Across France from le havre to metz, tips on D roads?

[Garga]

I've done several audax up to 200k and next summer I'm attempting a solo ride Bristol to heidelberg via the Portsmouth le havre ferry. Anyone out there who can advise on road cycling in France? I'm using Google to outline my route then dragging the route off major roads on to minor and d roads. I believe longer numbers mean quieter roads eg D10 would be a highway while D100 or D1000 more like a quietish A road or busy B road in the UK.?

Any ideas from seasoned French ride veterans appreciated!

[Pingu]

I'm not sure there are any hard and fast rules, but in the parts of France we've cycled in Dxxxx, D9x or D9xx roads seem to be more like A roads over here.

[Canardly]

French drivers in the main seem to be a bit more bike friendly, bike aware and more patient than over here, but unfortunately this now seems to disappear in major conurbations.

[Karla]

I've not had any problem with any of the D roads I've ridden on in France.  They might be like A roads in terms of quality of construction, but are much more like B roads in terms of traffic.

[Pickled Onion]

You might find it easier to plan on a paper map, it's a lot easier to judge from the colour (and width) of the road on the map than from google maps which changes as you zoom in and out. Pick up a Europe road atlas from your local bargain book store or pound shop.

As Karla says, the level of traffic on any road in France is much lower than its UK equivalent, but the more minor roads are usually pretty good for cycling and more scenic. Try to find a route that avoids or skirts any major town unless you particularly want to visit it.

[Veloman]

I did Cherbourg to the Med on a tandem using as many minor roads as possible as passenger does not like traffic and it was a great trip on quiet roads that were in good condition.

Very different to the UK.

[Pingu]

https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte

Click on the Cartes menu on the top-left to get the maps layer.

[benborp]

 The best rule of thumb I have for navigating unknown D roads in this corner of France is to go by the colour on Google maps. If it's not yellow then it is pleasant to ride on.

 The approach to moderate sized towns is trickier, as infrastructure is quite variable and quieter routes are frequently blocked by modern by-passes and the only points at which to traverse them are monster roundabouts.

 A fairly reliable, but laborious method is to use street view and/or aerial photos, although many minor roads aren't covered by street view and I know of a couple of instances that look very much like the old road passes under the new when, in reality, the old tarmac has just been torn up where it reaches the shoulder of the modern road.

 One pit-fall to be aware of on the edge of towns, is where a previous through-route passes through an industrial estate. These roads are frequently closed off and the barrier is often impervious to cyclists.

[mzjo]

A few years back a lot of routes nationales (with road numbers beginning Nxxx - or more correctly RNxxx) were reclassified to route départementale status, reflecting the state's endearing desire to make someone else (anyone would do) pay for the upkeep - typically the département (which is a sort of equivalent to an english county).
This meant that these roads had to be renumbered as routes départementales even though the locals will still refer to them as "the nationale". So round me we have the N20 which becomes the D120 (or 520, in some places). Further east the N89 (which runs from Bordeaux to Lyon) becomes the D1089 in the Corrèze and seamlessly evolves into the D2089 on entering the Puy de Dôme département.
Add to this that some small départementales are becoming ratruns and some of the converted nationales are now redundant due to parallel motorways or high speed dual-carriageways and the whole thing gets   very confused. Genuine small country départementales can however provide some excellent touring roads. In our part of the world the ancient RN20 is a very good touring road and very quiet (but the character changes up near Orleans where lorries use it to skip the motorway toll.

Note that RD numbers can and frequently do change at the départementale boundary. This can cause headaches if you are trying to follow them as a cross-country route. A bit of preparation on paper will work wonders

[tatanab]

In recent years I've ridden across to Switzerland and back, and also down to the Med and back among many other tours in France.  All on minor roads.  Do not forget the R, C and V roads as well as D, they are often useful and are like our small lanes often have the grass ridge down the middle.  As has been noted, D6xxx D7xx and D9xxx tend to be new roads and are likely to have more traffic, and perhaps a better surface.  Any road that is a direct link between cities/large towns is likely to be busier, but you can pick and chose when you use these roads.  I've used what should have been a busy road, but at 6 am on a Sunday it gave me a rapid first 30 miles.

Don't worry  about it.  If a road gets a bit busy, turn off and detour a bit since there is probably a lanes route nearby.  All of this is far easier for those of us who use paper maps and "just go" versus the modern way of following a pre-planned route on electronic devices. I ride on my own with nothing booked so it doesn't matter what I chose to do.  If in a group, or if you have precooked accommodation it could be a different matter.

[psyclist]

... or if you have precooked accommodation

Images of a gingerbread house in the forest spring to mind

[T42]

Streetview is your friend.  D-road == good surface is something you can forget, too: they are often surfaced in chip & seal, or - not infrequently - a worn mess of tarmac and old chip & seal that jars your hands and rattles your teeth.  The smaller back roads can be good, but if they cut through forest be ready for potholes.

Beware of former Routes Nationales.  I have a UAF Strasbourg-Paris-Strasbourg route sheet from the 90s that happily took a pack of riders across the country on Nationales. Xou can't do that any more. Nowadays they're often 4-lane dual carriageways, which are automatically off-limits for bikes.  The only exception to this is if there is no alternative route.

This sounds pretty dire, but it's not that bad - the above is pretty well the worst you'll meet.  If in doubt, Streetview will usually show you what's what.