France Vs.Holland Vs. UK

[vernon]

Vernon the route I had in mind is the same one you posted pretty much, except I may go Calais> St Omer> Arras Bapaume> Albert and then cut down to Troyes via bay sur somme. The CTC route however follows the green N and D roads for the most part I notice. Looking at the map these seem to run in the more direct 'as the crow flies' directions whereas the smaller white and yellow roads seem to zig zag everywhere and then all converge on the nearest town centre....anyway...att eh moment the plan is to ride the D & N roads as per the CTC route...is that a big mistake??

I didn't follow the CTC route slavishly - sometime because I took a wrong turning but like I said apart from navigating through Lyon the route in general, give or take a 10 km wide corridor, is fine and far from intimidating for cyclists. The French do treat cyclists with respect. Grab a road atlas and plot a parallel route if you want to over plan but I found the route OK in the main.

 

[Dayvo]

I cycled down the Rhone Valley in Nov. 2006.

... Chaumont down to Montpelier and beyond. I think it was the N74, but it was fine as it ran parallel-ish to major A-roads so most of the heavy traffic took those.

Plenty of good scenery and towns/villages to feast your eyes on - particularly the fortress town of Langres, and the following straight, roller-coaster ride into Dijon; and there's no shortage of suitable places for wild camping.

Should you want to 'treat' yourself to a hotel one night, Formule 1

http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/gb/cartographie/france.shtml

have hotels a day's cycling distance or so all the way down the Rhone Valley. About 30€ a night plus an OK breakfast.

 

[domtyler]

...As for the language an enthusiastic, friendly approach overcomes all the problems. I've cycled through Poland and Slovakia and made a point of learning "Please, Thank you, the nos 1 - 10, beer, large". It was enough. Municipal camp sites are cheap as chips. On my recent trip the cheapest for one person was 2.5 euros. read my crazy guy thing below for a taster!

Don't know what you needed all that for, just two words have always worked for me, "Beer" and "More".

 

[Cathryn]

France France France France France!

 

[ComedyPilot]

For shure my friend, you needsh to go to Holland, and have a schmoke and a pancake.

 

[Dayvo]

For shure my friend, you needsh to go to Holland, and have a schmoke and a pancake.

I had a Dutch mate! The very first time I met him, he said, 'Hullo! My namesh Ronald Ruggersh, and I cum frum Amshterdam.' I pissed myself laughing, and still do when I hear Dutch people (who happen to be my favourite people on the planet) talking.

I met another Dutch fella in Asia a couple of years ago and although I knew where he was from, out of politeness I asked him where he was from. He looked surprised and said, 'Can chew tell alreddy'. (it sounded better than it reads!).

 

[ComedyPilot]

I speak to a Dutch agent on the phone almost daily, and am picking up bits of Dutch. Today's word is 'alstublieft' (sp?) which means please. and yes, the 's' in the middle sounds a little shhushy if you get my drift.

 

[Cathryn]

I grant you the Dutch are potentially the nicest people in Europe but there are no hills in their land! There is, however STONKING applecake. Appelgebach mit slagroom or something of that nature. The apple cake is so good it makes up for the lack of mountains!!

 

[ComedyPilot]

Cathryn, if you ever fancy a bit of Dutch 'hillyness' go to the Arnhem area, and they'll happily oblige with a bit of upwardly mobile terrain.

 

[Dayvo]

I grant you the Dutch are potentially the nicest people in Europe but there are no hills in their land!

I take it you've not been in the south of Holland? OK, admittedly, not exactly 'mountains' per se, but enough to make you sweat!

http://us.holland.com/e/8600/Hills in Holland.php

So, forget the apple cake, and try the spiced spaced variety!

 

[Cathryn]

I've only been in the middle of the country. Loved it...very beautiful but very flat.

Might stick with the apples though if that's okay. I don't need any encouragement to eat

 

[Scoosh]

I had a UK friend who lived/worked in Holland (Shell) and he told me that the Dutch equivalent of the AA had a section on "Driving Abroad", where the main part was about changing down gears when going up a hill. Apparently, the steepest hills they have are the on/off ramps by the motorways.
As you won't be going on the motorways - no problems

 

[Andy in Sig]

I would definitely recommend Holland over the other two as it is the nicest of the three countries and given the current iffy weather, the cosiness of Dutch cafes, pubs and restaurants has a certain appeal. A simple tour would be to start at the hook and head down to Maastricht, then take a train to the centre of the country and take another route back to the the hook.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

..hmm...well I have the LF1 & LF10 route maps (arrived today) for the Dutch coast. They do the job. I also spent the morning at the LBS where my bottom bracket needed replacing, as did my spd pedals as the were bent and worn. The bottom bracket was corroded and a bearing had gone. I got a new computer fitted, fitted gel padded new bar tape, bought 2 new spokes and some spare cable, had the gear cable replaced and the cassette/gears set up. Not a cheap exercise, but at least I know th ebike is safe now.

The french route planning is done, but I bet I wont stick to it on the ground!

I can get a lift to Calais and I found a cheap flight from Montpellier on 1.9 into Ldn Ststead I could book. The ferry to Holland from harwich goues at PITA times..midnight and 9am...so eitherway I get to ride in the dark from home to the port...not much fun.

So Franc eis looking like it may happen...BUT the weather is 100% shite right now...and speaking to friends in France it isnt any better there either. Holland sounds ok...but it's not really a 2 week trip...more a 1 week jolly up thecoast and back ( Ihave no wish to see Dutch towns inland..been there done that)...which would be fun if th esun was going to shine, but I know th enorth sea coast and unless th esun shines it can be extremely bleak. Also my wrist hasnt healed up after the fall on the Bodensee, still in pain and unable to make a fist...no time for an x ray...

So....anybody got a coin?

 

[Scoosh]

Yup.

Tossing it ....
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