Tag: France

Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring in France

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Bicycle Touring France: Sees to Courville-sur-Eure On This Day 28th August 2022 | Travelsonabike2

Travelsonabike2 this day 28th August 2022 Touring bike by sunflowers

Cycling France on This Day in 2022

My on this day bicycle touring blog post comes from France on the 28th of August 2022. I was on my way to Liechtenstein, but as seems to be the case in recent years, I wasn’t feeling so good.

Sunday, 28th August 2022, Sees to Courville-sur-Eure. 62 miles.

Well, I was going to stop another night in Sees after not having the best night’s sleep. I’m not too sure if it was the bright light just outside my tent that I was hoping would have gone off at some point, which it didn’t. Or the road that runs beside the campsite. Or does insomnia go with anaemia? But whatever it was, I didn’t sleep too well and woke up feeling tired. But after forcing myself to pack up and move, I felt okay.

Cathedral
The impressive cathedral (aren’t they all in France) in Sees

It’s been a relatively easy ride today, following the roads rather than cycle paths. However, there have been one or two hills. But nothing compared with the past two days. And the last ten miles of the day were downhill.

It’s a bit of a strange campsite tonight. It’s more like a prison! The gates are locked at seven o’clock and won’t open until nine o’clock tomorrow morning, unless I want to purchase a key for thirty-five euros. It looks like a late start tomorrow, then.

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Watch My YouTube Videos From My French Tour

Follow & Support Garry’s Bicycle Touring Adventures

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. For an insight into the gear and logistics behind this ride, see my Life at 10mph Guide.

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Bicycle Touring France: Saint-Andre-des-Eaux to Bannalec On This Day 26th June 2008 | Travelsonabike2

Travelsonabike2 this day 26th June 2008 Boats in water by cliff

Cycling France on This Day in 2008

My on this day bicycle touring post comes from France on the 26th of June 2008, and I’m on my first long-distance bike ride. A charity ride from Spain to England. How funny, looking back at today’s post. There’s not really much that has changed. Apart from how long it takes me to get going, and the distance cycled. You can read the rest of the posts from my first long-distance bike ride in my book, Bognor to Bilbao. Available to buy from Amazon.

Thursday 26th June. Saint-Andre-des-Eaux to Bannalec. 101 miles.

Today, I thought I’d tell you what a typical day is like. As you might tell, not much has been going on today. I generally get up between five and five-thirty when it’s still dark. I eat breakfast, which is coffee and usually a banana. Pack up my gear, take down the tent, and load the bike up. (My tent is generally packed away wet; I hope to stop early enough for it to dry out.) And I’m usually on the road at just gone seven.

I cycle for three hours, then stop for thirty minutes, where I have something to eat and drink. Which usually consists of a small bottle of Coke, fruit, nuts, a baguette and whatever else I can find at the local boulangerie: croissants, pain au chocolat, a slice of pizza, quiche or a cake. Somedays, when I’m feeling particularly peckish, I might have them all!

Doomed shaped building in park
Today’s place where I stopped for a break in Sainte-Anne-d’Auray

After my break, I’ll cycle for another three hours, stop again and eat more or less the same things as I’d eaten earlier.

I then cycle for another hour or two while looking for a supermarket to buy supplies for the evening. Supermarkets seem to be the only place where I can buy beer, which is essential after a long day in the saddle!

Once stocked up for the evening, I start looking for a campsite. That is, as long as I’ve cycled eighty miles, which I’ll work out in my head before looking at my cycle computer. I know my average pace is around ten miles an hour, so if I’ve cycled for eight hours, I’ll look. And even if I’m a mile short of eighty, I’ll continue cycling until I find the next campsite. That’s why some days, like today, I do more than eighty miles.

After setting up camp, I shower and wash my clothes at the same time as showering. It saves time. Shower out of the way, I head back to my tent and hang my clothes over the tent and guy ropes. They don’t dry very well, and I usually have to put the clothes on wet the following morning, but they soon dry.

Once I’ve hung the washing out, it’s time for supper. Supper eaten; I’ll clear up and wash my pots and pans. Then, finally, I’ll settle down to write my blog for the day. And depending on the time, I might read a couple of pages of my book. And retire to bed between eleven and twelve. Thank you all so much for your continued support. So far, I’ve managed to raise an incredible £2747 for St Wilfrid’s Hospice!

Explore More Of My Ride Around The World

Watch My YouTube Video From The Tour

Follow & Support Garry’s Bicycle Touring Adventures

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. For an insight into the gear and logistics behind this ride, see my Life at 10mph Guide.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

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Bicycle Touring France: Honfleur to Sainte-Marie-au-Bosc On This Day 5th June 2024 | Travelsonabike2

Garry McGivern bicycle touring France by the pretty port of Honfleur with boats and tall buildings

Cycling France on This Day in 2024

This week’s on this day bicycle touring blog post comes from France on the 5th of June 2024. And I’m cycling through France on my way to the Netherlands.

Wednesday, the 5th June 2024. Honfleur to Sainte-Marie-au-Bosc. 35 miles.

That was a struggle today. Hopefully, it’s only today, but my Myelopathy has really been playing up today.

I had a late start this morning, as it was raining when I woke up and continued to rain on and off for the next three hours. In the end, I gave up. When one of the breaks in the rain came, I quickly decamped and managed to pack away before the rain started again. In the end, I was only about an hour late getting on the road than I usually am. Maybe that’s why I’ve been struggling; I’m never very good at anything unless I start early.

Truck by path
Crossing the scary Mary Pont de Normandie
That Was An Experience

After leaving Honfleur, I had to negotiate the Pont de Normandie, which has never been a problem in the past. But it was today. One-half of the bridge was closed, and so was the cycle lane. I had to use the narrow cycle lane on the other side of the bridge. Thankfully, I never met another cyclist coming the other way. God knows how we would have passed each other. I found it a real struggle to cycle in the narrow lane. Which I know is because of my Myelopathy. There’s a short video on my YouTube channel of the crossing.

If I went too much, either way, I’d end up under some truck. I thought it was just going up the bridge that would be the problem. But it was just as bad going down the other side. I was glad to get off that bridge.

Roll On Tomorrow

I don’t know if it had something to do with that bridge. But I’ve struggled to cycle in a straight line all day. And no, I haven’t visited any bars before, you ask. I should have had a relatively straightforward ride after Le Havre, following the main road. But I just didn’t feel safe, weaving all over the place. So reluctantly, I took to the cycle route, which I found very annoying—going all around the houses. But it’s better to be annoyed with that. I might find being hit by a car more annoying! Hopefully, a good night’s sleep tonight will sort things out.

Explore More Of My Ride Through France

Watch My YouTube Video From Today’s Ride

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

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Cycling France: Paris to Pacy-sur-Eure On This Day 20th March 2019 | Travelsonabike2

Travelsonabike2 this day 20th-March-2019 Ornate building

Bicycle Touring France on this day in 2019

My on this day bicycle touring post comes from France on the 20th of March 2019. This ride took a long time to come. I’d been trying to get to France since April the previous year. Paris was a bit of a mess after some riots over the weekend, and I was a prime suspect for being part of them!

Wednesday, 20th March 2019. Paris to Pacy-sur-Eure. 61 miles.

Well, that was an enjoyable day, hard work but enjoyable. There’s been some steep climbs, as well as some long climbs that went on forever.

Paris was fun first thing this morning, although there was definitely something a bit different. It just didn’t feel the same, whether it’s because I’ve been there a few times now, I don’t know. Or maybe what I really think it was was the aftermath of the protests/riots that happened over the weekend! There was definitely a bad feeling in the air.

A boarded up shop
A boarded-up shop along the Champs-Élysées

Shops along the Champs-Élysées had smashed windows, other shops were boarded up, and there was debris all along the street, still waiting to be cleared up. And the mood along the Champs-Élysées seemed to reverberate around the whole city.

Speaking of the protests/riots, I think my choice of top probably wasn’t the best. I seemed to get a lot more thumbs up today. I even heard somebody at the hotel tonight, as I was checking in, say, “Gilet Jaunes!”

After leaving Paris, I went to Versailles and played the tourist there. Only from afar, though; you’re not allowed too close with a bike. After I’d finished prating around Versailles and decided to start cycling, it was gone midday. Not leaving a lot of time for cycling, but it doesn’t matter; as I said earlier, I’ve had an enjoyable day.

Explore More Of My Ride Around The World

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels