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On 20th May I started out to attempt to cycle over 900 miles from the South of France to Dieppe and then back to Lewes via the ferry. Whilst I was on my 900+ mile ride I raised funds (and still continues back in England) for medical and other civilian aid to be sent to Ukraine. Please click HERE to DONATE:

Earlier this week on 10th June I completed my last day of the cycle ride ride from the south coast of France to Dieppe by cycling along a section of the Avenue Verte in Normandy. I have cycled  for 20 days in total, plus two days of rest. The distance covered is 1,590 km (982 miles + 18 miles to and from Lewes in Sussex). The ascent over the period was 14,276 m, that’s 46,837 ft of ascent.

It’s been a fascinating journey and very enjoyable but quite often completely exhausting. I’ve enjoyed meeting people on the way and cycled with other cyclists at times. It has been an epic journey in often stunning scenery. My journey has now become the subject of an article in the June/July issue of Cycle UK magazine. See page 26. Here is a PDF copy:

June/July issue of Cycle UK magazine.

Check this article out from the Sussex Express published at the end of the ride:
“When looking for a challenge to help raise money for charities in Ukraine, Vic Ient (78) from Lewes decided a cycle ride through France would fit the bill.”

Click HERE for updates about the trip

For more information about the cycle route click HERE

 

Map of France – Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation

Day 18 to 22   Stage 4 – the final section from Orléans to Dieppe! 

 

Day 18 –  From Orléans to Chartres. 90 km
Day 19 – Rest day

Day 20 – Chartres to Vernon on the River Seine near Rouen. 102 km
Day 21 – Vernon to Forges-les-Eaux. 90 km
Day 22 – Forges-les-Eaux to Dieppe. 58 km 

 

Day 18 – 7th June

Today I left the Loire Valley at Orléans and travelled north to Chartres. Although still very tired from my epic cycle ride the day before I knew I had to get on and it didn’t seem that far, at about 77 km, with much lower ascent than earlier experienced on the trip. The ride should have been easy. The weather seemed fair, not massively sunny, not too hot and not too cold. Weaving my way out of Orléans I finally found myself on some minor roads in the countryside but what I hadn’t accounted for was the crosswinds. The countryside north of Orléans is really a vast dome of fields as far as the eye can see with no hedgerows. The wind was quite fierce and worse still it sometimes was a headwind.  If it had been raining it would have been game over!  

The mistake on this section of the journey was to think that I didn’t need my paper map. I know many use electronic maps all the time but I like to have a paper map as well to see the lay of the land in one go. It seemed to be fairly simple, – go straight up from Orléans to Chartres. Well, it’s not quite like that. I was trying to stay off the main roads and thought it was going to be fairly straight forward to follow side roads. Some of these roads were heading directly north. I don’t know what happened but at quite a few points the headwind was too strong and diverted myself off to a road where the wind was more behind me. So the whole journey turned out to be 90 km when it should have been 77 km.. 

But the highlight of the journey was when I stopped to check where I was and I realised I had a puncture. I was in a small hamlet. Oh no! Fortunately, it was in the front wheel so it’s easier. As I was turning the bike over to get the wheel off, a vehicle turned into a farmyard opposite and soon there was what I think was a grandad and his grandson coming over to offer help. Well the young lad, not much more than about nine years old, took complete charge!  He went off to the nearby farm workshop building telling me to follow. What a place – a massive array of tools and a great big long workbench. He set to work with, believe it or not, tyre levers for farm vehicles. I had to ask him to be a little bit more gentle but it actually did work with a bit of liquid soap from his family’s kitchen. He’d got the tyre fixed!  

The young lad pumped up the tyre with the farm compressor. Grandad had to go off into another part of the workshop and start a very noisy motor which delivered high-pressure air through a hose to the main workshop.  A wonderful little experience! Such an enthusiastic little boy, and the grandfather was standing by all the time, beaming all over his face. I thanked them and shook their hands and they disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.  So I set off on my way again. Cresting each hill, I could see the twin towers of Chartres cathedral in the far distance. The first sighting must have been 15 miles away.  After further struggles with the wind and the cooling temperatures I arrived at my hotel on the outskirts of Chartres.  

Day 20 – 8th June

I headed north again today out of Chartres and quickly found the River L’Eure valley. The river was heading in my direction. It eventually flows into the Seine just south of Rouen.   Following the river valley turned out to be a great route with very few hills and quiet roads with picturesque scenery. It’s a peaceful valley with lots of ancient villages and mostly away from the wind thank goodness! For most of the journey it was a very pleasant sunny day. On the way, I saw many old mill buildings, some of them, sadly, derelict but some had been turned into homes.

 

The river valley was dotted with small ancient villages.  It seemed to me that it had been settled since at least the Middle Ages. Some of the villages were well kept and other villages were sadly a little bit dilapidated. It was Sunday and those people who were lucky enough to have their gardens leading down to the river were having their Sunday parties. At one point the smell was so enticing I just wanted to get off my bike and join them. These days finding a patisserie open, especially on a Sunday in France, is much more difficult than it used to be. but I was lucky  and I found one that served coffee as well!. 

Eventually the river valley widened out and at one point I came upon a large lake where the surrounding area was open for public access with beautifully kept grass slopes down to the lake’s edge with benches for people to have their picnics on.  Quite a lot of people were enjoying their Sunday. How wonderful!  There was also a sailing centre at one end with dinghies and windsurfers out on the water. The French do seem to make good use of their natural facilities. 

 

Cycling on, I came upon a Mesolithic ancient site with great stones forming what may have been a burial chamber. Nearby there is the site of one of the Roman Emperor Caesar’s major camps. 

One place which wasn’t all closed up on Sunday was Maintenon. The central area must have had about four restaurants open plus shops!  The very grand looking château was open to the public with the gate leading onto the town square. There was still a long way to go so I had to leave this scenic little town and make my way on to  Vernon. It proved to be quite a task as I had to leave the L’Eure river valley and cross over some hills. There were some steep climbs before I was able to drop down into Vernon. 

 

Day 21 – 9th June

Vernon has ancient fortifications on the river and was obviously a strategic crossing in centuries past. It is very near Giverny, Monet’s home in Normandy. A visit there will have to wait for another day. 

On this, my penultimate day, the destination is Forges-les-Eaux. I crossed the River Seine with a plan to go up over a range of hills to my destination. I hadn’t really prepared for any of the journeys properly, all the way from Orléans to Dieppe. This is where again my navigation skills came undone. The side roads made it difficult to make a direct route to Forge-les-Eaux unless you wanted to take a series of main roads. In the end I decided to head for Gourney-en-Bray which was signposted quite well. Once more I found myself on a high plateau of Normandy farmland with wheat field after wheat field and potato field after potato field going in all directions and now I had the wind almost completely against me again.   At Gournay-en-Bray I thought I would be able to follow the Avenue Verte signs but this was a bit of a failure as at one point I saw Avenue Verte signs pointing in four different directions at a small crossroads in the middle of the countryside so I gave up and headed for the main road. It was a tough ride with headwinds and getting colder by the hour.  

Having checked in at the hotel I thought I deserved a beer after all this. I went into a bar and joined a group of guys who were obviously having their evening drink after a working day. They called me the Viking! We had a great laugh! I guess I looked a bit weatherbeaten by this time!  

Day 22 – 10th June

 

My final day on my epic expedition from the south of France to Dieppe in the north!   I expected the ride to be easy, straight down the well-surfaced Avenue Verte at a distance of about 55 kilometres. I’m familiar with this route. Despite the weather forecast saying it was going to be a sunny day it was cloudy, overcast and chilly….. and I had a headwind! Not exactly what I wanted on the last day!

Some sunshine would have been very nice which finally arrived while I was on the front at Dieppe chatting to two French cyclists.  I boarded the ferry and the full sun came out once we’d left the harbour. We left the clouds behind and had a wonderful crossing with the sunshine and a gentle swell on the sea. Very pleasant. 

On the journey across I met a number of cyclists. Chatting to other cyclists about their journeys and where they’ve been is great fun and I really enjoyed it. I met one particular guy from Shoreham, John, who had also made an epic journey himself – 800 miles to Germany and back! Well done him!!  He had done lots of long-distance cycling on the continent.  I felt in good company.  The ferry arrived on a warm evening in Sussex, – the evening sky was lit up with the  orange afterglow of the sunset, and there was no wind to speak of so I sped my way up on a relatively quiet C7 road to Lewes.  There was just enough light for me to see my way around the many potholes. Yes,  I’m back in England !!

 

Day 14 to 17 – Stage 3 completed!

This is the final section before I leave the Loire valley

Day 14 – 2nd June, takes me from Bourbon-Lancy to Nevers. 82 km
Day 15 – Rest day
Day 16 – 4th June, is from Nevers to Sancerre. 78km
Day 17 – 5th June, is to Orléans which was quite a stretch for me at 126km (78 miles).

Day 14: Bourbon-Lancy to Nevers

Today I’m cycling from Bourbon-Lancy to Nevers. A journey of some 75 km.. The route itself is pretty dull as I am travelling on one of those typically French long straight roads. I tried to find the off road velo routes suggested by Google but I got nowhere. Each village I went through was disappointing because there were no cafes or patisseries to enjoy a morning coffee at and you know how I like my coffee stops.

As I have said before, this area is rather typical of a lot of this part of France, (having come away from the Alps) insofar as the villages are almost dead, which is very sad to see. At last I came upon a small village with a patisserie to my left. It looked closed, but since there were two touring bicycles outside I thought I had better stop and have a closer look and indeed it was open.

I went inside to order my coffee and a snack and saw the two cyclists who were seated having their morning coffee. We greeted each other and started to exchange views about the route. The most amazing thing is that the guy of this couple actually comes from the village in Germany where the ancestors of my grandfather lived!! That’s Winnenden, near Stuttgart. How amazing is that? The couple, Margret and Rainer, are cycling all the way from Lake Constance, where the EV6 starts, to the end of the Loire Valley route near Nantes, where the Loire flows into the sea. Wow! Well done them. They were jolly nice and gave me a donation for the Ukrainian cause. Thank you Margret and Rainer! It has now been paid in to the Ukrainian Hearts fund.

At Nevers, at my riverside hotel, I chatted to an old gentleman, Jean, who had a lovely little dog, Happy, his companion since his wife died, and we decided to dine together. We had a an enjoyable evening, talking about all sorts of matters, both around the world and locally in France. He was from Normandy, near Deauville, and was very much in favour of the continuing the D-Day Normandy landings celebrations. He was born in 1942 and so wouldn’t have remembered the landings, but his he said family were so grateful to the Allied soldiers who landed there to free France from tyranny. Many thousands losing their lives to free France, he said.

In part of his career he had been involved in setting up small specialist centres around France for Autistic children before the condition became a fully recognised medical condition.

Day 15 – Nevers

I looked around Nevers, which had once been the seat of the counts, later dukes of Nevers. This is the Ducal Palace:

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The Ducal Palace is very impressive, but sadly the walls to the medieval town are virtually all gone. Nevers is not quite like the chateaux in the lower part of the Loire River, and the town is a little run down in places. However, this stretch of the Loire is quite scenic. In the evening you can hear the frogs croaking in the reeds.

Day 16: Nevers to Sancerre

From here I followed the Euro velo route EV6. It was quite well marked whereas the previous Velo route 71 was not.

Unfortunately I got caught in the rain but I was determined to cycle up to the hilltop town of Sancerre. There was no chance of me getting invited into the chateau, ha ha!, but I did enjoy a glass of wine in the town square. The small town has a commanding view of the surrounding countryside and on its slopes and into the far distance are vineyards which make the Sancerre wine famous.

My hotel near Sancerre was absolutely unique. The old building with its beautiful light blue coloured shutters and ivy clad walls looked charming. Inside, the beamed ceiling seemed to say it was centuries old. It was run by a very lovely old lady. There were fresh cut flowers set out on a bench which she was arranging when I arrived.

I sat down to on a long dark oak carver dining table with just one other guest, Vincent. We had a really super chat. A most enjoyable person to spend the evening with over a glass of wine and a lovely meal. He is a book distributor and travels around this area visiting his clients. Thankfully bookshops in France are still very much treasured. He lives in the Loire Valley.

Day 17: Sancerre to Orléans.

I either cycled along canal paths or ‘levees’ (embankment to prevent flooding). On the way, I met up and cycled with Uli and Wolfgang (from Germany) for a while. Here we are at a viaduct , which was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the same man that designed the Eiffel tower in Paris:

They were another couple doing the EV6 all the way to the atlantic beyond Nantes. They had started from Freiburg in Germany. They were taking whatever accommodation was available to them each night. I’ve got to hand it to them! I prefer a cosy hotel.

On the way to Orléans I passed two chateaux, one of them at Sully where I made a stopover for a cup of coffee at a wonderful old cycle museum.

I also passed through Gien where my brother did fitness exercises while he was in the Army in the 1950s when he was stationed at Fontainebleau as part of the NATO military contingent. He told me a story about a bet which was placed about swimming across the river Loire which he took because he was a good swimmer but he was carried downstream and when he finally got out, without a costume, he had to walk up the riverbank completely naked, watched by the field workers , which were mostly women until he got back to where he had started!

The journey onward was tough and made worse by rainshowers and crosswinds. I arrived at my hotel at 8pm! I was shattered but very pleased that I had completed section 3 of this epic trip. Over 1000 km !!

Day 12 and 13: 31st May and 1st June 2025

Today, the 31st of May, I continue on the road above the Gorge Loire at first, then dow, away from Gorges de Loire to a much flatter landscape. Howeve, the ascent was still 677m. I covered 92km to my evening stopover.

The towns in this area were very disappointing. Many shops were closed. This is probably due to massive out-of-town shopping developments. This really is sad for life in the towns. A complete change from the Gorges de Loire and previous cycle rides. I crossed the Loire at Montrond-les-Bains on a superb cycle track bridge, which was a former railway line. I met a couple on the bridge who immediately recognised my Ukrainian flag badge and they gave a thumbs up.

I continued my journey along this much flatter landscape but decided to stay on a main road because the clouds were gathering and I didn’t want to be caught on a trackway in the rain. The road, although busy, offered a faster direct route. The sting in the tail of this cycle ride was the steep climb to the small hilltop village of Neulise. The clouds were gathering even more worrying were the winds. I was being buffeted around. Finally, I got to the town. There was just one bar open. I took refuge inside just before the heavens opened. I was lucky! Here, I met Herve, the owner of the bar/restaurant. We had an enjoyable chat. He had good English because he had spent his earlier life as a child in Burnley, in Lancashire.

Finally, the wind dropped and the rain eased so I said my goodbyes and completed the last 12 kilometres of my journey. Earlier in the day it had been very hot and after the rains the road surface was steaming!

At the cosy Logis de France hotel at Parigny I was offered traditional fare from the countryside, – either sheep’s brain or pig’s trotter!! I chose a small taster of pig’s trotter. A most convivial establishment. All round the meal was great.

The next day, 1st of June, I set off from the hotel and cycled into Roanne. I didn’t think much of this town, I must admit, so I was glad to be back onto the River Loire route. Firstly, I cycled alongside the Loire, and then alongside the Loire Canal. Very beautiful and tranquil.

After about an hour, one leaves the canal path at Briennon and crosses the River Loire to join an old railway line on which I travelled for many miles. The track was well surfaced and very smooth. Near Marcigny I stopped at an old railway station. One of the buildings had been renovated and turned into a cafe. Here I found myself in my seventh heaven, – an old railway line, (cycle path) , an old railway station and a cafe! The café au lait was one the best I have had. I also had a charcuterie and salad lunch here. I resisted the crêpes.

I could have stayed but there was still a long way to go. The railway line and canal path took me to my destination. In all, I had travelled a 100 km either on the river, canal or railway line. All completely off road. Cycling heaven!

Along the way i ha many reminders that I was in Charolais cattle country

My stay tonight is at the Grand Hôtel, Parc Thermal, Bourbon Lancy. On arrival I was told, being Sunday the spa facilities were closed. That’s probably why it was so cheap! Closure of bars and hotel restaurants on Sundays and even on weekdays, is a problem these days in France. Luckily my hotel restaurant was open albeit with a much reduced menu. Still I enjoyed staying in a once ‘grand’ hotel with all of its faded glory set in quiet park surroundings.

Stage 3 Begins! From the source of the River Loire to Orléans – about 500 km (over 300 miles)

Day 10 and 11: 29th and 30th of May.

We leave the source of the River Loire and Mont-Jean-de-Guerbière behind head down,
bar a few significant hills!! – 937m (over 3000ft) of ascent to le Puy-en-Velay. The actual journey started on the 28th as our hotel was downstream from Mont-Jean-de-Guerbière

The hotel was in a tiny village in a valley amidst the wooded hills. We were rather worried that the hotel didn’t exist since we couldn’t see a house for miles as we cycled down the road.

The next day on the 28th e continued in the remote woodland climbing up with far distant vistas.

Eventually we found ourselves coming down to le Puy-en-Velay

Here Jonathan left me to find his own way back to England as I was rather slow and he wanted to get back earlier than me.

The next day, the 30th of May I set off for the Gorges de Loire. 863m of ascent.

This is where the river Loire flows through some steep-sided gorges creating some stunning views of the escarpments and steep-sided wooded hills with the river flowing through the gorge.

This is probably the most dramatic part of the upper reaches of the Loire.

At Retournaguet I turn off from the gorge as there no paths or road next to the river
up onto the Balcon de Loire. This is a high road which follows the top of the gorge
all the way to Aurec-sur-Loire which is an ancient hilltop town wher the old fortified chateau has a commanding view of the river valley.

I crossed the river on a specially designed suspension bridge for pedestrians and cyclists. Unfortunately there was no accommodation available in the ancient town so I had to content myself with views of it.

I cycled away from the river to the outskirts of Saint Etienne for night’s stay. Quite different from the river gorge, this area was a busy urban area. It was like being in a suburb of London. I had a very nice chat with some people in a pub. They were interested in my cycling trip. Whether stopping for coffee or a beer I found the people on the whole journey welcoming. During dinner a a nearby restaurant my mobile battery ran out which I hadn’t noticed as I cycled away. I got lost but an Algerian couple came to the rescue and gave me directions.

Today, 26th May we start Stage 2 of our south to north 900+ mile journey through France.

Day 7 saw us start out from Grenoble and travel along the cycle path south alongside the River Isère. A superbly well marked cycle path with many good views of the river and steep hills beyond. For most of the 112km, I was following the river path.

This is a very popular cycle route, and we saw many travellers like ourselves. One German cyclist I spoke to said he was hoping to get to Avignon that day!

I passed two hydroelectric power stations where there’s a barrage across the river for renewable electricity generation.

Jonathan had gone on as he’s a lot faster than I am, but he’d given me the route so I could follow it on my Garmin.

I stopped at Vinay, which is a rural town near the river. Once, this was a heavy industrial town concerned with iron ore smelting. At a quintessentially French restaurant/bar, I had the most superb beef bourguignon for €17 euros, including a glass of wine & coffee. All very politely served for me sitting outside by the market square.

After some time, I had to leave the river route and head inland towards Valence. This is a very large city. Over 25 km to centre travelling through industrial areas with heavy road traffic. It might have been best to follow the river even though a longer route.

Day 6 (25th May) of our fundraising cycle ride

This completes Stage 1 of our 5 stage cycle journey through France.

Last night, we stayed at the Hotel de la Poste in Corps. A wonderfully traditional old hotel. The doors to the rooms even had original paintings on them of graceful scenes from the 18th century. I don’t think the hotel dated from that time, but it added added to the charm.

We had a traditional French style evening meal. We ordered the three course meal at €29 but also got a delicious appetiser and escargots!

After breakfast, I chatted to a couple, Marc and Agnes, in the street who had stopped and asked me where we were going. I also told them fundraising for a children’s hospital in Ukraine. They asked for the details of the website so they could make a donation.

We were soon off on our way. This was our final day in the Alps, and it didn’t let us down. Absolutely fantastic snow-capped mountain scenery!

The final run down into Grenoble was a little scary. We had over a 1000m of descent, and that was squeezed into a few kilometres.

Unfortunately, the only way down into Grenoble was via the main road with cars whizzing by. We had to be extremely careful. We stopped twice to let our brakes cool down.

Finally we succeeded in making our way to the city centre! That night, we toasted ourselves at finishing this important stage.

We had covered 395 km (245 miles) and made 5,638m (18,497 ft) of ascent!