Leg 3, Le Havre to Paris
Thurs 11th June to Sat 13th June, 121.4 miles covered
I managed about five hours of uncomfortable sleep on the ferry, which is about par for the course I reckon. Cyclist were first off and away I went, into France! Yay! First stop, get some money (argent... Boris Hunt's French lessons weren't wasted after all!). On finding a cash point (er... le point de cash?) I was amazed to find that since my last visit France had stopped using francs and moved to the "euro". Whatever next one wonders?
Got cashed up anyway and pausing only to pick up a fresh baguette (see Britain? That's the way to do bread!) I got lost in the bad part of town: how did I know it was the bad part you ask. Was it the signs of urban deprivation, subtle graffiti marks, types of vehicles? Well, partly. Mostly though it was the motorist stopping and telling me, first in french then in broken English that I waz not in a good place and I should go that did it. Found my way soon after and headed out of Le Havre using the bike route provided by Via Michellin. Which took me along 10 to 15 miles of dual carriage way along an industrial zone. Fecking A. Eventually came to the end and was told by a chap in a car not to go down the Michellin avised route but to go a little further then right. Which took me onto a cycle route exactly the way I wanted to go! No more Michellen!
The next day, as my knee was still painful in the morning just did 23 miles to a campsite in Rouen. I had planned to take a rest day there but having taken a look at it decided one night was more than enough.
On the last day of this leg I tootled along to Les Andelys, a beautiful little village with a picture perfect castle atop it. The knee lasted a good 20 miles without a twinge so seems to be on the mend.
I managed about five hours of uncomfortable sleep on the ferry, which is about par for the course I reckon. Cyclist were first off and away I went, into France! Yay! First stop, get some money (argent... Boris Hunt's French lessons weren't wasted after all!). On finding a cash point (er... le point de cash?) I was amazed to find that since my last visit France had stopped using francs and moved to the "euro". Whatever next one wonders?
Got cashed up anyway and pausing only to pick up a fresh baguette (see Britain? That's the way to do bread!) I got lost in the bad part of town: how did I know it was the bad part you ask. Was it the signs of urban deprivation, subtle graffiti marks, types of vehicles? Well, partly. Mostly though it was the motorist stopping and telling me, first in french then in broken English that I waz not in a good place and I should go that did it. Found my way soon after and headed out of Le Havre using the bike route provided by Via Michellin. Which took me along 10 to 15 miles of dual carriage way along an industrial zone. Fecking A. Eventually came to the end and was told by a chap in a car not to go down the Michellin avised route but to go a little further then right. Which took me onto a cycle route exactly the way I wanted to go! No more Michellen!
The next day, as my knee was still painful in the morning just did 23 miles to a campsite in Rouen. I had planned to take a rest day there but having taken a look at it decided one night was more than enough.
On the last day of this leg I tootled along to Les Andelys, a beautiful little village with a picture perfect castle atop it. The knee lasted a good 20 miles without a twinge so seems to be on the mend.
posted by Bill at 3:01 pm
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