Aventures Bicyclétales ...

country overview, map and followed itinerary, the journal with the best pictures, the highlight, what I liked / didn't like, useful information.
.

Country overview (as of June 2009)

• Capital city : Paris.
• Area : 675,417 km2.
• Population : ~ 64 million inhabitants.
• Density : 95 inhabitants / km2. 

• Language : French.
• Religions : Catholicism (65%), Atheism (25%), Islam (5%), Protestantism (3%) and others (2%).
• Human Development Index (HDI) : 0.955, the 11th country out of 177. What is HDI ?

• Government : Republic.
• President : Nicolas Sarkozy (since May 2007).
• Prime minister : François Fillon (since May 2007).

• Growth rate in 2007 : 1.8%.
• Currency : Euro.
• Main imports : oil, machines, equipment, vehicles and consumer goods.
• Main exports : farming products, telecom & electronic equipment, cars, planes and arms.

France map and followed itinerary (in green)




The travel journal in France with the best pictures :

• around Nice, visiting the primary school of Vence,
• Castellane - Digne-les-Bains,
• Digne - Gap - Grenoble,
• Lyon (stopping by Vélonaute),
• l'Auvergne via Allanche,
• le Limousin,
• la Région Centre,
• arriving in Châteaudun !
• a few days later, visiting the primary school of Jallans.

Sunday the 31st of May : 11.45 AM, Vintimiglia, Italy. Christophe has just arrived on his yellow bicycle ! After Grégoire in Bosnia, he’s the second friend I meet on my way, and it’s a great moment ...

France is now only a couple of kilometers away, I think I can see it from where I am … and we cross the border together just a few minutes later. The Mediterranean Sea is on my left handside and we soon reach Nice, its famous “baie des anges” and its even more famous “promenade des Anglais” (see below).




Monday the 1st – Wednesday the 3rd of June : I am staying at Christophe and Brigitte’s place in Villeneuve Loubet. I am preparing a presentation for the conference I will hold next Thursday in Vence ... and as shown on the flyers prepared by Christophe’s young students, it's going to be “Fred’s conference” !!

   


Thursday the 4th of June : this morning I’m going back to school … by bicycle of course. From Villeneuve Loubet to Vence, it’s only 10 km … but it’s uphill, so I am a few minutes late when I arrive at Vence’s primary school. There, in the middle of the playground, I am welcomed by Christophe’s class and quite a lot of other kids … they have been expecting me for quite a while and they have A LOT of questions to ask me !



And this afternoon … the whole class is going out with bicycles for a 9 km mini-trip around the village of Vence !



I’ve spent the whole day at school, and one thing is for sure : kids do have a lot of energy, certainly more than I do … but my day is not over yet, and tonight this is my first conference ! Thanks to an interested and forgiving audience, it goes very well … which is quite reassuring since there is already a second conference scheduled next week in Lyon !

It’s now 10.30 PM, and it’s already dark outside. Christophe closes the school gate, and we ride down in silence back to his home. It’s been a fabulous day, one I won’t forget anytime soon.


Friday the 5th of June : it’s time to go … and this morning I am riding to Castellane via the Gorges du Loup, the village of Gréolières (below) and the Luens pass (1,054 m). The weather is so-so …



… and a few drops of water fall here and there. But whatever the weather, it’s secondary today, because today, or tonight should I say, I will meet up with my parents and my uncle Dominique.


Saturday the 6th – Tuesday the 9th of June : second stop in France, we stay in Castellane for a few days. 

We did not do much, but we talked a lot … and we also watched the clouds in the sky taking shapes and varying colors. It was quality time, and it’s all that matters.






Wednesday the 10th of June : we are leaving Castellane this morning as a family, each of us on a bicycle … and we start right away with the climb towards Les Leques pass (1,148 m). Below, my mother and my uncle ...



Below, a place called "La Clue de Taulanne" ...



20 km later, all downhill from the pass, we reach the small town of Barrême where we make a stop for lunch. There, a small sign on the side of the road says : “Napoléon Ist spent a night in this house in 1815, at the beginning of the Hundred Days.”

The Hundred Days of Napoleon marked the period between Napoleon Bonaparte's return from exile on Elba (1st of March 1815), his journey up to Paris (along what is now called the Route Napoleon), and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815 (a period of 111 days). This period is also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, and includes the Waterloo Campaign.

Below, riding towards the Corobin pass (1,230 m) and Digne-les-Bains, along the Route Napoleon, and with my father …






Thursday the 11th of June : my parents and my uncle are leaving today back to their respective homes up in the north, but the family reunion is not over yet since my grand-cousin Jean-Paul arrives today and will accompany me for the next two days.


Friday the 12th of June : we are heading for Gap this morning ! I am riding with Jean-Paul of course, but also with his two friends Paul and Eric ...





The day goes smoothly with very scenic views of the Alps, and we arrive in Gap by the end of the afternoon … right on time to pick-up my friend Olivier at the railway station (6.30 PM) and send Jean-Paul home (6.42 PM) by the exact same train ! The timing is pure perfect.


Saturday the 13th of June : Olivier has joined me for today’s leg, from Gap to Grenoble, a leg quite similar to yesterday’s, with 120 km to ride and about 1,500 m to climb. Nothing impossible here … but still it requires a bit of training to enjoy it.

Below, after the Bayard pass (1,246 m), next to the fountain in the village of La Mure …



The road is pretty … but unfortunately it’s very busy with a lot of traffic. It’s quite dangerous actually, and several over-aggressive drivers tend to scare us with their last second full speed honking … and, which usually goes together, with the too few centimeters of room left between us and their car ! It feels intentional actually, and some of those moron even go all the way, proud of their stupidity and lack of respect for others, by insulting us !! Yes, it never happened before, but in France, yes, it happened !

It's just a bad day ... and fortunately it's not like this everyday ... but one may wonder what's wrong with these people ?

Back on the Route Napoleon … we come accross a statue of Napoleon on his horse, next to the famous Prairie de la Rencontre, a place where history took a decisive turn on the 7th of march 1815, when Napoleon was stopped by an army sent by the King of France … and where he successfully convinced the soldiers to walk by his side.




Sunday the 14th of June : it’s a resting day today, with a picnic, a concert … and also some hiking in the mountains !

Below, a traditional wooden raft going down the Isere River in Grenoble.
 

Monday the 15th of June : I am riding this morning along the Isere River on a GREAT bicycle path … it’s as close to perfection as it can be, far away from the road, the cars and the retarded motorists, with a nice layer on top, without holes and bumps, really wide and ... with direction signs posted at each intersection ! I am dreaming ... I had no idea this was possible ! Unfortunately the bicycle path does not last long, about 20 km only, but to continue in the direction of Lyon, I can also ride on very quiet back roads and it’s nearly as enjoyable. Below, the pond of Les Trouillères ...

Lyon is not far anymore … I have reached the suburbs of Mions and Bron, and here I am on the “Avenue des Frères Lumière” (who contributed to the invention of the cinematographe in Lyon in 1895). The closer I get to the city center, the fewer cars I see in the streets and the more bicycles I see around me. Lyon is one those smart cities who decided to tackle air pollution and city center congestion by promoting the use of bicycles … In Lyon, it's not a coincidence, I have been invited by Laurent who recently created Velonaute, a brand, a shop and above all a concept dedicated to cycling solutions for all. Click here to access  Velonaute website. Tuesday the 16th of June : Lyon, the 3rd largest city of France with 600,000 inhabitants, is a very pleasant city with its clean air and all its bicycles. It’s not one of those oppressing city ... and one can feel immediately the difference. Below, the city hall on la place des Terreaux.

As mentioned earlier, my visit in Lyon is also the opportunity to hold a second conference, this time organized in partnership with Velonaute and the bookshop Raconte-moi la Terre (which literally means “tell me about the planet”).

Below, the sunset over the Fourviere hill ... and tonight Châteaudun is only 10 days away, the end of the journey is getting really near.

Wednesday the 17th of June : I leave Lyon this morning through les Monts du Lyonnais … there are some major climbs ahead, but the road is really scenic and quiet.

 

It’s a joy to ride far from the traffic, and tonight I camp along the woods near a village called Craponne sur Arzon …



How could it be more pretty ?




Thursday the 18th of June : there are a few more hills before Allanche where a few friends are expecting me. It’s a warm day and by mid-afternoon, it's with a certain relief that I welcome the dark clouds and the rain …





Within a few minutes the temperatures drop by 10 degrees down to 20 Celsius only, and it feels more comfortable.

I am now in Massiac, 26 km away from Allanche, and I expect to meet my friend Laurent (not the same Laurent as in Lyon) sometime soon on this last bit of road … Laurent is riding the other way towards me … and we finally see each other near the top of the Baladour pass (1,207 m). It’s nice, really nice to see each other again.

And when we arrive in Allanche, the welcoming committee is at the ready : Françoise and Jeanne, but also Laurent's parents.


Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th of June : Allanche is a small town of about a 1,000 inhabitants located on a plateau at an elevation of 986 meters ; it’s part of the Auvergne region … it’s a cold and windy place … but the purity of the air has no equivalent elsewhere.



It’s a relaxing place, no doubt why our friends are so keen to come and visit this week-end : Guillaume and Virginie with their two little daughters Emma and Margot … and also Flavien and Jana.




Sunday the 21st of June : longest day of the year and first day of the summer, it’s only 14 Celsius when I leave at 2.00 PM.

Below, from left to right, Guillaume, Laurent, Virginie and Françoise.

 

It’s cold but I warm up quickly … and I can appreciate a unique landscape made of small volcanic hills and plateau.



Unsurprisingly, most of the activity around here comes from livestock farming …



I ride towards Bort-les-Orgues through the quiet Gorges de la Rhue, and tonight I set up my campsite near Ussel. I rode 75 km today, and it’s not too bad for just half a day. Châteaudun is now less than 500 km away …


Monday the 22nd of June : I am going down gradually and constantly today, the hills of Auvergne are over and I am now riding in the Limousin region.

Below, the church from Courteix, built during the 12th century …



A little bit further I come accross the military camp of La Courtine … one of the largest military camp in France, with a housing capacity of 4,000 soldiers and a “playground” of 6,300 ha. The roads going through the camp are open to the traffic, so I try …



The signs forbidding access to anything else than the road become a bit intimidating after a while … the place is uninhabited, everything is quiet … so quiet that some wild animals, such as this fox, do not bother taking their rabbit-lunch just by the road.



15 km later I exit the military camp … and I continue through the countryside, overwhelmingly dedicated to cow livestock farming. Just for the record, there are about 20 million cows in France, which represents roughly one cow for three people in the country !



Why am I talking about cows ? Because with 1.5 billion cows worldwide, livestock farming contributes directly and indirectly to 18% of the total greenhouse gases emissions (data extracted from a study of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). A second data aimed at giving an idea of the extent of the phenomenon, just imagine that today, we reached a point where livestock use 30 percent of the earth’s entire land surface.




Tuesday the 23rd of June : I ride the last kilometers in the Limousin Region this morning and now comes the Region Centre, MY region … I have never been this close from home !



I continue to ride up north, the landscapes have changed dramatically over the last few days, there is no more hills but only flat crop fields as far as the eyes can see …



... which isn't exactly ideal in terms of biodiversity …



Tonight I stop in the tiny village of Anjouin (340 inhabitants) where live my Great-Aunt Denise and her husband Gérard.




Below, the village of St Aignan …



... and the village of Montrichard from a bridge going across the Cher River ...



… where ducklings learn how to paddle.



The leg is rather easy, the sun is shining, the wind is pushing … and I can really sit back and enjoy myself.

Below, the Cher River next to Veretz, only a few kilometers away from Tours ...




Thursday the 25th of June : after an excellent evening at Frédéric and Pascale’s place (and Léna) and a short night … everybody is going to work this morning (below on the left). Fred, who recently adopted the bicycle to commute, shows me the way to the TGV train station where Damien (below on the right), who has just arrived from Paris, is waiting for me.



Damien will ride the last two legs of the journey with me : today from Tours to Vendôme (75 km) and tomorrow from Vendôme to Châteaudun (50 km).



Finding a way out of Tours is not that easy but we finally do it, we cross the Loire River (above) near Vouvray and we continue north by the smaller towns of Château-Renault, Saunay, Villeporcher, St Gourgon and Crucheray …



Tonight, there are only 50 km left to ride before Châteaudun ...


Friday the 26th of June : we leave early this morning … we are expected at 11.00 AM in front of the city hall of Châteaudun. I say “we” because today I’m not riding alone, there is Damien with me of course, but also my Father, Pierrot, Henri, Fred, Gonzalo, Jacky, 4 other cyclists from the Vendôme cycling club … and then half an hour later another 15 extra cyclists from the Châteaudun cycling club, and then 10 more, and another 10 more, among whom my Mother, my Aunt Josianne, my Uncle Jacques, my Uncle Dominique and also Michele. We are about 50 when we arrive in Châteaudun ! 50 people cycling with me ... and around me ... it's quite an amazing emotion.





The last few kilometers before Châteaudun are very familiar of course, I’ve been riding here since I was a kid : Montigny-le-Ganelon and its castle, the Loir valley, Saint Hilaire-sur-Yerre, Douy, the small forest, the slope of Thoreau, les Recollets … and Châteaudun ! Châteaudun, where some people are expecting me in front of the city hall (below) ...



Family, friends, neighbors, cyclists, medias, politicians and strangers … they all gathered here to welcome me home. It’s hard to describe … but God it feels good !



Below with my parents and my Grand-mother Edith (90 on the 4th of July).



It's good to be back home ... really good ...



Tuesday the 30th of June : as promised, and before schools close for summer vacations, I visit this afternoon the primary school of Jallans (located 2 km away from Châteaudun) and the class of my cousin Sandrine ...



… where of course, the kids have zillion questions to ask me …


Beginning of July : first of all, I would like to reassure those worried about a possible post-travelling blues … no, no, no, no such thing, no blues, no sadness and no regrets, but instead the huge satisfaction of having happily accomplished my project, and the never-ending joy of spending time with my friends and relatives here.

Summer is a great season, so let's take this opportunity to ride our bicycles and dream a little …



… in the middle of some wheat fields here in France, or rice paddies in Thailand, or elsewhere, it doesn’t matter …



... what matters is the dream and what we do with it !




The highlight in France

Undeniably the hospitality, which I would like to qualify as absolutely exceptional. From friends to friends, from relatives to relatives, from friends’ relatives to relatives’ friends, but also from friends’ friends to people I barely know … I’ve been taken care of with great generosity. This last month on the road was fabulous, and I would like to thank here all the people who have contributed to make it happen. Thank you all …




What I liked / didn't like in France

I liked	I did not like
the amazing landscapes … around the mountains or in the  countryside	some uncivilized aggressive and dangerous behaviors on the road
small villages, their churches and their castles ...	the carcinogen dark smokes from most diesel vehicles
Lyon, a large city with more bicycles than cars	the too many loud scooters
the food, the cheese, wine and bread, definitely among the very best	super and hypermarkets ... killing all the small shops of the small towns
chitchatting with the locals at the bakery	the too few bicycles used in medium-sized towns
wildlife conservation ... in some places	-
the unmatched prettiness of the skies and clouds in Beauce	-

Useful information about France :