The plan was to take the Thursday overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Outsterham carrying on our backs as much kit as we'd need for three days riding and return on the Sunday afternoon sailing. Le club de cafe tour de Normande went pretty much like clockwork.
Four of us coffee clubbers joined the tour and checked in for the sailing at 9:00 pm. The UK staff were great in finding us cover pending the on boarding, but as we wound our way closer to the ferry, the Brittany Ferry load master lost the plot and disgustingly left around 20 cyclists freezing the late night air and choking on lorry fumes, to the very end. It was gone 10:30 pm that we actually made our way up the boarding ramp to find that the area set aside for bikes was no more than 10 metres inside the doors, it made no sense as to why we were left until the end! It was, however, the only downer of the weekend and probably befitting that it should have been on the British leg!
After 4 hours kip on the overnight sailing, we disembarked and pedalled no more than a mile to the hotel. The greeting we received from the Best Western La Mare was the best ever. They secured our bags without a second thought and were welcoming without fault throughout the weekend. Us four Coffee Clubbers then took a 60 mile ride along the D-Day beaches to Bayeux and back, a route I've taken a number times over the years by car, but this was totally different experience. Flat smooth asphalt was a joy to cycle and we ate up the miles with as much gusto as we did the French cuisine and friendship.
On day two, we continued our little French excursion, by heading further south via Thury-Harcourt to Falaise, William the Conqueror’s birth place. It was a long day in the saddle with just shy of 90 miles covered. Thury-Harcourt was packed with firemen and their engines for some major event but oddly we found little evidence of its twinning with Seaton, even the Tourist Centre seemed unaware of it - though it could have been us losing something in translation! Having climbed out of Clecy we were met by a route barrée and an official blocking our path. We had omitted to check the closed road rallying calendar! Luckily, our persistence and eloquent French worked its magic and we were permittedto continue to Falaise; there was no way we could contemplate repeating that epic climb via an alternate route. Weather was perfect, seeing kit shed through the day leaving us in short sleeves by the end.
Day three, Sunday and our last morning in France, saw the Coffee Clubbers’ retrace the best of the route we took on Friday. We’d amazingly avoided the rain since arriving but all forecasts agreed we’d have a wet ride if we were to venture out on this last day. We unanimously agreed however that recent coffee club rides had prepared us for anything nature could throw at us, so we were riding!
We remained dry for the first half of our 30 mile morning spin but after stopping for lunch, the heavens opened and we were assured a soggy ride to the ferry. In a total reversal of fortunes experienced at Portsmouth where - it seemed through spite alone - cyclists were left ‘till last to board, the Ousterham Brittany Ferry staff took pity on us soaked Pedallers and directed us to board before the cars had even lined up! We chose to buy a cabin to change and thaw out .. a highly recommended plan if you ever find yourself in a similar position.
France was, as expected, an amazing place to cycle. The culture of giving way to cyclists and respecting safe passing distances was a breath of fresh air and the infrastructure of cycle paths clear of debris and smother that the standard road surfaces something I can only wish the UK highways agencies would take to board.
We're now already discussing where we should go next year, and with the time available, we could even see an agreement on a Majorca excursion! Sadly, it's interesting how we're not thinking of a local destination, I wonder what difference Brexit will make. Watch this space .. on all counts!
