thank you. I don't know how you cycled in those temperatures, it must have been awful 😮