Another beautiful, if chilly, day riding alongside canals on tiny roads. Can't get much better than that.
The primary cycling differences between France and its neighbors to the north, Belgium and Netherlands, are that the infrastructure for cycling in France is light years behind. There are relatively few dedicated bike lanes, separate from roads. Instead, the roads are relatively quiet and the drivers are super courteous. As with the northern countries, bikes are part of the road action and are deferred to.
From Hauts de France, we are working our along the coast toward Normandy and then Bretagne. Today's ride takes us to Boulogne-sur-Mer, a beautiful village that lies just a few dozen kilometers from Britain to the northwest, but miles away in terms of culture.
Our mid-morning coffee stop was at a small village along a canal. We had a nice stop as the temperature climbed and we could ditch our warm clothes and switch to less-than-thermal wear. But the wind was blowing in a big way -- gusting to 65 kph. Happily, it was at our back. That made us feel almost like we could ride. Nice. But as we approach the Norman coast we began to hit some hills. Nothing terribly serious, but a few thousand feet of climbing with some sections of 10 to 11 percent. That reminds us immediately that we are heavy and slow and just getting our legs used to riding.
We made it in mid-afternoon to the coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. This is a town with a ton of history and reminds us immediately of San Francisco since it is built on a bunch of steep hills. We got settled into our place and wandered down to the harbour. This is typically a busy place since multiple ferries arrive her from Dover every day.
The fish monger stalls were already long-closed for the day so we walked uphill to the Basilica that is in the old walled city.
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| On the way to the oude cite |
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| The Basilica from outside the walled part of the town |
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| The ancient gate |
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| It was a long steep walk up the hill. Maybe a beer first... |
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| Basilica |
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| View from the walls around the Basilica, looking out toward the sea. |
We were both pretty tired from a long day on the bike, so we headed back to our apartment for the night. We stopped by the super to grab some food to make for dinner, and it'll be an early night for us tonight. Tomorrow more southing!
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| Our apartment is in this fun building. |
As ever, our route:
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