Off to Jersey/France.

[Brandane]

Got some holidays to take, so have booked to go firstly to Jersey for 2 days, then over to St Malo for a ride to Caen over the course of 4 days, taking the ferry back to Portsmouth from Ouistreham.
I did a similar ride last year taking the longer coastal route round the Cotentin peninsula via Coutances/Cherbourg/Barfleur; but time is shorter this time so the plan is to cut straight(ish) across via Vire or St. Lo..
I like the looks of cycling on Jersey according to the tourist information stuff, but anyone any idea what it's like in reality? I didn't realise it was quite as small as it is (9miles by 5 miles approx.); they manage to pack a lot of small towns into that, judging by the map.
Any route recommendations for the French mainland bit? From previous French cycling trips I am not overly concerned about that as it is hard to go wrong over there - if one route isn't great, there are plenty of alternatives! Other than Jersey and the first night in St Malo, I haven't bothered to book accommodation, preferring to leave it flexible. I will be using a Genesis Croix de Fer if I can keep the luggage light; Ridgeback Panorama if I can't.

 

[raleighnut]

Have fun

 

[Brandane]

Have fun

Thanks RN... Hope the rain doesn't follow me!

 

[aferris2]

I was in Jersey a couple of weeks ago. Lovely place to be on a bike! The only place that got me a little worried was on the main dual carriagway close to the port in St. Hellier. Other than that there's no problems at all. The maximum speed limit (anywhere on the island) is 40mph so you never get the really fast passes like in the UK. Round the island is about 40 miles but there's plenty of interesting routes inland. Most of the main roads run north-south but I tried several East-West which gets you on to the much narrower roads. The biggest problem for me were the hills. Being from Essex, I don't do hills!

 

[Brandane]

Being from Essex, I don't do hills!

Being from a coastal town surrounded by the things, I have no choice. That doesn't of course mean that I am any good at them. I just have to do them, slowly and sweatily .

 

[Bollo]

We've had quite a few long weekends and short weeks in Jersey and I've been able to cycle around it quite a few times. It's very pretty and a bit 'other' - not quite the UK. It can get lumpy but not high, particularly around the quieter north and east of the island. The roads are generally very tight. Drivers are no worse than in the UK but certainly no better, which can lead to the odd close shave given the available space. Much of the road system radiates oddly from St Helier and none of it quite seems to join up as you'd like. Although superficially it looks like a round the island ride would be obvious, on the ground you really need a GPS or map if you're not familiar. St Helier itself is largely unavoidable if you're doing a loop, but its a bit horrible to ride. My favourite bit is the west coast along St Ouen's Bay.

By complete coincidence, last year I did my Tour de France tour from Ouistream to Utah Beach, then down to St Lo and back. The coastal route isn't much to look at but has shed-loads of WW2 history. When I was in St Lo it was the start of a tour stage, so probably not the best way to assess a city. Bayeux was nice but touristy. @jay clock's done a few short tours around that way I think?

Finally, be VERY careful around the Portsmouth ferry port roads (paging local boy @StuAff). It's just dangerous. The so called cycle facilities are infamous, the escape routes a maze and the main A3 a 4 lane hell.

 

[Brandane]

That's me back after an all too short break .
I decided to pre book my accommodation which meant I had a more rigid schedule than originally planned.
Took the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo on Saturday 16th September, having driven down with the Ridgeback Panorama in the back of the car. The car was left at the Holiday Inn Express just off the A27, and I cycled the 4 miles over to the ferry terminal which was straightforward enough with the help of Google Maps on the phone.

The ferry crossing was good, I always enjoy travelling with Brittany ferries. Apart from the screaming child in the cabin next door that is.....
Met a father and son team on the ferry who were embarking on a 2 week cycle from London to Monaco, raising money for Cancer Research. They are doing a blog which I have been reading at L2M.life. They have already cost me the price of a Carradice Carradry SQR bag as I was impressed with the ones they were carrying; and they are about to cost me a donation to CR too .

I only had a few hours in St. Malo before returning to the ferry port for the Condor fast ferry to Jersey. Less than 90 minutes later and we were in St. Helier, and a cycle round the coast road to my hotel for 2 nights at Gorey. A very nice little place - much like the whole of Jersey. On the Monday I did a lap of the island on their cycle network route #1. Most enjoyable it was, with the sun being out and very light breezes. Apologies for the photo quality, but I only took my phone ........

Gorey harbour


St. Aubin


I was surprised by the fact that a lap of Jersey was only 35 miles, I had expected it to be in the region of 50. Maybe I missed a bit! Also surprising was the eye watering prices of food in St. Aubin and Jersey generally. Just as well I was only there for 2 days!

Tuesday I didn't venture too far as I had to be at the port for 5pm for the return ferry to St. Malo. A visit to the Jersey War Tunnels and the Nigel Mansell collection passed the day nicely though...

Nigel's Renault F1 car.


And Ferrari....


Tuesday night at St. Malo, then the serious business began on Wednesday with a ride from St. Malo to Avranches. Not too taxing at 45 miles and mostly flat apart from the last couple of miles into Avranches itself. Still sunny!

The Ridgeback in touring mode at Le Mont St. Michel...


Wednesday night was spent at the Hotel Patton in Avranches, then Thursday was a ride to Saint Lo.. A few more hills today but still sunny. Ideal cycling weather all the way actually, with temperatures in the mid to high teens and hardly any wind. Mileage for the day about 50 miles. St. Lo was a bit non descript but ok for an overnight stop.

Friday and the target was Caen as I was catching the ferry back to Portsmouth on Saturday morning at 8.30. Another great ride today with some long climbs and descents on the rolling hills of Normandy. I didn't go straight to Caen as I had all day, so went St. Lo - Bayeux - Arromanches - along the coast to Ouistreham then along the canal path into Caen; distance about 75 miles.

Saturday already! Time to head home. First off, a 9 mile cycle in the dark to the ferry port. The crossing from Ouistreham to Portsmouth was spent trying with limited success to get some rest before the drive home. Arrived at Portsmouth just after 1pm and cycled over to the Holiday Inn Express for the car, and on the road for about 2.30.. Just got on the A27 when I heard on the news about the M3 closure at Winchester; good start!! Took a slightly convoluted route over to Basingstoke then Newbury before getting on to the A34 as planned. From then on it was a straightforward journey home. 480 miles of it! Arrived home at 11pm; just a little bit tired - but what a great week that was .

 

[classic33]

"Red Five" was a Williams.

 

[Brandane]

"Red Five" was a Williams.

With a Renault engine though, was it not?

 

[classic33]

With a Renault engine though, was it not?

Correct.