Avenue Verte - Day 1 (May Day Mayhem)

Day 1: London to East Grinstead (May 2nd, 2015)
40 miles +/-, 2000' of Elev. Gain (Click for map info)

Our journey began in earnest on the morning of May 2nd in rural Oxfordshire, under grey skies, with the ever increasing threat of rain approaching. Our panniers packed to the brim the night before, saddle and pedals in a carrier bag, and excitement in no short supply. At this stage of the journey we were just 2 strong, a native Brit from Oxfordshire (myself), and a native Floridian (Pete) - both now residents of Colorado, USA. 

We arrived at Haddenham & Thame Parkway station in plenty of time to board the 8.30am to London. To our surprise we were not the only cyclists setting off from here that morning, a large group were gathering in preparation for a charity ride to Ireland over the Bank Holiday weekend, which quickly made our trip sound easy. The train arrived on time, and to our surprise there were free seats, we were quickly London bound - the "Inseine Chain Gang" adventure was finally officially underway.

Haddenham & Thame Pkwy

Our destination in London was "On Your Bike" at London Bridge, next to Borough Market. Pete and myself had opted to rent 2 Hybrid bikes for the tour (£60/week), the 3rd member of our party (John aka the "Kebab Kid") was meeting us at the bike store on his own bike. We had a little wait until the bike store opened, so wandered around Borough market, the smell of the street food really lures you in, and it was hard to even make it further than the market on Day 1. 

On Your Bike bike shop

On Your Bike is a great little bike shop, tucked right under the arches by Southwark Cathedral. The guys promptly set us up with hybrid bikes, brand new ones no less, loaded the panniers, saddle and pedals, and spare tubes were purchased (which amazingly were never needed!).

Our first stop was not far from the bike store, but the fact it was the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, and a very popular area, meant our journey started off by pushing the bikes. The Thameside Inn was our "unofficial" starting point; what better way to toast the start of the adventure than with a pint of London Bitter and some Fish n' Chips. We had locked all our bikes to the railings of the Thames side walkway, but upon exiting the pub came our first (and really the only) slight scare. The Kebab Kid had mis-placed his keys for his lock, after much searching they miraculously appeared in his pocket; we all secretly suspected the person dressed as a Pirate next to the Golden Hind boat, had cursed the keys or something.

View over the City of London from the Thameside Inn

So 2 pints later, and full of food, we officially got under way. I had loaded maps for each days route onto an older GPS etrex, which I quickly realized would only navigate properly if the routes had a maximum of 50 waypoints (not the 250 I had used to create them - a word of warning there!). After what appeared an eternity waiting for a satellite lock, and some swearing at the non-navigational maps, we were on route to the London Eye. Our first taste of London cycling was not as bad as we had suspected by long shot (well except for Pete having to very quickly adjust to riding on the left).

At the London Eye

We arrived at the London Eye in no time, and the "official" start of the Avenue Verte trail, a quick souvenir snap courtesy of a tourist and we were off again. The route starts off by crossing the Thames twice, and includes a peculiar cycle lane in the middle of a roundabout, where a young lady was getting very frustrated by us not paying attention to the hard to see cycle crossing lights. Note: The signage through this first section is a little lacking, well frankly actually almost non-existent (look for Sustrans National Cycle network (route 20) signs, NOT Avenue Verte signage). We were heading into South London pretty quickly though, and soon onto the Wandle trail. The Wandle trail provides a nice off-road route though Greater London, and often you could mistake it for being in rural England. The May Day Bank Holiday weekend meant half of the UK was on this trail, or at least so it seemed, and a 10 mph average would of been a dream pace, but this kind of average speed we would not gain until well clear of the M25 corridor.

Along the Wandle Trail

Cycling through the London burbs had plenty of unexpected surprises: streams, open spaces, parks, cafes, historic churches and even hills steep enough to make you want to cuss. It was nice though to finally reach the English countryside, and south of the M25 we had decided to deviate from the official AV route, following NCN route 21 east then rural roads south through the villages of Bletchingley and Outwood (Great windmill here).

On top of Farthing Downs - quite a climb

Outwood Windmill

We rejoined the official route again just west of East Grinstead on the Worth Way. Our overnight stop on day 1 was at Cranston House B&B in East Grinstead, easy to find if you know your way around East Grisntead, not so easy if you forget to print out directions or load it onto the GPS - thank goodness for smart phones and Google maps!!. The B&B is in a great location, walking distance to town, and even has a lockable bike shed.

Curry was on the menu for night one, washed down with lashings of Tiger beer - we were pretty happy to have made it though our first day without incident, and to have had a dry day, albeit a cloudy one.

Link to DAY 2

Avenue Verte - The Buildup

This is a "classic" in the making, 2 Brits and a Yank cycle from London to Paris - what possibly can go wrong. 

The idea for this adventure came about in 2014, after seeing "Avenue Vert" (AV) advertised on the UK Sustrans website. The Avenue Vert is a route that was created to open in time for the London 2012 Olympics. The route is a joint Anglo-French creation, that follows the UK's cycle network, and rail trails through Normandy in France. The route is approximately 250 miles, with a few variations and additional detours here and there.

Planning (aka an excuse for a pint or 2)

Planning began in earnest in January 2015, and logistics was the main item to nail down. The route requires crossing the English Channel (La Manche) between Newhaven and Dieppe (via an overnight ferry), and requires travelling back to London on Eurostar. These 2 bookings are what primarily governed our itinerary. 

All 3 of us cycle most days of the week, so are pretty comfortable on roads in traffic, and capable of travelling at a good pace (race pace more often than not). For this adventure however, we decided we'd mainly follow the published AV route and take our time a little more. We built in a good buffer each day to visit the local sights - you know, pubs, cafes, kebab vans, ok perhaps the odd Chateaux too. 

Having nailed down the timing for the entire trip, we then worked on the route/mileage for each day, and the accommodation. Now when there are 3 guys travelling together, finding accommodation at B&B's is not as easy as it sounds - well unless you don't mind very close sleeping quarters, and you stay away from the Curry houses and Kebab vans. The best options we found were booking one single room + one twin room (2 single beds), then splitting the entire cost into 3. We found 2 great B&B's, L'Abbaye at Saint-Germer-de-Fly and La Ferme Rose at Boisemont.

The Route (aka le Plan)

We raise a glass of England's finest Bitter at the London Eye, and toast a glass of French wine at Notre Dame.

Day 1: London to East Grinstead 39 miles

Day 2: East Grinstead to Newhaven 52 miles

Day 3: Dieppe to Saint-Germer-de-Fly 58 miles

Day 4: Saint-Germer-de-Fly to Boisemont 54 miles

Day 5: Boisemont to Paris 35 miles

Chilling in the Chilterns

The weather in the UK is unpredictable at the best of times, so I did not have high hopes during my Christmas visit of getting in much quality cycling. But, the day I arrived the skies were blue, the Sun was out, and the roads were calling my name. Little did I know, that these "perfect" conditions were going to test my skills within hours of stepping foot in blighty. The clear skies and winter sun in the UK do not warm the roads as fast as in Colorado (my current home base), and I soon found myself doing a synchronized ice dance on the bike ascending a hill covered in black ice.

Fortunately, the ice dancing was a one off party trick. The crisp frosty winter air soon gave way to milder breezier weather, which in turn means the roads stay damp in the daytime, and trails become stickier and muddier. However, after Day 1's Ice dancing the next ride I decided to do was off-road (Phoenix trail aka National Route 57). Now, my last UK off-road riding was probably back in the 1990's, I had forgotten what a messy affair it can be, no piece of clothing came away unscathed!. Never before has my cycling clothing seen the inside of a washing machine this frequently :).

Fortunately the rest of my on road riding experience was a safer and much less messier affair, just a wipe down of the bike after each ride was all that was needed. The beautiful Oxfordshire scenery really stood tall and proud when the sun shone, and observing it at the pace of a bicycle really made you appreciate it even more. The view in this image is from Brill Windmill, built in the 1680's, and restored in the 2000's. The views from here extend to Oxford and beyond.

The Chiltern hills are a chalk escarpment that lie to the southeast of Thame, the town I grew up in, and where I base myself when in the UK. The hills are designated as "An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty", and are a cyclists dream. The Tour of Britain even passed through the "Chilterns" during 2014, and they throw plenty of challenges at the amateur and pro cyclists alike. One loop I like to ride takes in Kingston Hill, this averages 11% for a 0.5 mile stretch, and really warms you up on a cold winters day!. I typically follow tried and tested routes when I cycle in the Chilterns, these routes follow national cycle ways, quiet roads, and pass through quaint little villages.

Sustrans is the main UK charity responsible for promoting alternative travel, and the force behind the National Cycle Network. The National Cycle Network covers 14,200 miles through the UK, and follows safe on and off road routes via route numbers (The Phoenix trail is part of Route 57, as seen in this photo). Sustrans website has an extensive shop that sells mapping and books to guide you across the UK via their routing, I have found the routes well marked and well planned. Their website can be viewed by clicking HERE. 

Friends Life Tour of Britain 2014

The 2014 Friends life Tour of Britain took place between September 8th and September 14th. 2014 was the biggest year yet since the tour was re-instated in 2004, 20+ teams participated, including big names such as Cavendish, Wiggins and Kittel. The offical website can be viewed HERE.

The race images below are from the final day (Stage 8) in London Click any image to view Lightbox.

Ice, Mud and Eagles

Colorado weather in February is like gambling, you just never know what cards you are going to be dealt. I could swear when you are planning cycle rides, the weather gods like to mess with your head. This often makes it quite challenging, but at the same time alot of fun.

The St. Vrain Chain Gang Cycling Club is a recreational group I founded a couple of years ago, and now run with another fellow cyclist/friend. We often have 2 rides per weekend, one being a skinny tyre road ride, the other a dirt/CX ride.

The weather forecast was looking real good for this weekend (about time after 3 weeks of basement riding due to snow). Well, refer back to first paragraph above - I think the odds of me hitting a bulls-eye on a dart board, while blindfolded, are greater than the chance the weather folks get the forecast accurate :). It "should" of been sunny and warm for our road bike ride, it actually turned out to be 95% overcast and down right nippy!. Still a great time was had by all, even if 75% of us were under dressed!.

Our dirt/CX ride turned out to be a little better, cold (low 30's starting out), but Sunny at least. We picked a route that took us along a dirt commuter trail; outbound this was certainly a test of our winter bike handling skills, and inbound it was a test of our mud handling skills!. Ice, Mud, Water, Snow we came across it all!. It was a great weekend to be out with the "Gang", as always!. Sunday bonus was 2 Golden Eagles fly across our path, got to love Colorado!.

Ride safe and often!.