Caen to La Rochelle to Santander. North to South.

[Polite]

Or Santander to La Rochelle to Caen. In July. Thoughts on North to South vs South to North. Many thanks.

 

[Brandane]

Last year I flew to Bordeaux with the intention of cycling Bordeaux - La Rochelle - Angers - Caen.
The 70th anniversary of D-day meant that I ended up doing Bordeaux to Angers northbound, then took a train to Caen before doing Caen back to Angers by bike .
Oh, and then getting caught up in a rail strike and having a nightmare getting back to GB!
Whatever way you decide to do it will be amazing. Personally I would opt for south to north, as psychologically you are heading home.

 

[Brains]

For the same reason most people do Lands End to Jo'G rather than the other way around (which would be easier as Cornwall is by far the hardest bit) is because north to south means you are cycling into the sun all day and also into the prevailing wind.
So given the choice, South to North (it also means you are cycling home, rather than cycling away, so should give you more time on the bike as return options will get easier and shorter the closer to home you get)

 

[psmiffy]

North to South - heading away from home into the warm weather and away from reality- Going north almost a sense of the end before you even get into France - also even in mid-summer as you get further north the weather gets more unsettled

Overall it is an easy ride - too many trees south of Royan - a bit flat north of Royan for a while

 

[MarkF]

North to South - heading away from home into the warm weather and away from reality- Going north almost a sense of the end before you even get into France - also even in mid-summer as you get further north the weather gets more unsettled

Yes, riding to Malaga from Bilbao I wanted to head for the heat and fun of the South but I soon realised I should have gone South to North, some days I fought for every bleedin mile. If I was do it again (which I am shortly) I'll definitely do it North to South.

 

[Brains]

Yes, riding to Malaga from Bilbao I wanted to head for the heat and fun of the South but I soon realised I should have gone South to North, some days I fought for every bleedin mile. If I was do it again (which I am shortly) I'll definitely do it North to South.

Errr.... right that's clear then, I'm not surprised you struggled every bleeding' mile, so would I riding a touring bike backwards

 

[itchybeard]

Either. Might be nice to get warmer each day if you do from north to south.
I looked at Brittany ferries and they do a return from Bilbao. Takes 24 hrs mind but a worthwhile drink fuelled journey...

 

[Polite]

So I've managed to book, what appears to be the last seat, a ferry from Spain back to Blighty. This in turn means I'm now going to be cycling from Caen (from the north) to Santander in Spain (to the south).

I must admit some of the replies I had earlier confused me but I think cycling in a southerly direction will probably mean I get to see more sun. In terms of a tail wind, I guess that's down to the luck of the draw? Unless I'm missing something obvious that means I should assume the wind will be blowing from the south.......

 

[Alex H]

Have fun on the ferry on the way back . We did this trip on the tandem a long time ago now (Roscoffe to Santander). The ferry was 'interesting' in that the swell in the Bay of Biscay can get up to 10m, although this s usually in the winter. We went in June and my wife, not being a god sailor was ill within a couple of hours of leaving Santander.

There is a 'swell forecast chart' HERE.

@psmiffy's comment about the trees south of Royan - that would be in Les Landes - we've spent a week there a couple of years ago - it's the largest manged pine forest in Europe, over 1 million hectares and it does get boring after a while