To Verdun

August 10, 2025

My hopes for a good nights sleep went unrealized as the wedding festivities continued past 2 AM. I can usually sleep through most anything, but the pounding bass, screaming DJ and oppressive heat resulted in a very restless night. Fortunately, I’d planned a rather short ride to Verdun in the hopes of seeing a bit of the city before my 5 pm check-in time.

After a start and short climb up from my hotel, I cruised along through a gently rolling landscape of farm fields dotted with small villages. It was happy cycling – a little exertion on the ups and a nice cooling breeze on the downs. I passed small groups of friends and families out for a day ride, a few in lycra but most sporting casual summer wear. It was a bucolic start to a day that brought vivid reminders of a landscape once ravaged by war.

Rolling through farmland and small villages

Shades of browns and greens were the colors of the day

The small villages seemed to just pop up among the rolling fields

Flanked by corn and sunflowers, it was almost like cycling between Iowa and Kansas

I made a brief stop in Rouvres-en-Woëvre, drawn by the two steeples of Église Saint-Julien and the Hôtel de Ville. At the onset of WWI, the town was embroiled in a fierce battle and what once had been “a charming village of 500 inhabitants” was completely destroyed and the inhabitants shot by the German army. A memorial honoring those who died on Aug 24, 1914 is located just outside of town, next to a WWII memorial and the Ètain-Rouves Air Base.

My route from Rouvres-en-Woëvre to Verdun passed through the front lines of WWI and the area is marked by roadside memorials and fields dotted with bunkers. Each was a reminder of the broad-reaching and enduring cost of war.

In Rouvres-en-Woëvre, drawn by the steeples of Église Saint-Julien and the Hôtel de Ville

Memorial to those lost on August 24, 2014 in the Battle of Étain-Rouvres

Helicopter at the Etain-Rouvres Air Base

Map showing the Western Front in the region between German-occupied Ètain and Rouvres on the east and French-occupied Verdun on the west. The Battle of Verdun took place in the area marked in dark green

The temperature continued to rise as I covered the remaining miles to Verdun. There was little shade and few pass-through towns so when I saw signs pointing me toward a flea market in Moranville I took the short detour, looking for rest and a little diversion. The street was lined with tables and blankets displaying trinkets and collectibles that were of limited interest to me. I did purchase a new supply of mirabelles and then wandered over to the tent selling cold beverages and food tickets. I was hungry, but leery of eating too much before tackling the only real climb of the day on a full stomach, especially considering how hot it was. After much wavering, I settled for a small sausage and a cold coke.

The climb turned out to be quite manageable, after an initial kick, it averaged 4+% over two thankfully shaded miles. Traffic was nearly non-existent save for two cyclists who passed in opposite directions as I rested at the top. Just past the crest, I paused at a small turnout that offered a view of over the valley, including Verdun and the hillside site of the Battle of Verdun. Then it was a bracing downhill, cool in every sense.

I stopped for a chat with a local cyclist, talking about war and peace as we gazed at Verdun and the site of the famed battlefield

This was my second time passing through Verdun, a small city renown as the site of one of the most emblematic battles of WWI – the Battle of Verdun, a battle lasting 302 days with casualties exceeding 700,000. During my first visit in 2022, I cycled up the hillside to the Verdun Memorial and Battlefield, a site that offers a first person recounting of horrors of trench warfare and the madness of war. My thoughts and memories of that day remain strong - I had no need for another visit.

I did stop at a memorial site located on the edge of the city, one that also contains memorials to those lost during the French wars in Algiers and Indochina. Most notable was the Faubourg Pavé National Necropolis, a cemetery with row upon row of crosses marking the graves of soldiers who died for France during the Battle of Verdun. Amidst the thousands of graves is the Carré des Sept Inconnus, the Square of the Seven Unknowns. In 1920, the unidentified remains of eight unknown soldiers were exhumed from battlefields along the front – seven were relocated to this site in Verdun and the eighth found a place of honor under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, representing a generation that had sacrificed their lives for France.

Some of the countless graves in Faubourg Pavé National Necropolis, with the Battle of Verdun hillside battlefield in the distance

Carré des Sept Inconnus, the Square of the Seven Unknowns

I left the memorial physically and emotionally drained. It was almost another hour before check-in, but I had no desire to explore more of Verdun. Instead, I found my way into Parc Japiot where I indulged in a scoop of pistachio and an Orangina. Cooled and rested, I crossed the Meuse River into Verdun and received a warm welcome at my small hotel by Victor and Fabrice. They gave me lots of local information on sites of interest and restaurants, but after a draining and snack-filled day I settled for a long shower and an in-room picnic of mirabelles supplemented with cheese and crackers from the Carrefour.

Cooling down with Orangina and pistachio

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Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 1,225 miles (1,971 km)

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Tricia GrahamYou certainly are managing to seal out the heat. The rode between Metz and Verdun certainly makes you very aware of how that part of the land was so often involved in wars frequently changing countries
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