Overnight food in France

[jdsnape]

I'm planning an overnight ride in France (a loop around Brittany, so all pretty rural!) next week...if I was in the UK I'd find a few 24h garages to pick up food from on the overnight portion. I think I remember reading somewhere that France doesn't really have an equivalent, is that still right? I can find supermarkets that tend to shut around 7, then pizza/kebab places that shut around 9:30/10:00, but I've never tried that kind of food on a long ride before (I guess there's always a first time!).

[meddyg]

Sounds intriguing - what's the itinerary ?
No time to sit down for the full three courses, I suppose.
Lunchtime 'formule midi' / 'menu ouvrier' always good VFM
YACF has some French residents - maybe some en Bretagne who can advise

Bakeries open pretty early (6 or before) but short on savoury stuff.
"avez-vous quelque chose qui n'est pas sucré" yielded some little quiches without pastry crust .

You'll get a coffee in every bar and I've never had a problem bringing in a bag of croissants from the boulangerie...

[sizbut]

My memories of France, you also need to be alert to getting food before midday to 3'ish unless your route goes through a large town.

[Frank9755]

That's pretty much it.  You need to carry a decent amount of food with you - up to a day's worth.  Supermarkets now open on Sunday mornings which makes things easier, so you can generally hit a supermarket during the morning - unless you are very remote.

There are some convenience stores with longer hours, but not that many, and not as long hours as in the UK.  MacDonalds / Quick often have long hours - some are 24h. 

[chrisbainbridge]

Wot Frank said. Plus several litres of water extra at all times if they have a heat wave. In 2019 I was reduced to knocking on a house door. Whilst I got water it was touch and go. Fruit juice or some of the fruit teas make very palatable rehydration fluids and come in 1.5-2 litre bottles

[Frank9755]

I had to ask someone in their garden for water in May.  I carry three litres but had run out by early evening and had seen nowhere open for hours! 

[αdαmsκι]

I had to ask someone in their garden for water in May.

I have done this loads and loads of times in various places around the world and never had an issue. Just spot someone in the garden, and politely ask for some water. It's sometimes come with the insistence of food too!

Failing that I have sometimes used someones outdoor tap without asking, especially during siesta o'clock!

[Frank9755]

I've spent many an hour cycling around France trying to spot outdoor taps. Of course there are many, but very few are not behind locked gates, with dogs guarding them!

[Basil]

More often than not there are taps around the back of petrol stations.

[quixoticgeek]

More often than not there are taps around the back of petrol stations.

They can however often have the handle removed. You can get a universal key that works on them - https://amzn.to/3OouzfW

I have carried one for years, and it was very useful in Sweden for getting water when it was dark.

J

[quixoticgeek]

This thread I just posted may also be of use (the bit about OSMand):

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=4.0

J

[jdsnape]

Thanks all - I'm aiming to do a slightly ambitious 600, with a bivy stop somewhere a bit over half way round. The route's here if you're curious! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39976369?openShare=true&privacy_code

I think if I start early enough I can get away with a supermarket stop at Saint-Brieuc to stock up for overnight (the comment about water is a good one!). I think I will then be in Baud about the time that the bakeries open. Hopefully, the weather will be warm so less clothes in the bag == more pastries

[Frank9755]

More often than not there are taps around the back of petrol stations.

That's not my experience, and certainly not in France.

[Frank9755]

Thanks all - I'm aiming to do a slightly ambitious 600, with a bivy stop somewhere a bit over half way round. The route's here if you're curious! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39976369?openShare=true&privacy_code

I think if I start early enough I can get away with a supermarket stop at Saint-Brieuc to stock up for overnight (the comment about water is a good one!). I think I will then be in Baud about the time that the bakeries open. Hopefully, the weather will be warm so less clothes in the bag == more pastries

Looks like a good route! And sounds like a sensible stopping strategy.

[Pickled Onion]

Water - open streetmap, ie OSMAND or Maps.Me on the phone, search "drinking water" + show on map. If you find a public fountain/tap that's not on the map, return the favour by adding it. At least in France if you ask someone for water they won't insist on you sharing a few vodkas with them and get very upset if you decline.

Food - as above, cooked food can be a rarity in rural areas, and limited hours. I tend to pick up bread, cheese and tomatoes/onion, again open street map, "convenience store" often includes hours in places like France.

[Gattopardo]

My memories of France, you also need to be alert to getting food before midday to 3'ish unless your route goes through a large town.

And then why would you want a sandwich, from a shop called sandwich after 3pm

Honestly say most towns have something open early usually around 7.

That's pretty much it.  You need to carry a decent amount of food with you - up to a day's worth.  Supermarkets now open on Sunday mornings which makes things easier, so you can generally hit a supermarket during the morning - unless you are very remote.

There are some convenience stores with longer hours, but not that many, and not as long hours as in the UK.  MacDonalds / Quick often have long hours - some are 24h. 

  not found a 24hr Mcd or quick near monparnasse which is a major night bus hub.

But have found shops selling booze at three in the morning on a quite Paris street while walking to Monparnasse.

[quixoticgeek]

And then why would you want a sandwich, from a shop called sandwich after 3pm

In the town of sandwich. There is a shop, called "the sandwich shop" they sell sandwiches. I asked if they had bacon sandwiches. "I'm fed up with telling people there's no demand for bacon sandwiches"

I wonder if they are still in business...

J

[FifeingEejit]

They appear to have recently been visited by a crisp salesman

Sent from my IV2201 using Tapatalk

[Cudzoziemiec]

And then why would you want a sandwich, from a shop called sandwich after 3pm

In the town of sandwich. There is a shop, called "the sandwich shop" they sell sandwiches. I asked if they had bacon sandwiches. "I'm fed up with telling people there's no demand for bacon sandwiches"

I wonder if they are still in business...

J

Perhaps they will only make a bacon sandwich for the current pope?

[T42]

I've spent many an hour cycling around France trying to spot outdoor taps. Of course there are many, but very few are not behind locked gates, with dogs guarding them!

There's a tap in almost every cemetery so that people can water the flowers.  "Almost", because some have pumps, although I've only ever come across one of those.

For overnight grub get a pizza the night before, eat half and get them to wrap the other half in alu foil.  Other than that, Carrefour now have a network of small supermarkets open from 7:00 - 21:00.  We have one in the next village and I topped up on water in another on my last ride. 

[Gattopardo]

I complety forgot Pizza vending machines...will wander out a get a picture.

[mzjo]

I would expect overnight (like looking for sustenance at 3am) a bit difficult anywhere in the France that I know (the "profonde" bit) but you are more likely to find late night stuff (9-10pm) in Brittany than south of the Loire. Bigger towns may have a late night independant grocery/booze store but you may spend more time looking for it than you want to spare. Carrefour City/Market are the smaller local, later opening version of the supermarket - see also Casino/Petit Casino. I don't know what has happened to Spar, they must have died years ago. In Brittany you might have a bit of luck later in the evening with shops and bar-restos on campsites! (Also if looking for water!). Don't forget the crêperies, they are the Breton's answer to pizza parlours elsewhere in the civilized world.
I have now had it proved to me (on a ride that I organised  ) that water can be found in cemetaries although occasionally you might spend a while finding where the tap is. (Elsewhere in France, particularly mountainous bits, cattle troughs can be a useful resource). Also worth checking the départementale websites to see if there is a local cycletouring (or general tourist) plan with watering points on routes - not everywhere but there is for example in the Charente, although again finding the tap can be difficult.
All of this is difficult to plan if you are not local and very hit-and-miss if you can't plan it - but that's the fun of adventure (says he staying firmly in his armchair!)

[Pingu]

Lavoirs quite often have taps though the water may be 'untested'.

[Tom B]

There's a tap in almost every cemetery so that people can water the flowers.  "Almost", because some have pumps, although I've only ever come across one of those.

This has been my experience on several wide-ranging rides across France.
My reckoning was that when the cemetery serves a settlement of more than half a dozen houses reasonably close together, there is a 90% chance it will have mains water

[T42]

Lavoirs quite often have taps though the water may be 'untested'.

Useful snippet: the Law here dictates that any source of piped water available to the public may be considered potable unless otherwise indicated, so if you get ye shits after drinking from an unlabelled source you may sue.  Unfortunately a lot of villages find it cheaper to label pumps undrinkable than to get them regularly tested.

<Shameless digression>
A town near here has a lavoir consisting of a wooden platform suspended just above the surface of a river on chains.  Some years back the town council thought it would be a good idea to have their photo taken with them all assembled on the platform.  It was a great idea, in fact: the chains broke.
</Shameless digression>