Cycling France: O-de-Selle to Tergnier

My latest Low Countries bicycle tour update: cycling in France, O-de-Selle to Tergnier. 50 miles by Google. I really do need to concentrate a bit more. I’ve spent the majority of the day heading in the wrong direction! Well, not entirely in the wrong direction, I was just heading further north than I had to.

I think what happened is that originally I was heading for the first World War memorial at Thiepval, just north of Amiens. But then this morning I decided to give it a miss. But still headed for Saint-Quentin, which would have been the next major city to aim for after Thiepval. It all sounds a little confusing, which it was for me. But it’s all good now, and we’re back to more or less where we should be. Had there been a headwind instead of the nice tailwind today. I probably would have realised my mistake earlier, but I was quite happy being blown along.

Last night’s campsite had 88 children there on summer camp. And guess what, idiot pitched his tent next to them. They were still making a racket at gone 11 o’clock, although at 11.15 I think they were told to shut up and go to sleep, and fair dues to them they did. Tonight’s campsite looks even worse. I saw hundreds of students as I cycled in. But thankfully, they’re a bit further away from me tonight.

Haha, I can hear them singing Queen’s “we will rock you”. But that’s the only words they know. All I can hear is “We will, we will rock you. La la la la la la, we will, we will rock you!” And so on. I hope it doesn’t go on for too much longer, or I’ll have to go and teach them the words.

Turbines And Wheat

Much of the scenery today has been fields full of golden wheat, just waiting to be harvested and wind turbines. With the odd spattering of greenery or a field full of sunflowers. The only real traffic on the roads today has been combine harvesters and tractors, gathering in the wheat while the weather is good.

Speaking of the weather, I thought I was going to get some rain this morning. It was very black behind me, and I could see that it was raining in the distance. Luckily, though I managed to stay ahead of it and only had the odd spot.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I undertook this tour, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my route across the Low Countries
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

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. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.