My tips for cycling in France

[T4tomo]

Bringing an old thread back to life.

This from inrng could be of use.

Heatwave across large parts of Europe. If you're riding around France in summer and don't have a team car then https://www.eau-cyclisme.com/ website can be very useful, lists places where you can get drinking water for free

I had a look at it and it seems ok if maybe patchy coverage. And the intrusive adverts make the site a bit hard to use.

My experience from last week is that (as in the UK) any bar /cafe (of which even very smallest villages tends to have one) will fill up your bottle. In one we were directed to a delightful hand cranked water fountain in the square (which is marked on your linked map btw).

I did throw a chilli bottle in my frame bag so we had ice cold water available if we needed a refresh between cafe stops as the standard bidons soon warmed up, even though the started cold with ice cubes in them.

 

[ColinJ]

My experience from last week is that (as in the UK) any bar /cafe (of which even very smallest villages tends to have one) will fill up your bottle.

Just my bloody luck to find the one place in the UK that wouldn't, even after I offered to pay for the water!!!

I set off to do a 35 mile ride over some big nasty Pennine hills on a blazing hot summer day. I'd obviously chosen the wrong bike and the wrong route for a sedentary office worker who was 4 stone overweight. I also didn't take any food and only 0.5 litres of water with me, which soon went. I wore a sleeveless vest and a pair of bermuda shorts. I have very sensitive skin, so of course - I hadn't put any sun cream on either... 5 hours of increasingly desperate sunburned grovelling later, I fell in through the doors of a country pub at about 15:30 to the alarm of 10 hardened drinkers knocking back their pints. "We're shut mate!" grinned the barman. "Er, I only want to refill my water bottle - I'll pay you for the water!" "We're bloody shut mate - clear off!" I couldn't believe how ignorant the bugger was! I staggered back into the inferno outside, remounted and slowly weaved my way up a b*sta*d 18% climb, then (for some reason) I started to feel rather unwell. I don't remember much about what happened next, other than coming round with my face in what was left of a muddy puddle at the side of the road. I had a mouth full of silt so I'd obviously drunk the damn thing dry!

 

[Dogtrousers]

My experience from last week is that (as in the UK) any bar /cafe (of which even very smallest villages tends to have one) will fill up your bottle.

I remember going to a Costa or similar in a station and my friend asked if they'd fill up his bottle. They said no and pointed out all the bottles of water they had on sale. I thought "fair enough" but my friend was annoyed.

On the other hand I went to a similar station cafe on my own not long after and bought a coffee, then asked and they happily filled up my bottle. So there are ways of asking.

All OT and not France.

 

[T4tomo]

I remember going to a Costa or similar in a station and my friend asked if they'd fill up his bottle. They said no and pointed out all the bottles of water they had on sale. I thought "fair enough" but my friend was annoyed.

I think if you haven't bought anything than potentially fair enough, but if you'd bought a coffee/ something its pretty poor if they wont top your bottle up with tap water.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I think if you haven't bought anything than potentially fair enough, but if you'd bought a coffee/ something its pretty poor if they wont top your bottle up with tap water.

Yes I should have been clearer that in the first instance my friend had made no purchase.

In the second instance I made a purchase first, then asked.