cycle touring in France

[chrisbainbridge]

I am planning a trip to France!!!!  First time cycle touring so rather excited.  I am catching the ferry to St Malo on night of 7/7/19 and then catching the ferry home again on afternoon of 13/7/19 giving me 5 full days of cycling.  I am not booking hotels in advance and will take bag. divvy and thermarest but expect to spend most nights on a comfortable bed.

Looking at about 600km all told but may be more.  I am planning long lunches and lots of Kir Breton in the evenings.

I am very happy with my packing, bike, garmin, etc.

Is there anything else I should know about cycling like this in France or just stop worrying and enjoy myself?

[Kim]

They only have one sandwich, everything's closed on Sundays, and they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Enjoy 

[andyoxon]

We made the mistake of going cycle touring in Brittany in August, not booking or taking tents.  Dinan is very nice.  Offices de Tourisme are/were helpful re accomodation. 

[quixoticgeek]

Don't forget the hivi if you're planning on cycling at night outside of urban areas...

Don't wear headphones when cycling.

Good luck!

J

[chrisbainbridge]

They only have one sandwich, everything's closed on Sundays, and they drive on the wrong side of the road.

I am deliberately avoiding a Sunday

Don't forget the hivi if you're planning on cycling at night outside of urban areas...

Don't wear headphones when cycling.

Thank you, I will get a hi-viz.  I tend to not listen to music anyway but thank you.

We made the mistake of going cycle touring in Brittany in August, not booking or taking tents

Hence the bevy but I can afford a bit of swank and they tend to have small rooms free, however i may book one hotel for the middle of the week, thank you

[hatler]

If quality of food is important, do a little research before choosing the evening's eaterie.
Don't expect to get served tucker as late as you can in the UK.
Brittany is pretty hilly.

[Canardly]

Envious, enjoy. Peak season in that there France tho' but and the pound has taken a hammering. Be prepared to literally shop around. Stay away from the tourist traps and go local. Walk around a supermarket to get a handle of the cost of everyday items. If the budget allows.... food paradise.

[Torslanda]

If you're eating roadside at lunchtime look for small provincial eateries with lots of works vehicles parked outside - road menders, utilities, tradesmen, stuff like that.

That way you can be certain the 'Plat du Jour' is both excellent quality and value for money.

'Lunch' is a whole other concept, too. A couple of hours, especially if it's warm weather.

BTW not quite everything is closed on Sundays, bakeries & patisseries - but you need to get there early - and the larger supermarkets - Carrefour, Intermarché, LeClerc etc - but only until lunchtime and only in bigger towns...

[sg37409]

I have similar plans for a week in Brittany in late august. I'll be camping though. Craon, Josselyn, Chateaulin, and then north back along the coast.
Food and taking it easy are the order of the day for me.

[mzjo]

A lot of supermarkets are now opening sunday mornings. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an easy rule for knowing which ones, other than watching where the cars are going.
+1 for watching for the bar-restos with queues of lorries and utility vehicles parked outside (but you may be asked to share a table). Another good sign is if the gendarmes or the pompiers are seen entering, they generally know the good places on their beat!

In Brittany there should be enough small family restos available to avoid the chain stuff (and they will frequently be cheaper!). Creperies are a good bet, it's not just puddings and sweets. The cider should be good but not in the same style as UK.

Formula1 hotels are handy if you are near big peripheral commercial centres because you should not have a problem taking your bike into the room - not always the case with the more expensive options. If you want comfort and local colour chambre  d'hôte is a good alternative but you will have to prepare your coup in advance and almost certainly eat out (and may be fully booked in july/august but don't bet on it).

Depending on where you are there will probably be a few bars open in the afternoon if you get thirsty for a beer in the heat!

Hi-viz is available cheaply in supermarkets but don't bother unless you are going to need it, it stays light late in the summer (already up to 9pm in the limousin, later further north) so riding in fog will be the most likely reason.

Bienvenue

[Cpt Sisko]

I, rather we did a tour with Tandem in France a few years back. Ferry to Cherbourg, back from St Malo. Didn't book a thing, just turned up on spec and usually found accomodation pretty easily. The one day we did have trouble we actually used LastMinute.com (using the UK website) and booked something in the next town along as the place we'd intended to stay at was having a festival and was packed.

French drivers, very good. Great respect for cyclist. French trains, you might think it's cheating, but if you need to, dead easy. Lastly, I don't know what your level of French is like, but they do appreciate the effort even if the pronounciation isn't very good.

[Kim]

Lastly, I don't know what your level of French is like, but they do appreciate the effort even if the pronounciation isn't very good.

They were surprisingly sympathetic at my attempts to speak French coming out in a mixture of BSL and German.  My brain only seems to have room for one additional language.   

[mzjo]

Lastly, I don't know what your level of French is like, but they do appreciate the effort even if the pronounciation isn't very good.

They were surprisingly sympathetic at my attempts to speak French coming out in a mixture of BSL and German.  My brain only seems to have room for one additional language.   

Just remember that it is "Bonjour" when you go into the bakery, "ca sera tout" when your order is complete, "merci" in the correct places (which should be obvious) and "Bonne journée" when you leave. Politeness indicates that you say "Messieurs, mes dames" as a greeting to all present when you enter but it is a habit I have never got into (too shy, I think) even after 30 years. Speaking with a real french accent is not necessary, providing you can be understood; my accent is very churchillian but I am understood and given to believe that some even find it seductive! On the whole the french appreciate the effort to speak their language, which may have something to do with all those visitors that don't make the effort!

[chrisbainbridge]

My French is rusty but usually returns quite quickly. It is a benefit of a father who lived in France for many years.

One of the big advantages of the Brittany ferries on the St Malo route is the really excellent dining room. We always thought France started as soon as we got into the dining room and tasted the Normandy butter on the roll!