Paris to Senlis

August 1, 2016

So we rose "early" today. Good! We were up and out of the hotel by 9:30 or so and made a beeline for the first cafe on our route out of town, Le Cafe Pierre, where we had breakfast. One traditional and one with more American flavor, three fried eggs and three pieces of bacon, which Mark and I split.

Petit déjeuner at Cafe Pierre. The eggs and bacon came later.

Then we headed down Boulevard de Magenta, which is the road we came in on, using the protected bike lane to take us as far as Gare de l'Est. It was easygoing, even after the turn north and we no longer had the separated facility to ride on. We did have bike lanes and/or sharrows and cars treated us with respect. It was nowhere close to being as bad as I might expect.

Today's ride to Senlis.

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Although it wasn't overly pretty or quaint either. Our route took us through a quasi-industrial part of town with working-class neighborhoods. So no pics there! At MP 6 or so, we diverted into a nice park, Parc Départemental Georges-Valbon, that gave us a nice respite from the traffic and congestion.

But that only lasted 1-1/2 miles, and then we were in the worst part of our ride, passing between Garges-les-Gonesse and Goussainville. These towns and the area in-between lie west of CDG Airport, which may explain the environment, mostly just more traffic than we had experienced to that point. But we pushed through and were soon in the country.

And that happened once we crossed N104, the last outer beltway around Paris. And the roadways even had adjacent bike trails, even if poorly maintained.

We finally broke into the countryside and onto this flowery bike trail!

That was at about MP 17, almost halfway through the day. At MP 22 we decided to stop for lunch and enjoyed the company of some locals who set us up with the patisserie next door for sandwiches and then in the local brasserie for a place to sit and eat and enjoy a refreshment, a Coke for Mark and a Perrier for me.

So many choices. Getting lunch at the patisserie.

And eating lunch at the brasserie, with refreshments.

We were now well into the Parc Naturel Régional Oise-Pays de France, a beautiful, well-forested land south of Chantilly that was probably once part of that estate. The biking was getting better! A combination of quiet roads, bike trails, and residential streets.

And then to a tree-lined residential neighborhood (where every home was gated).

And then to this wooded trail, which I believe is part of a national bike route.

I was unaware of the chateau at Chantilly (I should know better) but was not overly surprised to be biking by one. Beautiful buildings and grounds, but we didn't stop to tour.

From there, it was more easy riding to Senlis, with similar roads and environs.

More natural trails along the walls of the estate. This was not bad riding, if a little slower than our custom.

We also passed through a number of small and quaint towns before arriving in Senlis.

The hotel we arrived at was more like a country estate! Two noisy dogs that got quiet once they sniffed your legs! And a beautiful setting that is more like a B&B than a hotel. Breakfast is included!

And finally, our chateau, at least for the night.

We arrived early, before 3:00 PM, so we had plenty of time to relax and wash bike clothes! Then we took a leisurely stroll around town and settled on an Italian restaurant because on Mondays in small French towns, many restaurants are closed! We had a good meal regardless!

Tomorrow, Soissons!

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 60 miles (97 km)

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