Author Topic: France - Audax style touring advice required (Read 3397 times)

Bianchi Boy · « **on:** 01 December, 2016, 06:37:52 pm »

Hi

I am going with a friend to France next September and plan to do about 7 days audax style touring riding between 200 and 300km per day. This will involve taking as little as possible, staying in budget hotels or hostels, washing your own kit every night and riding until about 9pm.

I am really comfortable with doing this in the UK, but in France is a different matter. They do not have chip shops and in most places 24 hour garages that sell lots of food. The meal times are also quite set with a fixed lunch time. I have ridden when on holiday and while the food is very good in is only available until about 2pm and then again not until after 6pm.

I would like recommendations on accommodation and if other people have done this on how they have managed with food.

BB

Aunt Maud · « **Reply #1 on:** 01 December, 2016, 07:05:18 pm »

I camped in the municipal campsites and ate in restaurants and sit down boulangeries. There really wasn't any problem if I looked out for bakers in between mealtimes.

Socks · « **Reply #2 on:** 01 December, 2016, 07:10:48 pm »

Early morning bakers (not always obvious where they are - ask anyone who is carrying a paper bag or baguette). Croissants, pain au chocolat, croissants with almonds and stuff in - can't remember the proper name)

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #3 on:** 01 December, 2016, 07:45:28 pm »

Many pizza shops are open late into the night. There was one in a town along the Rhone that was absolutely perfect for our team to warm up near midnight during last year's Fleche Velocio. It will be a lot easier if your daily distances are closer to 200 than 300.

Samuel D · « **Reply #4 on:** 01 December, 2016, 08:42:06 pm »

McDonald’s are everywhere, open until late, and serve food throughout the day. If you’re doing over 200 km a day you’re probably not in the country for fine dining, right?

maxap · « **Reply #5 on:** 01 December, 2016, 09:20:17 pm »

Try out warmshowers.org for free and friendly accommodation and probably food. We live in the middle of France and usually have 5-6 visits from cyclists every year between May and October. I've used it myself when riding in the UK. Great experience. Bonne route.

Ian H · « **Reply #6 on:** 01 December, 2016, 09:54:27 pm »

I've never had a problem with accommodation, be it chambre d'hote, bar/hotel, or something a little grander. As long as you aim for some kind of conurbation towards the end of the day you should be fine.

mzjo · « **Reply #7 on:** 01 December, 2016, 10:13:39 pm »

It all depends where you are planning to go. The more populated areas of the north and north-west have always impressed me with the amount of activity late into the evening. Rural Charente you'll have a problem finding places open to eat in the evening at all. If you are using cheap commercial chain hotels there will usually be somewhere open to eat fairly close by (or good directions for take-out pizzas etc).

The reports on the website of the Amicale Diagonales de France (sorry I haven't got the URL to hand) should give a few clues. All the diagonalists are supposed to file a ride report with more or less detail and they are riding exactly the same distances and style as you will be.

A lot of town boulangeries now do fairly extensive sandwich and midday snack offers, usually with a menu (snack, desert, drink) which is not expensive and fairly rapid for lunchtime eating. Avoid anywhere with queues of 3ème age waiting to get their lunchtime cakes - it would be good but it is unlikely to be rapid!

mattc · « **Reply #8 on:** 02 December, 2016, 09:12:30 am »

Quote from: Samuel D on 01 December, 2016, 08:42:06 pm

McDonald’s are everywhere, open until late, and serve food throughout the day. If you’re doing over 200 km a day you’re probably not in the country for fine dining, right?

Apparently France has about the same number of outlets as the UK - but it's a lot bigger. Because they are not evenly spread, the UK has large McD-free zones - so France probably has even larger ones.

Of course you'll be fine at any decent-sized town. I think the trick in planning these trips is defining "decent" - as you don't want your route to be constrained to overly-populous areas, let alone ride across big cities. My experience says be prepared to carry a lot of provisions, so you can ride quite late, after eating early evening where that is the only option.

(If you're only riding for 6-7 hours these things aren't a problem!)

T42 · « **Reply #9 on:** 02 December, 2016, 11:11:44 am »

Diagonalistes: http://diagonales.homelinux.net/adf/?menu=1

In general, we aim for pizzerias and pâtisseries with sit-down space - salons de thé. Bakeries will sometimes be open from 6 a.m. but 7 a.m. is more likely. Use the yellow pages along the your route, they're pretty good and they usually list hours of business. They have an app, too. Hotels are good for an early breakfast, I've known one lay on a breakfast buffet for 40+ riders at a week's notice.

adenough · « **Reply #10 on:** 02 December, 2016, 08:06:45 pm »

If you are close to a decent sized town you can usually ring the local pizza joint and they will deliver just like the UK. We did it last year, no problem.

Bianchi Boy · « **Reply #11 on:** 02 December, 2016, 08:38:54 pm »

When people have done this have you booked all your accommodation up front, or have you winged it and seen if you can book up on the day?

When I have planned to ride until 9pm in the UK I have pre-booked so I have as little as possible to arrange. Basically eating and washing.

BB

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #12 on:** 02 December, 2016, 08:48:27 pm »

It depends where you are going. Some parts of France have become very empty.

L CC · « **Reply #13 on:** 03 December, 2016, 08:34:32 pm »

We pre-book with 'cancel up to 12 on the day of arrival'. Stop early for lunch to avoid the 2-6pm shut down. Never had a problem finding somewhere to eat in the evening, or a boulangerie for breakfast.

Ian H · « **Reply #14 on:** 03 December, 2016, 09:20:18 pm »

I've never bothered to pre-book.

mzjo · « **Reply #15 on:** 04 December, 2016, 10:48:00 am »

Quote from: fboab on 03 December, 2016, 08:34:32 pm

We pre-book with 'cancel up to 12 on the day of arrival'. Stop early for lunch to avoid the 2-6pm shut down. Never had a problem finding somewhere to eat in the evening, or a boulangerie for breakfast.

Doing credit card bookings you can cancel much later than this; we have done it recently (august this year) at 17h30 for a Premier Class hotel and I am sure that it was sometimes much later for B'nB when I used to use them for work (no penalty in case you are worried). The only thing is that sometimes the cancellation number is unavailable or you need an internet booking reference that is not the same as your reservation number and is about 30 digits long (the last time was at La Rochelle and we gave up on the phone and went and found the hotel; it was on our way home; cancellation no problem in person). They may have improved the internet cancellation system now, it was a few years ago. Nothing beats being able to phone the hotel directly but some of the chains now have centralised calling systems which are a bind and difficult to defeat.

rafletcher · « **Reply #16 on:** 04 December, 2016, 11:23:02 am »

I sometimes pre-booked if I was going to be late arriving, this was 30 years ago and there were plenty of hotels. Now as LWaB says, many areas are getting quite empty, with a town having perhaps one hotel instead of 2 or 3, some with none at all where in the past it wouldn't have been a problem. Food won't be an issue - even relatively small towns have supermarkets these days, but maybe not a hotel. So now, I'd pre-book. Oh and September might be conge annuel time for some hoteliers, and in wine regions the cheaper hosteleries might have pickers staying depending on the timing of the vend age, all situations I encountered from time to time.

mzjo · « **Reply #17 on:** 05 December, 2016, 09:30:01 pm »

The situation may have changed with the development of web booking but in the not so distant past the hotel chains had very useful little catalogues of all their hotels. With a copy of the three major hotel catalogues in hand and the necessary to bivvy in church porches and bus shelters I wouldn't bother about reserving long in advance. Just go, and ring up for a hotel about lunchtime.

You should be warned that with the development of out of town hotel and commercial zones sometimes hotel addresses bear little relation to the towns that they are serving. For example Zone Commercial de Beaulieu, Puilboreau is in fact La Rochelle. Similar situations abound in France. A lot of these zones, at least in the south, have accesses that are not particularly cycle friendly (or indeed tourist friendly).

Frank9755 · « **Reply #18 on:** 05 December, 2016, 10:56:15 pm »

On the Transcontinental, France is by far the hardest country in which to find food. During the evening you'll be fine in a town but during the day the main thing is to have plenty of room in your bag to stock up when you catch a shop open.
McDonald's do seem to be on the edge of most large and medium sized. I don't care for them but lots of people lived in their food for a couple days.
Also Monday is like Sunday in much of rural France, lots of places are closed.

Charlie Boy · « **Reply #19 on:** 10 December, 2016, 11:49:46 pm »

Rural France is closed for business. My advice would be to get something to eat at the first place you see. Don't think, 'it's only 11am, I'll find something in an hour' as you won't.

A baguette and a camembert will keep you going, especially if you buy a wholesome 'tradition' baguette - baked with nice seeds and wholemeal flour so will keep you going longer than a white one. £2 lunch instead of £4 bought sandwich.