January 6, 2013
Thoughts and conclusions: learning from experience
We are writing this journal more than three years after our first cycling tour in France. Even though we had read other cycling journals, we didn't think of posting our own journal at that time. In 2010 and 2011 we took the plunge and wrote journals for our second and third French tours, and in 2013 our account of cycling in the Netherlands. We very much enjoyed reliving these tours by writing about them, and felt that it was time to add a journal about our first trip. Luckily we had kept quite detailed notes on our netbook as we travelled. These notes, along with photos, emails to friends and route maps have helped us to recall each day of the tour. Here are some of the things we learned from this very enjoyable first experience with multi-day cycle touring:
PLANES, TRAINS AND BUSES--non-bicycle transportation:
Planes: We used Aeroplan points for our business class flights to and from France, and even though we booked six months ahead, we couldn't get a non-stop trans-Atlantic flight in both directions. On our return flight we had a connection in Montreal with a four-hour wait at the airport. This extra stop meant more hours in the air, because the flight from Paris to Montreal takes almost as long as flying Paris to Vancouver, and then there are the extra five hours in the air from Montreal to Vancouver. This made for a much too long day of travel, and since that first tour we have always tried to find non-stop flights to and from Europe (in economy class).
Trains: The Eurail passes that we purchased before leaving Canada turned out to be a waste of money. For our other tours we booked long-distance tickets online with RailEurope, complete with the seniors' discount and they were mailed to us here at home. For shorter distances, we purchased our tickets at the railroad stations in France, often a few days ahead of time, so that we wouldn't have to wait in line on the day of travel. Most local and some regional trains allow loaded bikes in specially marked cars at no extra charge. On the longer-distance trains, there is usually a separate charge for bikes, but not for folded Bike Fridays in their bags. Most TGVs don't allow bikes at all, so once again, the Bike Fridays masquerade as regular luggage and work very well.
Airport shuttle van: There is good public transportation from the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to the centre of the city, but our tired bodies and bulky luggage made a shuttle van much more practical. We were very pleased with the service, which we had booked from home. The driver was waiting for us at the airport, the van was big enough for our bike cases and duffels, and it was much cheaper than a taxi. The same shuttle company took us back to the airport at the end of the trip.
PLANNING AHEAD:
Planning the tour ahead of time added immensely to our experience. For this first trip, we wanted to visit three different areas with famous attractions that allowed us to work our way from north to south as autumn progressed. All three regions lived up to their world class reputations, with impressive chateaux and monuments as well as great cycling routes. We were also pleased to be travelling in the autumn--definitely a quiet season in France. The weather was perfect for cycling, warm enough but not too hot, with hardly any rain, and the major sights were surprisingly uncrowded (as you can see from our photos).
Going over the route in (extreme?) detail beforehand has its advantages and disadvantages, and we understand that it might not suit everyone. On the plus side, we could control to some extent the spacing and severity of climbs, we mulled over at leisure our alternative choices of villages to pass through, and had time to research more carefully any (sometimes obscure) attractions along our way. Al particularly liked the way this close scrutiny helped him get to know the different areas in their broader geographical context and added to the sense of "extending" the trip. We also avoided accidentally going many kilometres out of our way, cycling on unpleasantly busy roads, and in general 'getting lost'. We only have a certain amount of time and energy, and this way we didn't waste either.
Researching accommodation ahead of time also stretched out the trip and allowed us to think in detail about all our destinations. We looked at town maps, perused restaurant menus and compared various hotels and chambre d'hotes to find interesting places to stay with good quality to price ratio. In general, chambres d'hotes tended to be more economical, since a generous breakfast was almost always included in the tarif. Small two star hotels were also very pleasant and good value. With email reservation confirmations in hand, we never arrived somewhere after a long ride to find all the accommodation full. The advance planning worked so well for us in 2009 that we have organized all our tours since then in the same way.
EQUIPMENT:
The Bike Friday Crusoes were comfortable to ride and performed very well--the only problem we had was the flat tire on Al's bike near Blois.
We experienced only two 45-minute sessions of rain while cycling, so our Ortlieb panniers were hardly tested for waterproof functioning! We had brought two small regular backpacks for hand luggage on the plane which we attached to our rear racks to carry sundries and to use as daypacks on non-cycling days. They were awkward to attach, not waterproof, and we only needed one of them as a daypack. Before the next tour we purchased a waterproof Ortlieb rack pack which we've used ever since to carry the electronics, and we bring along one lightweight foldable daypack. The Ortlieb handlebar bags are useful for carrying snacks and valuables.
Our trusty Eee PC has provided us with trouble-free internet access on all our tours, and WIFI has been available at most of the accommodations.
We have travelled different routes on each of our three French tours, with a few intersections which have added to our familiarity with the geography of this diverse country. There are still so many areas we haven't visited, and are looking forward to returning to France for more exploration on our bicycles.
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2 years ago