EuroVelo 6 - some noob questions

[RobinS]

I'm going now to hijack my own thread in preparation for the next stage - the EV6 part that is France. My son is very enthusiastic and wants to do it in one installment, and I kind of go along with it - I wouldn't mind doing a lengthier adventure either.

So the idea is to get somehow to Saint-Brevin-les-Pins and ride along EV6 to Mulhouse, where optionally switch over to EV15 and continue to Strassbourg.

The first question is, of course, when to do it. The options are either early April, starting around 4th, during the Passover vacation at school, or some time in the summer, starting in July, when the school is over (he graduates next year). I am, of course, concerned with the weather in France in April. Formerly, it would seem immediately clear that July is the better option, but with the current state of affairs I'm no longer sure. After all, you can layer up for cold and even for rain, but there's no escaping the heat. Your thoughts, ladies and gentlemen?

The second question (I'm just musing aloud now) is the daily distance. We've just done days of 80+ km with sizeable climbs, so given the rather flat course, I'm thinking 100km days are entirely reasonable. This will bring us to 12 riding days, which is just right in terms of the Passover school vacation.

Accommodations. We plan to mostly camp, booking a hotel a couple of times for a respite from the tent life. I'm thinking of bringing the cooking gear but mostly as a backup - I wouldn't want to miss on French cooking.

Any thoughts? Advice? Suggestions?

The ideal time for this would be May/June, but that doesn't seem to be an option for you! Weather is weather, and can be variable, but camping is the biggest issue. Many sites in France are not open until the end of April/early May, and from the weekend nearest 14th July get VERY busy. When we did this bit of EV6 we rode from St Malo, then followed the EV6 across France and beyond. We left St Malo beginning of May, 6 days to Nantes, then eastwards (we had done the bit to the Atlantic before) on as far as Bratislava before turning homewards.
Given your two choices I would probably choose April rather than crowded July but you will need to research opening dates of all the campsites in advance - can be checked on https://www.campingfrance.com/uk

 

[dimrub]

The ideal time for this would be May/June, but that doesn't seem to be an option for you! Weather is weather, and can be variable, but camping is the biggest issue. Many sites in France are not open until the end of April/early May, and from the weekend nearest 14th July get VERY busy. When we did this bit of EV6 we rode from St Malo, then followed the EV6 across France and beyond. We left St Malo beginning of May, 6 days to Nantes, then eastwards (we had done the bit to the Atlantic before) on as far as Bratislava before turning homewards.
Given your two choices I would probably choose April rather than crowded July but you will need to research opening dates of all the campsites in advance - can be checked on https://www.campingfrance.com/uk

Ah, I haven't considered the camp sites opening times! Thanks! The first one I checked only opens on April 9th.

 

[dimrub]

As for the way back, it appears that Air France sells bicycle boxes in most of their presence points - surely in CDG. So the plan is to buy the boxes from them - even if we end up flying another airline. Looking at eurocampings.co.uk, not all, but a sufficient number of camping sites will be open during the dates in question. I haven't decided yet on the question of Saint Brevin les Pins - several options look good to me, including starting from Nantes/Saint Nazaire, or maybe arriving at Saint Nazaire, looking into the bus situation on the spot, and if not reasonable, starting along the N shore of the river - we can dip our wheels into the river just as well. Still I'm surprised at the EV6 planners, who placed the beginning of the route at such a badly accessible point.

 

[bluenotebob]

Just found your post ... FWIW, April might be great - I've just looked back at the last two Aprils (this year and last) and I didn't miss a single day on the bike in either year - and I'm not far north of where you'll be starting from. I cycled over 1200km in both April 2021 and 2022.

You'll also have the advantage (hopefully) of the prevailing westerly winds.

I would imagine that campsite opening dates next year would be linked to Easter 2023.

 

[dimrub]

Are there other reasonably priced accommodations in the area I should look into, that are more likely to be operational in the first days of April? I wouldn't mind booking a hotel, but this will be the first time my son intends to take up his part of the trip expense, and I don't want to make it too hard on him.

I found this list. Anyone has experience using it?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Are there other reasonably priced accommodations in the area I should look into

I think it very much depends on your attitude to having reservations or playing things by ear.

There's always stealth camping, technically illegal in most places but doable so long as you're respectful and not totally silly.

AirBnB can be a good option especially with bikes as you can contact the host before booking to enquire about facilities.
BookingDotCom can be useful as well but less so in tourist areas I have found. Or the local tourist office can be helpful.

There is always Warmshowers and if you look elsewhere on the forum there's a "camp in my garden" version.
Personally I won't use Warmshowers anymore but it can be useful for getting local info from people who are familiar with the area and (presumably) touring cyclists.

I'd suggest checking out the daylight hours in April if you're planning on longer (than usual) distances and camping. Shorter days can add pressure and setting up camp in the dark isn't always fun.

 

[mjr]

I haven't decided yet on the question of Saint Brevin les Pins - several options look good to me, including starting from Nantes/Saint Nazaire, or maybe arriving at Saint Nazaire, looking into the bus situation on the spot, and if not reasonable, starting along the N shore of the river - we can dip our wheels into the river just as well. Still I'm surprised at the EV6 planners, who placed the beginning of the route at such a badly accessible point.

What am I missing? It looks like it's simple to get a TER to any of the Saint-Nazaire stations and ride across the bridge (which has narrow cycle lanes but probably still better than most similar UK bridges: looking at you, Ipswich's Orwell bridge!) then U-turn right and follow the Allée de la Loire to the start totem at Place Bougainville.

Also, did the planners place it, or is it just where the river meets the sea?

 

[dimrub]

What am I missing? It looks like it's simple to get a TER to any of the Saint-Nazaire stations and ride across the bridge (which has narrow cycle lanes but probably still better than most similar UK bridges: looking at you, Ipswich's Orwell bridge!) then U-turn right and follow the Allée de la Loire to the start totem at Place Bougainville.

There were discussions, in this thread and elsewhere, of how dangerous (or, taking a different point of view, how safe and wonderful) that bridge is (5km in traffic with occasional strong side winds). Personally, riding in a company of an underage I'm responsible for, I prefer not to take such risks, especially when forewarned.

Also, did the planners place it, or is it just where the river meets the sea?

This is indeed the place where the river meets the sea, but this river just happens to have two banks, both meeting the sea, but one easily accessible, and the other - see above.

 

[mjr]

There were discussions, in this thread and elsewhere, of how dangerous (or, taking a different point of view, how safe and wonderful) that bridge is (5km in traffic with occasional strong side winds). Personally, riding in a company of an underage I'm responsible for, I prefer not to take such risks, especially when forewarned.

Not in this thread. I'd probably keep an eye out for the wind forecast but I'm not sure only the lanes would deter me. The next best option looks to me to be a TER to Pornic, 15 miles south of St-Brevin-les-Pins on the Vélocéan.

I sympathise with your concerns about a younger rider, though. But remember in France, people can drive from 15 (supervised), consent from 15 (with unrelated people) and drink (but not buy it) at any age!

This is indeed the place where the river meets the sea, but this river just happens to have two banks, both meeting the sea, but one easily accessible, and the other - see above.

Doesn't the head of one bank or the other usually get declared as the river's end? Often it doesn't really matter, but my local river has one bank shorter than the other and it's the head of the shorter bank that is considered the end.

 

[dimrub]

Not in this thread.

You're right, sorry. It was discussed here.

I'd probably keep an eye out for the wind forecast but I'm not sure only the lanes would deter me. The next best option looks to me to be a TER to Pornic, 15 miles south of St-Brevin-les-Pins on the Vélocéan.

Ah, also a nice option, thanks. What's more, we get to cycle through a place called Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef.

Doesn't the head of one bank or the other usually get declared as the river's end? Often it doesn't really matter, but my local river has one bank shorter than the other and it's the head of the shorter bank that is considered the end.

I never considered such advanced hydrological issues when applied to working out a cycling route . I think we do want to make hommage to the symbolism of starting an ocean to sea route by actually dipping into the ocean, but only to a point .

 

[mjr]

Ah, also a nice option, thanks. What's more, we get to cycle through a place called Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef.

Always good! There's also some odd station names on the train route, including Port-St-Père-St-Mars which is not a port station, no matter how many saints you pray to.

I never considered such advanced hydrological issues when applied to working out a cycling route . I think we do want to make hommage to the symbolism of starting an ocean to sea route by actually dipping into the ocean, but only to a point .

I've done that a few times, but now I also like to get pictures of the route end totems, which is a daft idea that probably started when I got both ends of the Vennbahn in 2019 and then both "Lowestoft 98" and the Ness Point ends of the Two Rivers Route in 2020.

However, the official train goes to St-Nazaire, which suggests that maybe the bridge is the official link, but more of the services finish in Nantes. Once you find it despite the broken links, the getting to the route page is not that helpful for the west end.

 

[mjr]

Well I asked the Loire à Vélo promoters and I have no idea where this page is hidden in the menus but they gave me this link saying there is a bookable bus, a summer shuttle bus and taxis, all with bike racks, to cross the bridge: https://www.loirebybike.co.uk/travelling-along-the-itinerary/crossing-the-saint-nazaire-bridge/

 

[Fram]

There were discussions, in this thread and elsewhere, of how dangerous (or, taking a different point of view, how safe and wonderful) that bridge is (5km in traffic with occasional strong side winds). Personally, riding in a company of an underage I'm responsible for, I prefer not to take such risks, especially when forewarned.

In 2018 there was a courtesy van and trailer over the bridge for cyclists, which we used.

 

[dimrub]

In 2018 there was a courtesy van and trailer over the bridge for cyclists, which we used.

I read that the free van only operates in summer. Anyway, it's not really an issue of price. But given the options of bus and taxi, I think we have a reasonable solution.

Anyway, got the plane tickets, so we're pretty much committed to the dates - and to the route. I can now defer the rest of the planning to when the train schedules and the camping grounds' opening times are updated.

 

[dimrub]

Here's another question for all the cyclists with recent experience of cycling in France. We are supposed to land at around 4pm and make our way to Gare Montparnasse to there take a train to Saint Nazaire at 7:20pm. It appears the easiest way to get there is to take the B RER line, however cyclists are apparently banned from RER during these exact hours. How strictly is this rule enforced? Will they relent if we explain that this is the only way for us to catch our train? Merci!