Cycling abroad virgin seeks advice

[Polite]

Hello,

I am shortly about to do the following route; Dieppe to Le Treport - Le Treport to Neufchatel en Bray - Neufchatel en Bray to Dieppe.

I have no navigational sense whatsoever, so my main concern is getting lost.

How would I find out if there are there dedicated cycle routes? Or should I just Google and cycle on main roads (apart from the last leg, which I believe has a cycle route)?

All advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[betty swollocks]

Via Michelin has a route planner with a cycling option

 

[vernon]

I'd not worry too much about the availability of dedicated cycle routes. French motorists treat cyclists with respect. The Via michelin route planner is good at selecting quiet routes and id back that up with IGN maps covering the route that you choose to follow.

 

[TheDoctor]

Get yourself a map - even the relevant page from a road atlas will do. Looking at my one (an AA road atlas, which is a bit tricky as the route goes across a few pages) you want the coast road, between the sea and the D925. That'll get you from Dieppe to le Treport.
From there to Neufchatel, the navigation looks a little trickier. I'd find a route, avoiding any road that's red or green (blue is right out), note down what villages it goes through and navigate by road signs. Or you could just follow the D1314, but you may find it busier than you'd like. I've not been along it.
Neufchatel back to Dieppe - get onto the Avenue Verte and follow it. It's a converted railway line, and if you get lost there's no hope for you!! If you get to Forges-les-Eaux you've gone the wrong way. Turn around
Sounds like a good trip - give us a shout back with photos.

 

[andym]

I have no navigational sense whatsoever, so my main concern is getting lost.

How would I find out if there are there dedicated cycle routes? Or should I just Google and cycle on main roads (apart from the last leg, which I believe has a cycle route)?

As other people have suggested, there's viamichelin and Google isn't a bad place to start.

You can also look at detailed IGN (French equivalent of Ordnance Survey) mapping on www.geoportail.com


If you are really worried about getting lost you could buy a GPS (Garmin eTrex Legend or Vista) and then download the OpenCycleMap for France from here. they are extremely useful for telling you where you are (I wouldn't use them to tell you where to go - you're the best person to work out where to go). But also buy a Michelin map and stay off anything marked in red.

 

[Polite]

Thank you to everyone for all your helpful comments.

I feel a bit of a fraud talking to people, who I guess are all experienced cyclists, about such a minor route but really appreciate your answers.

By the way, TheDoctor, I can not find any route between the sea and the D925 on a Michelin map so I will try some of the other suggestions.

Thanks again to all

 

[Red Light]

What others have said about ViaMichelin etc but rather than take a motoring atlas or page, just cut strips out of the atlas pages that cover your route and a bit either side. Then use ViaMichelin to plan your route and transfer it onto the map strips. Go to Google Streetview to familiarise yourself with any bits that look tricky and work out what you need to do at them to save faffing around on the road.

Enjoy!

 

[delport]

Once you are clear about where north/south/east and west are that helps a lot.

I have a garmin etrex gps, only bought it recently though, until i bought that i used a £3 compass bell from asda which is actually very accurate, i was out one day cycling with the gps and the compass bell and they were both giving the same readings.

Also work out what kms to miles is.

A good way of getting cycle paths for the region you are going to is looking at the tourist website they may have dedicated time to helping cyclists by creating maps.

See my post here
https://www.cyclechat.net/
for normandy [for example] there is a 52 page cycle path book free from the tourist office.

I photocopy pages from a map using my scanner, better than tearing the book up.

 

[psmiffy]

Get a map – a Michelin will be more than good enough - put it somewhere that you can get at it easily – map holder, top of bar bag – whatever - sort out in your mind where you are going and take your time.

There is no such thing as “Navigational Sense” poor or otherwise – Navigation is a skill and you can only develop it by practicing it – with experience you will soon be able to sort out quickly what will be the most appropriate route

 

[delport]

Get a map – a Michelin will be more than good enough - put it somewhere that you can get at it easily – map holder, top of bar bag – whatever - sort out in your mind where you are going and take your time.

The michelin map latest version isn't that great, spent £12 on a michelin map of europe and it doesn't even cover places near a city.

This is the one i bought, 2010 version.
http://www.mapsworldwide.com/sku_863.htm
fairly useless for any where within 20 miles of a city, i still take it with me, but it is not that great.

 

[roundisland]

I can understand your concerns I will be cycling in France for the first time this coming May and feel a bit apprehensive about finding my way around and cycling with the different road conditions.

As Psmiffy said use a map, take your time, don't panic and plan your route that's going to be my way.

Good luck and enjoy your first tour abroad.

 

[psmiffy]

The michelin map latest version isn't that great, spent £12 on a michelin map of europe and it doesn't even cover places near a city.

Cities are always a bit tricky unless you are using a really detailed map - unless I am intending to camp within a city I just normally head for the centre as that is generally where the most interesting things are - mixing it with the traffic is just something I put up with - if it is a very big city I am on the lookout for topographical features - rivers, railways, major roads - that will appear on even the least detailed part of the map to keep me on track and give me a clue about which direction my exit is - by keeping an eye on these feature I find it reasonably easy to to position myself within a place without resorting to a stadt plan in even some of the largest cities - plus many large scale folding maps (Michelins included) will have an insert showing the the larger cities in detail

I am not really a fan of map books and have never used them because of the limited amount you can see per page - I find it helps me to get a good mental image to my overall route by being able to see occasionally the "big picture" when the map is fully unfolded - on the bike I am interested in the detail and generally only looking at a small folded portion of the map but in my mind I can see beyond that - on a very long tour I often do not buy the maps until just before I get to that part of the tour and therefore I carry a map at a scale sufficent that I can see the whole tour and I can get an idea of potential future options and of how I am progressing

 

[TheDoctor]

Thank you to everyone for all your helpful comments.

I feel a bit of a fraud talking to people, who I guess are all experienced cyclists, about such a minor route but really appreciate your answers.

By the way, TheDoctor, I can not find any route between the sea and the D925 on a Michelin map so I will try some of the other suggestions.

Thanks again to all

It goes Dieppe - Bracquemont - Belleville sur Mer - St Martin en Campagne - Penly - Criel sur Mer - Criel Plage - le Treport.
Looks pretty obvious on a 1:180 000 road atlas, but anything less detailed won't show it.

 

[JackE]

This IGN map: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rouen-Abbev...ef=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302438774&sr=1-2-spell is for cycling and is well worth a fiver. Stick to the "white" D roads as much as possible and you'll be fine. Lovely area, perfect for a first tour.
The Avenue Verte is excellent.

 

[andym]

The michelin map latest version isn't that great, spent £12 on a michelin map of europe and it doesn't even cover places near a city.

This is the one i bought, 2010 version.
http://www.mapsworld...com/sku_863.htm
fairly useless for any where within 20 miles of a city, i still take it with me, but it is not that great.

erm Europe is a big place - you're bound to lose detail trying to cover such a large area. The most useful combination of detail and coverage is in the 1:200k or 1:400k maps - these cover only regions within countries (although I guess small countires may get their own map).