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Avenue Verte help

by djgorey
Sat, Mar 07, 2015 13:03
2

Hi All

I'm planning a ride for a group of 4 or 5 of us from London to Paris via Newhaven/Dieppe and was wondering if anybody has done this route and if they have any tips.

The plan at the moment is:

Thursday night by train to Earls Court Youth Hostel (we live in Cardiff but are not cycling from here).
Friday to get to Newhaven
the late ferry overnight to Dieppe
Saturday to get to pretty much Paris
Sunday morning in to Paris, some quick sight-seeing and then the late afternoon Eurostar back to blighty.

Is the Sustrans Book on the Avenue Verte any good? Does it have route maps?

Has anybody taken their bikes on Eurostar and can comment on their experiences?

Recommendations on where to stay on the French side?

Any help and advice would be very much welcome.

Thanks 16

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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2 comments

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matthewn5 | 9 years ago
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I've got a little book called 'Paris - Londres à Velo / Avenue Verte London-Paris' published by Chamina Editions, which covers the route in reverse, from the French side, and in French... but it does have route maps and 'infos pratiques' in a handy (large) pocket sized format, ring bound.

I haven't done it yet though!

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arfa | 9 years ago
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Here's an extract from a blog I wrote about doing it in 2013 - good luck !

The first starting point has to be Donald Hirsch as he’s the Daddy when it comes to the route and planning.

The next stop is ride with gps as there are lots of routes that have actually been ridden and recorded. It is worth a look regardless of whether you plan to use a GPS. For example, you can preview hills on the route which is very useful when thinking of training. Our own route had 5,500 feet of climbing over 120 miles from Dieppe to Paris which is not insignificant.

Talking of training, the British Heart Foundation has lots of useful guidance. A 10 week plan should get you there.

In terms of logistics, carriage of your bike back is the difficult part as space on the eurostar is a limited. Eurostar bike policy is outlined here but you will need to call eurodespatch on tel +44 (0) 844 822 5822 to check availability for bike carriage on specific trains. This is probably the first thing you need to do when scheduling your ride. Of course this is not necessary if you are getting the ferry both ways.

The ferry website is here and you would be advised to book a cabin if travelling overnight. Cabins sleep four on bunks or two comfortably.

Just one word of caution if getting the overnight ferry as it was very dark and cold when our ferry arrived (3am BST !). Finding the avenue verte was tricky in the dark and you really need to get going as there’s not a lot going on in Dieppe at that time. The Avenue verte was also very cold when we rode it at the end of April with an air temperature of -2 C at times. This is because the route sits at the bottom of an open valley and the cold air appears to pour down the sides at night – be warned.

The other observation I would make is that there are a lot of barriers across the avenue verte at junctions and good lights are vital if riding first thing in the morning. If you are riding for speed then the parallel road might be a better bet.

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