Hi all, has anyone cycled off a ferry in Dunkerque port towards Belgium recently? And if so, do you have any updates on routes to take if I'm heading towards Dunkerque town and onwards to Belgium?
Yes, last Wednesday, returned yesterday. Most of us used
http://cycle.travel/map/journey/64765 on the way out because we wanted to see some rather tired French seaside
A more direct route can be revealed by clicking "Get Route" (to remove the via points) but the Quai des Fleurs in Dunkirk is currently a building site but you can walk through or fairly simply reroute along busier roads.
However, unless you want to see something in Dunkerque/Dunkirk, I would suggest turning right at Petite Synthe to the Pont de Petite Synthe then heading through Uxem to Ghyvelde on quietish back roads and crossing the border on the Rue de la Frontiere to Adinkerke, at least until they finish the epic roadworks in Dunkirk in a year or so. I suspect you'll probably make up the time taken to ride 2 miles more by not having to wait at traffic lights or stand on a corner of an unfinished/unsigned junction scratching your head and trying to figure out where you're meant to go!
They are also extending the EV4 cycle track that runs alongside the railway from Dunkirk to Leffrinckoucke - it looks nearly finished as far as the Fort des Dunes, which would connect with other cycleways towards Ghyvelde. With any luck, they'll extend it to bypass the grottiest bit of the D60 and reach Zuydcoote.
View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/16744826
Found it. This takes you to the ibis hotel via residential streets.
I don't like it. Too many big vehicles on the first bit when we did it - it may not be all the stuff off the ferry, but there's enough for the industrial zones to be unpleasant. Happily, we took the fork to the right not far from the second port roundabout where about 100m of gravel gets you onto small roads that seem mainly used by the occasional farm vehicle.
It's absolutely crucial to leave the ferry port by riding on the left hand side of the carriageway. There are two carriageways, the one on the right takes you on a segregated cycle track in which you are sheltered from the heavy lorries by a concrete barrier. Sadly, this track takes you southward and very soon you are on a narrow road with huge lorries, and deposited on a dual carriageway where you turn left, which is east.
One rider got split from our group (don't ask - this stuff happens) and took what I think is that route but most of it isn't barriered. He said the cycle lane (not track) has been extended but I'm not sure if it is or if he was actually cycling in the shoulder and, even if not, whether it went all the way to the next roundabout where you can head into Loon Plage while most traffic continues for the motorway. I can ask if anyone's considering it, but the route across the marshes is only a mile longer.
