In order to test my new Fillmore and also to get back in the saddle, I took the train to Brighton on Friday after work, rode from Brighton to Newhaven to catch the ferry at 2300hrs.
Next morning I rode from Dieppe to Rouen. Was foggy and cold, despite the weather forecast.
It took ages to get there, couldn't figure out why. Since this was my first longer ride on my new fixed, I hadn't fitted a computer yet. After coming back tonight I plotted the route on bikely and found it to be 97.5km instead of the 63km I'd reckoned it would be.
Almost bonked mid way through, ate loads of good pastry and bread in Cleres, beautiful town with great bakery.
Anyway, rolled into Rouen, got caught in some nasty traffic on a bridge, jumped off the bike and walked the rest of the way to the hotel (Ibis, Camp de Mars, excellent and clean)
After catching a nap in the afternoon I woke up with red eyes, which is why I didn't bed any beautiful French ladies, no doubt. Chickened out and took the noon train back to Dieppe, enjoyed the city in marvelous sunshine all afternoon.
Spent the day strolling/riding around Dieppe, which is a much nicer town than I'd thought. Rode from Newhaven back to Brighton and took the train to London.
Lesson learned: My new Fillmore is a great tourer, packs up quickly in the Tifosi/Velox bike bag (which took up half my luggage in weight). I'd mounted a fixed 16 tooth sprocket on the flip side of the hub, but the 18 tooth freewheel, giving 65 gear inches, turned out to be perfect. Not immensely fast, but good uphill, including a prolonged climb up Mont-Saint-Agnan into Rouen.
