DIY London to Paris

[Rearmech]

As the title suggests a group of us are planning our own L2P in May 2012.

There will be 6-8 of us with one support vehicle. I'm guessing there are many cyclists on here who have made the journey so I'm looking for any recommendations for preferred routes, places to stay, places to avoid, travel advice and any other helpful information.

Cheers

 

[dellzeqq]

we had a fabulous time......... https://www.cyclechat.net/

If you're interested in the Newhaven Dieppe route then e-mail me on fnrttc@yahoo.co.uk and I'll e-mail you a google maps link. I can thoroughly recommend stopping over at Saint-Saens, but the chambre d'hote only sleeps four. https://www.cyclechat.net/

this was a mixed ability ride that departed central London at midnight on Thursday and got in to Paris at 4pm on Saturday. We carried the very minimum of stuff - a small bar bag and a knapsack for me and a small bar bag for my better half - others relied on small panniers.

 

[StuartG]

Yea - I was the other end of the mix from Del and can confirm that doing the Dieppe route with one stopover is very do-able for anyone comfortable with a FNRttC. Why not lose the support vehicle which will be challenged by Paris and get the driver to cycle too?

You can get most emergency spares from a decent hypermarket or Decathlon. I just took a bar bag and kept the smell down by rotating and washing Helly Hansen underwear which take almost zero space. Normandy is just wonderful cycling country, the approaches to Paris less so. But the cycle lanes in Paris are really good.

Next year, if Del lets me out again, I am thinking of returning via Rouen to make it into a proper mini-tour.

Go buy/borrow/steal the Michelin 513 map (1cm/2km) and dream through the winter ...

 

[dellzeqq]

oooohhhh!!! That's a thought

I bought my maps from Rymans. Not so very clever, because they were well out of date. Next time I'll go to Stanfords

And, of course, it was completely uncivil of me not to mention that we'll be going to Paris again next year and you'd be welcome to join us (although you'd have to find yourself another overnight stop in the Dieppe - Saint-Saen area). There's a link below.

 

[Welsh Deano]

Hi! Hope this gets read by someone as I'm new to this forum stuff, but re the London / Paris DIY option, I've done it a couple of times and the following bullit points might help.
-Tower Bridge to Newhaven.... give yourself plenty of time (This is the worst part of the trip... busy and bumpy roads with a long hill
on the approach to Newhaven)
-Ferry time into Dieppe is about 4 in the morning so sort a hotel out. They have receptionists / access sorted because of the silly ferry times.
(Some french language skills help from here on in it goes without saying). I've done it once without a hotel and ended up huddled in a supermarket trolley shelter with my mates until it was light enough to see the route. The Avenue Verte would be a nightmare in the dark... very scary! But during the day in warm August sunshine... fantastic!!
-Stops for a quick drink along the 'Green Route' are great, but a proper break in Forges-les-Eaux is a must. A gorgeous village. Coffee... croissant... wonderful!
-Stopped both times overnight in Gournay-En-Bray at 'The Swan Hotel' (Le Cygne). Inexpensive, clean, simple but filling breakfast, secure overnight bike storage and pleasant husband and wife hosts. Not much choice in the way of restaurants in Gournay though.
-Finding Paris is easy... finding the Eiffel Tower less so (that probably sounds daft, but it's easy to lose sight of it behind buildings
once you're in the thick of the city).
-Suggest staying in the Latin Quarter, near the Sorbonne University. Not too expensive (relative to other parts of Paris), and you're in the
thick of the al-fresco dining and eating area (Boulevard St Michelle / St Germain area is where it's happening!)
Hope someone finds these snippets useful.
Doing it again this summer. Previously, it was the lengths I was prepared to go to for a night out drinking without the wife, but I've enjoyed it so much she's joining me next time!!

 

[dellzeqq]

well.......our route to Newhaven is just fine, and we took the 9am ferry

 

[StuartG]

I've done the overnight ferry to Dieppe. You can get a good 3 to 4 hours kip without the expense of a cabin - as taught me by an obliging lorry driver. Go to the TV room on the top deck (starboard side). It is a quiet area at night. Remove three seat cushions and lay in a row between row. Voila - a comfortable mattress!

Hence no need/expense of a hotel.

Depending on tides you get to Dieppe about 3am. You can have a nice brush up in the terminal there (divert to the secure side before going through the exit gates). You could hole up there if the weather is bad but the seats are uncomfortable.

If not then make an early start. In june it will be light in a couple of hours and night riding into the dawn is always unforgettable. I would use the D roads rather than Avenue Verte at that time as it will be empty and if you should encounter a vehicle you will be shocked at the over-consideration they give to cyclists compared to the UK. Don't be overfooled - Parisian drivers will revert to the mean - later.

The prospect of buying freshly baked bread and cakes anytime after 7am no matter how small the village is a great incentive. Why by lunchtime you will be able to smell Paris! No matter how slow you go you will be enjoying an evening on the town the day after you left London.

The downside to this plan is spending an evening in Newhaven. I found it bereft of decent drinking and eating places.

Alternatively accept Del's FNRttC invitation and just settle back into the saddle ... and enjoy the company.

 

[Chrisz]

I did one via the tunnel last year - we stopped in mostly F1 hotels. Great fun - if you would like the routes PM me and I can ping them over to you