nbjtours

Total mileage 828 miles

This was a slightly different tour, not only did we miss our forever compadre Chris but rather than cycling out in the wilds , we were crossing Northern France. A part of the country that is more populated and also perhaps familiar to more of us even if we only ever drive straight through it.

In spite of this lack of true wilderness, in the main the roads were very quiet and although we always checked before crossing or turning left across the road, outside of a town we only had to stop once otherwise the expression for the lead rider was ‘usual’ carry on pedalling. Of course the other benefit of cycling in France is that their roads are so much better than ours and faster to cycle on – easily worth 2-3 mph. I reckon we called out for potholes less than a handful of times the whole trip whereas at home it’s every two minutes. The only exception to these superb roads were the gravelled sections caused by the heat melting the original surfaces.

As well as the super quiet roads we also had long stretches on cycle greenways, most of which were tarmac and others hard surfaced so still quick to ride on. Again better than we find on U.K. greenways and long distance cycle routes. Nbjtours did find a couple of really rough tracks to prove a point but it wouldn’t be a true ride without these.

In the absence of Chris it was good to see Nigel join us on a few occasions for the last couple of miles. As ever Nigel, Monica and Broomey were always there in support and our succour when needed. Daily trips to Lidl were supplemented by a patisserie visit to try to local specialties. Luckily the energy we used ensured that two pastries a day had no effect on our waistline. A Fiat Green Van is such a welcome sight. Gill joining us for the first few days demonstrated what a smooth operation we have set up with the rolling support in Broomey essential for how we have travelled all around Europe.

Part of these trips has always been exploring the places we pass through and this year we have done even more of that having learned from the successes of last years Camino route.

As well as seeing car rallies, cycle races, car museums and white water kayaking competitions we have deliberately headed for the centre of bigger towns and explored their fabulous winding cobbled streets, churches and cathédrales. Troyes, Metz, Toul, Châteaudun, Sens, Quimper and Luxembourg City are all worth a visit.

The other reason for going into the centre of town was to get our tour passports stamped. All part of engaging with the locals who apart from one exception were only too happy to accommodate these mad Englishmen.

A few historical sites en route were surprising such as the Roman amphitheatre in Grand, the Aérotrain track north of Orleans and we enjoyed recreating a lap of Le Mans

The other thing that I usually rabbit on about are the flowers and wildlife. Whilst we did see some wild flowers because we were a bit later this year and it has been so warm many of the spring flowers had gone and of course we didn’t cycle in quite as wild an environment as usual.

The one creature we did see more of were butterflies. Mammals were sparse but we saw a couple of Pine Martens ( one alive) two deer, some hares, a black red squirrel and those bats of course. The most surprising sighting being an Octopus in Brittany.

The weather of course was perhaps the overriding factor as we have never experienced such temperatures before especially with no shelter from the sun. We were lucky as on a couple of mornings we were surrounded by storms but remained virtually dry throughout and didn’t ever have to put on a rain jacket.

Plans are already underway for two more adventures in 2026 & 2027 if our bodies and legs can cope . Next year I can announce will be an eight day tour from Heusenstamm in Germany to Le Puy again to coincide with the St Jacques de Compostelle UTMB trail races. This will likely to be in early June and will explore parts of France we’ve yet to cycle through in Alsace and Burgundy as well as a bit of the Rhine valley in Germany. A bit of wine tourism can be expected !

We are hoping to have a fuller cycling team and a good number of runners from Tonbridge to support when we get to Le Puy again

In the meantime thank you to all our readers, families and of course Nigel, Monica and Broomey without whom all this would still be a dream in my head.

Completed tour passport ( after trip in the shower!)