FNRttC The Fridays tour 2014

[GrumpyGregry]

Enclosures you say? Hedges? But which enclosure movement gave us a particular hedge in lowland England? That's the question. The Romans liked hedging, the Anglo-Saxon's adored it, 13thC landowners loved to plant and lay a good hedge, as did their descendants in the 15thC and in Tudor England, well, they couldn't plant them fast enough once they'd dissolved all those pesky monasteries. Tithe maps have the answer. And yes 18thC-19th C landowners did like a spot of enclosure but they were by no means the first...

 

[StuAff]

I'm hedging my bets about this.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I find these puns too high a barrier to hurdle so I'll thicket over, take cover and avoid coppicing it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I think I'll sit on the fence thanks

I like your stile.

 

[mmmmartin]

Here’s the latest version of A Plan, on which you are free to comment. Please do so. Remember that we have to end each day in a town that has enough hotels or B&Bs for us all, and not every town in France can offer that. This route is as straight as I can reasonably make it, and has various attractions en route: ranging from the hedges, wooded and cultivated area to the south of Caen, to the Loire crossing near Angers, La Rochelle with its stone buildings and expensive yachts in the pretty harbour, the Rochefort transporter bridge, and the flat lands as we approach Bordeaux through some of the most expensive wine-growing areas of the world. Some days are shorter than others because of where the towns are.

Those who wish to camp should be able to do so: those who want to stay in Formule 1 hotels must remember that the Cheerful And Friendly White Van man cannot get in to them: these hotels are unstaffed and you need your credit card to get through the door, so he can’t drop your luggage. You’ll have to come and find him and carry your luggage back to the Formule 1, or phone him and ask nicely if he can come over and meet you outside.

Discuss.

http://goo.gl/maps/78MFy is a route on Google maps set to walking: it’s the shortest possible distance and the recce will have to ensure the roads we ride are suitable for a group to be on, at the time of day we are likely to be on them. So the distances are likely to be (slightly) longer.

Leave Portsmouth for Caen on Friday June 13, travel overnight for £39 single, plus £5 for a reserved seat. Cabins are available (cost extra), travel on either the 08.15am (arrive 3pm) or 14.45 (arrive 9.30pm) and stay in a hotel (there are many in the town) or take the night crossing at 22.45 (arrive 06.45am on the Saturday). OR take the fast ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg on Friday, arriving at 8pm and get the direct train for €21.70 to Caen, it takes 75 minutes. (This might be suitable for those who don’t want to travel overnight and can get to Portsmouth on a Friday for a 4pm departure.)

We start riding on the Saturday. You may wish to discuss whether we should start riding on the Sunday, but if we do that we lose a day of riding and we have the thick end of 700k to do to Bordeaux and I am guessing you will want to cross the channel back to dear Old Blighty on the Sunday, June 22, meaning the journey from Bordeaux will take place on Saturday June 23. Thus we have seven days to ride 700k.

Here is a (very) rough travel plan:

Saturday, June 14 morning from Caen, ride 90k to Domfront, various B&Bs listed on the tourist board website.

Sunday June 15 ride 126k to Angers, where Ibis in centre is currently quoting £89.61 for a room for two for one night next June. Sounds pricey to me. There should be B&Bs cheaper than this.

Monday June 16 –easier day - ride 75k to Laval, which has a Formule 1 at £30 a night per room, plus two other hotels. Lunch at 45k, in Bazouges

Tuesday June 17 another easier day - ride to Cholet, 60k, lunch at 38k at Chemille.

Wednesday June 18 ride 113k to La Rochelle. Lunch at 50k, at Chantonnay

Thursday June 19 ride 75k from La Rochelle to Royan: we cross the Rochefort Transporter Bridge en route. This is an easy day: largely dead flat and shorter than some of the other days.

Friday June 20 take ferry from Royan across the Gironde then ride 115k to Bordeaux. Flat day.

Saturday van takes bikes to Caen, riders take the train.

Saturday night on the overnight ferry, or Sunday during the day, riders with bikes take ferry to Portsmouth.

Thoughts?

 

[AKA Bob]

Martin thank you for your hard work it looks like an interesting trip. Though being honest I would happy to go anywhere with the 'Fridays' as it is their diverse friendship which makes the trip and the memories! So please count me in. As an extra question is there still a contingent planning on heading off South East from Bordeaux in search of the Med?

 

[StuartG]

Sounds great - not too extreme. Do you have an idea when you are going to 'freeze' the plan so we can start to book. Oh and will you be running a dating agency for doubling up in the rooms? I'm available

PS Thanks again for your great investment in this. Its so unfair we may enjoy it even more than you!

 

[StuartG]

As an extra question is there still a contingent planning on heading off South East from Bordeaux in search of the Med?

I'll be right behind you. Will you be Bromptoning? (Might make the return easier).

 

[AKA Bob]

I'll be right behind you. Will you be Bromptoning? (Might make the return easier).

It would be rude not to consider the Brompton!

 

[andyman]

Hmmm, are the Angers and Laval legs the wrong way round???

 

[redfalo]

Here’s the latest version of A Plan (...)

Thoughts?

Looks good to me. I've already added the dates tentatively to my calendar. I will seriously consider the Brompton, too - and the Eurostar via Paris for the way back. Trains from Bordeaux to Paris apparently start at 37 Euros, plus 40 to 50 Pounds for the Eurostar. Leave Bordeaux at 9am, be in London at 3.30pm on the same day.

 

[mmmmartin]

Hmmm, are the Angers and Laval legs the wrong way round???

Oops. I was always a bit of a thicko.

 

[StuAff]

Looks good. BTW, just checked hotel prices in Angers and there are some good deals going- the 'regular' Ibis is actually pricier than the Mercure (!), the Ibis Styles is £50 a room. Plenty of choices by the look of it.

 

[srw]

In general the higher the road number (and the straighter the road) the busier it is - so there are some bits where a careful perusal of a better map than Mr Google provides might give a better route (on the assumption that quieter = better, and with a nod to simplicity of wayfinding). That's something for detailed planning - there are plenty of laney alternatives for most of the route. I'd recommend the 1:100,000 IGN maps, and it might almost be worth a committee session over a beer or three to look at them. We've got IGN maps to cover most of the route.

There's one exception I'll flag now. You really don't want - even for a recce ride - to do the D10A on the way to La Rochelle. It's horrible. All the lorry traffic takes it. It's a wide, but not wide enough, single carriageway, and fast - very fast. Think of a lorry thundering towards you at 70mph on the wrong side of the road as it overtakes another lorry in rain and low visibility. That's what it's like.

Incidentally, this caught my eye:
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=48.557239,-0.643945&spn=0.009118,0.021136&t=m&z=16

 

[Moodyman]

Another thanks for the effort Martin. The distances and dates are fine for me provisionally, just need them cementing so I can clear with work and home.