When leaving the Youth Hostel, take the road sign-posted to St Étienne-du-Rouveray which was the old main road to Paris before they bypassed it and then bypassed the bypass with a motorway. Out of the city it is, in fact, called the Rue de Paris. MAP
When you reach St Étienne, keep following the one-way system, turning left at Rue Docteur Manier and then right at the main road ahead (D18). After 2k you reach a cross-roads. Follow signs for Oiselle Centre Ville and Tourville la Rivière. Bear left at the round tower on the right which looks like an old windmill and go past the Renault dealer. From Place Emile Zola follow the Rue Emile Zola (D13), cross the Seine at Port d’Oiselle and go straight on at the next funny junction.
Turn left at the roundabout next to a drive-in McDonalds and go under the railway bridge (sign-posted Tourville Centre). Go straight across the traffic lights and up a slight gradient. Turn right at the top onto the D292 sign-posted Sotteville and Pont de l’Arche, named after the arches of the large bridge built by Charles-le-Chauve. Bear left at the bottom of the hill towards Igoville.
At the traffic lights, turn right and then immediately left into Alizay. Keep on to the roundabout and then follow the D508 over the level-crossing to le Manoir. There is an ideal picnic place beside the Seine and the concrete seats are cool to a hot botty. If you are short on supplies for lunch there is a well-stocked village shop just tucked round the bend.
The trick to endurance on a ride like this is never to quite sit still. Gently move your legs to prevent them getting stiff and shrug your shoulders occasionally. Best of all - keep smiling.
Follow the road on to Pitres. Another level-crossing at the far end takes you past the electricity station. At the next roundabout, keep right down past the church. At the bottom, bear left and at the roundabout, turn right onto the Route Amfreville sous les Monts which takes you over the pretty River Andelle.
Off to the right are the Ecluses d’Amfreville (Amfreville Locks) on the Seine which, together with the Poses Dam constitute the main water flow control of the Lower Seine. The main lock is 220m long by 17m wide and can accommodate 15 boats up to 38m in length.
Up on the left of the road is a 150m high viewing platform on the limestone spur - Côte des Deux Amants.
Don’t worry about having to cross the mountains ahead. “Sous les monts” means beneath or under the mountains, not over them. Bear right at the next junction onto the D19 into Amfreville (Rue de Val Bitan). The Seine is never far away on your right and Impasse du Bac once led to one of the many foot ferries which abounded prior to la voiture. MAP
Ignore the cycle marks on the road giving directions during la Tour de France which utilises part of this route. Upon reaching Herqueville, bear left up the hill to the cross-roads. Take the D65 across the plateau. Join the D313 after a while, bearing left and down the hill into Muids. Bear left at the church onto the Rue Nationale. Leave Muids via the D313.
At la Roque, it is easy to see how the town got its name by looking up at the jagged escarpment which has an almost human profile. All the decent housing in this area has been taken up as second homes for wealthy Parisians and les Anglais. Some beautiful orchards line both sides of the road on the approaches to le Val St Martin where you turn right at the T-junction.
The steep cliffs serve to remind us that the Normans who lived here a thousand years ago were not French at all but Vikings from the fjords of Norway and this place must have reminded them of home. Although we ignorant Brits tend to refer to all past scandinavian immigrants as Vikings, strictly-speaking only the Norsemen should have that title as the name Viking (vic-ingas) is an inverse compound meaning “people of the fjords”.
The town of les Andelys is composed of two towns, le Petit Andely to the west, and le Grand Andely to the east. Le Grand Andely was the site of a monastery founded in the 6th century by Clothilde, wife of Clovis who, in turn, was mass-murderer of all who declined to follow his particular brand of Christianity (nothing changes, does it?).
Keep right towards Vernon, over the little bridge and follow the one-way system around the church of St Sauveur in the 12th century Gothic style which would have been so repugnant to Clovis and Clothilde.
Dominating the town on a hill to the south is King Richard’s Château Gaillard, reminding us that this was the border town in 1196. France lay southeast and the only way to the sea lay under the walls of this massive fortress. Phillippe-Auguste did not dare challenge Richard during his short lifetime but he was able, at great cost, to wrench it from King John on 6th March 1204.
It is a long hard climb to the castle which, I therefore decided, looked better from the low ground. On a previous visit, I did enter the castle which has been extremely well preserved and the views from it are magnificent. Richard, of course, spent most of his adult life in fruitless crusades and is best known as the most active anti-semitist prior to Adolf Hitler. Our Robin Hood legends conjure up an image of a brave hero who fought for right when, in effect, he was a bloodthirsty sadist who spoke no English at all and made but two short visits to our country in which he had not the slightest interest (except those interests raised by exorbitant taxes to finance his pillaging expeditions in the Middle East). The much-maligned King John was probably a saint by comparison.
After enjoying my lunch beside the river (down any of the turnings to the right), I continued upstream along the Quai Grimoult past the car park beside the marina towards the bridge to connect up again with the main D313 towards Vernon. MAP
After Bouafles, bear left, still heading for Vernon through the Forêt des Andelys. Nearly at the foot of the hill is a turnoff to a chateau with fabulous views over the river but the last thing you feel like doing when belting down a hill at 50kph is stop to admire the scenery. Stick to the D313 through Port Mort (death?), Notre Dâme de l’Isle and Pressagny-Orgueilleux.
At Vernon, turning right at the traffic lights takes you over Pont Clémenceau and into the town centre where supplies can be replenished. From the bridge can be seen the piles of the original 12th century bridge and the Vieux Moulin (old mill) built on them. The town was created in the 9th century by Rollo, first Duke of Normandy, and became French when Phillippe Auguste invaded Richard’s kingdom around 300 years later. The keep of the castle (Tour des Archives) built by him is accessible by a spiral staircase which leads to the former ramparts with fine views over the town. There is also a well-stocked cycle shop close to the tower up a street on the right off the Rue d’Albuféra. The company responsible for manufacturing the engines for the Ariane space rocket is based here along with other high-tec industries. If you are out of sync with the route timing for any reason, there is a Formule 1 in the suburb of St Marcel off to your right in the Rue des Prés.
Leave Vernon along the Avenue de Paris (N15) which is sign-posted Mantes. The Youth Hostel is on the way out of town on the left (28 Avenue de l’Isle de France). I arrived here too early and opted to carry on a while longer. MAP
When you get to the big junction beside the factories on the left, keep left on the low road into Bonnières. There is no point in going round the ring road so keep right.
On the far side, you have a choice: you can follow the river which means turning left when you see the signs to the Intermarché supermarket; or take the short cut over the narrow neck of the loop to Rollebose. The neck, as usual, has the disadvantage of gradient. The D37/D124 loop is virtually all flat and passes through an area abundant in sand quarries, one of which has been turned into a gigantic holiday water-sports centre. Where the two routes rejoin at Rollebose is one of the many tide control barriers along the Seine, the Barrage de Méricourt. There is a bar opposite this one where ice cold beer can be obtained and consumed whilst watching the river traffic.
Leave Rollebose vie the N15, noting the line of poplars and the moorings along the river bank. Keep straight on at Rosny-sur-Seine, following the signs for Centre-Ville (Mantes-la-Jolie), and go straight on at the roundabout, after which you will find a cycle track.
At the junction at the top of the rise, turn left, sign-posted Limay and Meulan. Bear left at the garish multi-coloured buildings on the right. There is a cycle track on the left just after this junction but you have to take your life in your hands crossing the main road to get to it.
Two things to beware of on the cycle track (1) potholes (2) Asian pedestrians with a death-wish.
At the end of the cycle track, there is a similar suicidal manoeuvre to undertake to get back onto the right side of the road. 200 yards later, bear right onto the slip road up to the bridge. Turn left at the top and go across the bridge. Look to the right and see that there once was another bridge which suffered fatally at some time. There is a Formule 1 next door to a McDonalds on the far side of the river in Rue des Pincevins.
After the second bridge, turn right at the lights onto the D146. At the motorway junction follow the signs for Porcheville where the route becomes the D147. After Porcheville, keep on the D147, heading for Gargenville. Go up the hill and bear left at the lights towards Gargenville. Pass under the railway bridge and turn right onto the N190 towards Juziers and Meulan.
When you reach Meulan, turn off at the lights just before the bridge and go along beside the gardens. At the end of the car park, bear up left onto the N190 again where an arrow points you towards Paris. MAP
There is nothing very remarkable about this stretch of road but there is a Youth Hostel a few miles up the hill on your left at 10 Rue de Gournay in the tiny village of Oinville if you should need it.
Having reached Vernon too early and Meulan by late-afternoon, I opted to try for Paris but overreached myself. As I approached Poissy, darkness was beginning to fall so I searched for somewhere to camp. Unfortunately, this particular stretch of riverside country is for rich Parisian commuters, not campers. However, I was able to find my way down to the river on my right and camped on waste land beside it. It wasn’t until I made my way back to the main road as the sun rose that I realised I had pitched my tent on the edge of a landfill - not to be recommended. If following in my cycle tracks, I recommend that you stop at either of the preceding hostels or make sure you’ve got enough time (and energy) to reach Paris.
Just before the town of Poissy you cross the Seine where, again, there is a new bridge for old. You cannot legitimately avoid the rise out of Poissy towards St Germain-en-Laye. At the offset roundabout at the top of the hill, bear left towards St Germain Centre.
As you approach the town centre, keep on the road for Paris which constitutes the inner ring road. The château on the corner was once the home of Henriette Marie de Bourbon, sister of Louis XIII and wife of King Charles I, the Stuart king who was beheaded by English parliament in 1649. At the fountains, carry straight on via the N190 not the N282 which goes the long way round. At the bottom of the hill, go straight over the bridge. MAP
Do not go down the tunnel which goes to the motorway, but continue along the top on what is now the N186. At the traffic lights, take the road slightly right of centre, Boulevard Carnot. After Chatou, go straight over yet another bridge and up the rise toward Nanterre. The side roads running parallel with the main road help to avoid the traffic if it is busy. Carry straight on at Nanterre for half a mile and then turn right where it is sign-posted Puteaux Centre. Half way round the semicircle, turn right again. Follow this road for about a kilometre and down a slope under the railway line. Go straight on at the post office at the bottom, bear right by the gardens on Rue d’Anatol France which is sign-posted Pont Puteaux and thence into a triangular grassed area called Place Stalingrad. Go from there into the Rue Godefroy, over the Seine at Pont Puteaux, straight on at the traffic lights, and enter the Bois de Boulogne, one of the few parts of Paris where cycling is actually encouraged. Go straight in on the cycle track alongside the Boulevard Richard Wallace (or take to the gardens if you prefer) and at the roundabout-cum-traffic lights called Porte de Madrid, bear slightly left of centre onto Route Mahatma Gandhi, past the zoo/amusement park, following the signs for Port Maillot. Keep right-ish at the end of the straight onto Route de la Porte des Sablons a la Porte Maillot and at the roundabout, bear left, still heading for Port Maillot. Don’t go towards Périférique Nord but stay on the same road towards the tall light clusters above Port Maillot. Cross the Boulevard Périférique and follow the track through the trees and, to avoid some of the gathering traffic, utilise some of the many pedestrian underpasses along the route into Paris.
L’Avenue de la Grande Armée into the city was once narrow but Napoleon Bonepart had it widened so that his army could move quickly in and out of the city. The monument to his fanatical megalomania still stands in the centre of l’Etoile Charles de Gaule. When the Emperor, who believed he was descended from the Emperors of Rome (just the good ones), invited Marie-Louise to see his achievements, construction of the Arch was not completed, so he had a cardboard cutout erected in its place. He had been dead for twenty years before it was finally finished.
It is usual to dismount from one’s cycle at this point, not out of respect for the Emperor, but for sheer self-preservation because no-one in his (or her) right mind rides a bicycle around l’Arc de Triomph. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées straight ahead is best taken at walking pace, not just because of the traffic this time but because it would be sacrilege to do otherwise. Numerous cafés abound with light refreshments at surprisingly reasonable prices as you sit and watch Paris go by. Paris is best seen in springtime when the flowers blossom and the mademoiselles bloom (or is it the other way round?). MAP
A honeymoon couple from the States approached me as I sat sipping my coffee (my “Yarm Computer Club” tee-shirt must have given me away) and asked about my journey. When I told them of my plans, they were astounded and the young wife, who was extremely attractive, insisted on having her photo taken with me.
Half way down the Champs-Élysées is the Rond Pond and it is footed by the Place de la Concorde, most famous for its executions by guillotine during the revolution. To the left can be seen la Madelene and, to the right, Pont de la Concorde and its companion Pont Alexandre III which faces l’Hotel des Invalides where Napoleon’s tomb is located. Below the Place de la Concorde are the Tuilerie Gardens which lead into the Palace of the Louvre. From there, take the Pont Neuf (new, not nine) onto l’Ile de la Cité upon which is situated the Palais de Justice and la Notre Dâme.
The original fishing village was built on this island by a Celtic tribe called the Parisii who also populated much of East Yorkshire north of Hull. Later, the Romans came and built a stronger fortification called Luticia and, even later, it was repossessed by the Celts because the Romans never paid their rent, and the city gradually spread onto first the left bank and then the right. A castle was built (now under the Louvre) and Francis I made it into a palace which grew over the next few centuries until Louis XIV got fed up of the smell and moved to Versailles (which he built).
There are roads either side of the Seine as you leave heading southeast. I chose the south side, la Rive Gauche, along N19 Quai de la Tournelle which became Quai St Bernard, Quai Austerlitz, Quai de la Gare, Quai d’Ivry and Quai Marcel Boyer before becoming Boulevard Vaillant Couturier. Bear left at the roundabout onto Boulevard du Colonel Fabien and cross the Seine by Pont d’Ivry. At this point, the river forks and narrows considerably. Right in the crook of the junction of the Seine and the Marne is a huge Japanese Hotel which looks magnificent, if not out of place, in Paris.
Over the bridge, turn right onto the D38 Quai Blanqui sign-posted Choisy-le-Roi. Pass another tidal barrage and then look out for a nice-looking bridge on the right. No two bridges seem alike along the Seine which adds to the interest. MAP
After a couple of miles, join the N6 for a few hundred metres then, after the railway bridge, bear right at the lights at the bottom onto D32. As you go up a gradient with the railway on your right, turn right over both railway and river. If you don’t want the Youth Hostel at Athis Mons, turn immediate left again and follow the riverside road south for a couple of miles to the river bridge below Juvisy-sur-Orge and turn left across it on the D931.
To find the Youth Hostel, cross railway and river as before and then go right to the top of the steep hill at Villeneuve-le-Roi, turn left and find the Hostel down a turning on your left. Alternatively, after the riverside road turn left onto a minor road sign-posted Ablon-sur-Seine. From there, the Auberge de Jeunesse is clearly sign-posted.
I stayed at this Youth Hostel and was most impressed not only with the facilities and the view, but also the French-Canadian receptionist called Jancynth who speaks English very well and proved to be extremely obliging. She showed me the lock-up for cycles, and then arranged dinner which consisted of steak with peppered green beans - delicious. Alternatively, there is a Formule 1 to your left at Crosne and another at Vigneux.
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Old Rouen
McDonalds, St Etienne
Le Manoir
Route Amfreville sous les Monts
Disused ferry
Timeshare Resort
Les Andelys
Riverside, Les Andelys
Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys
Chateau Gaillard
Les Andelys
The Old Mill, Vernon
Barrage de Mericourt
Barrage de Mericourt
Rollebose
Mantes-le-Jolie
Meulan
Seine Barges
River Seine
St Germain
River Seine
The Author in Paris
L'Etoile Charles de Gaule
Avenue des Champes Elysees
Paris and 'the bike'
Place de la Concorde
The Louvre
Notre Dame
Japanese Hotel
No two bridges look the same
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