Well, after nine days of cycling and 750 miles I have made it to Vesoul in the east of France.
If anyone was planning a camping holiday in France next March I would suggest they wait until April. The weather has been very kind to me, and it has rained only at night, but... almost ALL the campsites are closed. Most days are orientated around finding somewhere affordable to sleep and at times this has proved to be challenging.
On the first day in France I was waiting for dark in Corlay, so that I could put my tent up in a closed campsite, when I was offered a place to stay by a man named Jérémy. It was a really kind act of unexpected generosity and it made me feel very welcome - so thankyou.
Since then I have slept in - 1 hotel, 3 campsites, outside 1 closed hostel, in 1 hedge and in 1 forest. The hedge, perhaps very predictably, lies right at the bottom of places I would recommend.
Today I am having a rest day, before heading east towards Germany, and towards mountains, tomorrow.
Will endeavour to keep anyone following updated.
4 comments:
Hi Sam
Great to hear it's all going well. Sleeping under a hedge ..hmmm sounds like fun. Looking at the terrain on the France/German border, it looks pretty hilly, so those nice low gears should keep your legs turning nicely. We hope you -and the bike of course- are holding up well. Good luck. We'll follow your progress with much interest.
Dave and Lisa
All the best
Hi Sam,
really good to hear about your first week through France. Been following yr progress with great interest along with some of my students at school. We are trying to guess which route you will take - terrain map is getting more helpful as you head east. Sleeping arrangements sound difficult. Hope you continue to meet good people as you did at first. Best wishes. Marian
Crikey Sam - haven't you finished yet! You've been gone over two weeks for goodness sake!
Seriously though - interesting following your progress and best of luck from us all.
Hope your spirits are up and that you're staying strong and cheerful.
All the best.
Mike, Catie, Joe.
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