London - Paris - at snails pace! Help needed please

[crisscross]

Hi all.

Despite my protestations about never wanting to get back onto a bike again, my family have persuaded me that a trip to Paris and Euro Disney sounds like a good idea this summer.

There will be four of us , me and Mrs CC, 10 year old daughter and 7 year old son. and hopefully one more, my dad, in a car for when I get tired!

Now I know it's probably a dumb idea to cycle that far with 2 young children but hey ho, they think it's dumb to cycle with a slow coach like me!

Last year we did a 130 mile offroad trip from Leed to Liverpool along the canal (chosen for lack of hills !!) so we know we are up to a challenge but we haven't really used our bikes since.

https://www.cyclechat.net/



If I may ask a bit of advice please.

1. Firstly and most importantly, which route? Newhaven / Dieppe seems favourite because of the avenue verte. Is thsi flatter than Calais -Paris?

2. I'm not keen on hills ( struggle going over a sleeping policeman!) but figure there will be plenty on this trip. Where is it worst (least flat) please?

3. What bikes should we have ideally? Not that this is likely to happen but in an ideal world what would you recommend - my son did the last trip on an £8 eBay lump of iron that weighs a ton and only had one gear so may splash out for a newer one for him. The rest of us have mountain bike -ish / hybrid type bikes. Would they suffice or should we be looking for different kind of bikes?

4. We will have a good week to do it in, 2 or 3 to get to Newhaven, and as long as it takes for the French leg. Where did you all stop on route? B&B's would be ideal or hotel.

Any help / advice / critiscms will be gratefully received.

Many thanks

 

[andym]

If you have a Decathlon near you their kids' bikes are worth checking out - although 7 looks like an awkward age when they may still be stuck with overgrown kiddie bikes rather than something that begins to look like a proper bike. Your existing bikes should be fine - spend the money on giving them some TLC - and maybe new tyres if they are tricked out with knobblies.

 

[crisscross]

Hi andym, thanks for the advice.

You are dead right about 7 being tricky. His bike at the mo. is an Action Man special or something like that!

"tricked out with knobblies" ??? what's that please?

 

[Tigerbiten]

Do you have knobby off-road tyres or smooth road tyres on your bikes.
It take a lot more effort to go the same speed on knobby tyres as it does on smooth tyres.
So the less off-road riding you do, the smoother your tyres want to be.

Luck .......

 

[crisscross]

Thanks Tigerbiten.

Can you put smoother road tyres on a mountain bike?

I would love some narrower ones on my bike as it feels like I am riding through treacle after a few miles.

We over-inflated them for our ride last year and that was OK but narrower would be better.

 

[andym]

Can you put smoother road tyres on a mountain bike?

I would love some narrower ones on my bike as it feels like I am riding through treacle after a few mil

I think tigerbiten has answered the question about what 'tricked out with knobblies means'. Yes you can get road tyres for 26-inch wheels. See this selection on Wiggle for example. Personally I'd go for something with a bit of puncture protection (but not too much) around the £20 mark - although you can get perfectly decent tyres for less. About an inch and a half (37mm) or a bit less, would be a good width.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

suggestions re routes can be found here on the ctc forum

EDIT I remember cycling along side a canal into Paris years ago. Or have I lost the plot?

 

[andym]

EDIT I remember cycling along side a canal into Paris years ago. Or have I lost the plot?

No there are some very nice canals on the east side of Paris going out from the Place de la Bastille and la Villette (more or less). The Canal d'Ourq for example.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

^^ that's the one

 

[crisscross]

aaaargh ... no more canals, please! The ones in East Lancashire were enough for one lifetime.

As non-cyclists it was biting off more than we should have chewed.

Rutted mud, cobbles, and fishermen with 20 ft long poles to limbo under was a lot to bear.

Hoping that the French roads and paths are better.

 

[jags]

crisscross i sure hope you make this trip if nothing else what a memory for the kid's brilliant.

 

[crisscross]

Hi jags, many thanks for the kind words.

We have always been a close family that does most things together.

We were concerned last time about a six year old doing 130 miles and always had a contingency plan in case either said they'd had enough.

In the end their enthusiasm kept us all going.

We aren't real cyclists and I hope we aren't pushy parents, at the end of the day it will be doing something few others of their age have done.

 

[crisscross]

Hi Greg, I was blinded by the mention of canals and missed your post about ctc.

I haven't heard of that website beforeso I will give it a shot.

Many thanks.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Hi Greg, I was blinded by the mention of canals and missed your post about ctc.

I haven't heard of that website beforeso I will give it a shot.

Many thanks.

some canals, esp in France iirc have tarmac-ed tow paths because they used to use motorised tractors to pull the barges.

all canals have the advantage of avoiding unnecessary hills.

 

[crisscross]

Hi Greg, thanks for the reply.

We chose Leed Liverpool for the "no hills" reason and it was great but arduous ( if that is a real word) after weeks of rain turned the grass to mud.

I saw someone else mention the Ourq as a nice way into Paris so we'll take another look.

many thanks