Days 37 to 55
31 July, 2024 – 18 August, 2024
Statistics:
- Distance: 665km
- Ride time: 53h
- Ascent: 4050m
- Descent: 5350m
- Duration: 19 days
- On bikes: 17 days
- Average: 39 km/day
Since we entered into France over the Alps, we probably had the most beautiful entry that we could get. We enjoyed the surrounding nature for a first few days and we loved the views of the mountains and a fresh, cold river next to which we cycled on the way down. Another pleasant thing was cold drinking water that we could find in almost every little town that we passed. But that stopped as soon as we left the Alps area. In contrast to Italy, where we found drinking fountains in most of the parks, we had more problems finding water in France. We had to plan a little bit more about where we will refill our water bottles and where we can wash our clothes. There were times when we had to buy bottled water in the shop because we couldn’t find any fountains. But luckily, the water in the stores wasn’t that pricey; we paid around 0.12€ per liter.
Talking about the prices, the first thing we did when we entered France was googling “The cheapest grocery store in France”. E. Leclerc came first without any serious rivals, as we’ve read that Eduardo Leclerc wanted a shop where basic items are cheap so that everyone can afford them, and the shop makes money on more luxury items. Even so, the prices seemed similar or a little higher than the ones in Italy for comparable products. Keep in mind that in Italy, we also shopped in the cheapest stores, mainly Eurospin and Lidl. When comparing prices of products other than basic groceries, it seems that France is clearly pricier than Italy (and Italy was pricier than Slovenia). We’re a little afraid that this thend will continue with Spain and the USA.
One thing that we really loved about France was the amount of freely available books that were often placed in bigger bus stations or in some of the parks. The idea behind it was that you can read a book while you’re waiting or you could take a book out and exchange it for one of your own (if we got the idea right, there weren’t any clear instructions written anywhere). A lot of French people don’t speak English, so we weren’t surprised when almost all of the books were in French, but on two occasions, we even saw some English books. We hope that we will see something similar in Spain or the USA so that we can exchange our current book for something new.
There wasn’t a specific moment when we would say that we noticed a difference, but eventually we figured out that there was something missing around us. Unlike in Italy, there were hardly any high fences surrounding the houses. This came as a nice surprise, and when we noticed it, we could feel the difference. With the high fences, you always have a little thought in the back of your mind: “Why do people need those fences? Is there anything that I also should be afraid of?”. So in France, we didn’t have that fear; villages and houses, in general, seemed more friendly and welcoming.
But even with all those friendly-looking houses, we somehow didn’t have the desire to go and ask people if we could sleep next to their house. Would it be easier to do, compared to Italy? Probably yes, but on one hand we didn’t want to feel like a burden to people, and we also loved the freedom of sleeping outside in nature, away from everyone, where you have your own peace. But the main reason was probably that we weren’t forced to do it. In France, we had a lot more possibilities of where we could sleep through the night, especially in the first half of it. We also read online that “bivouacking” (setting up the tent after sunset and leaving before sunrise) is generally not forbidden in France. And because we bought solar panels on the way, we are now more independent, so we don’t have the need to charge everything every couple of nights. After testing them over the two weeks, we’re really pleased with them. As long as we have sun this strong, we can fill a 10.000 mAh powerbank in around 5 hours. We will see how good they’re when it’s cloudy.
Even if we didn’t ask people for the place to sleep, we still had some luck with WarmShowers. We had two great hosting experiences, and we couldn’t ask for anything more. We got to know some of the French customs, especially cheese-tasting after each meal, which we actually really liked. It gave you some more time to just sit by the table and talk with people. Even though we didn’t plan to do the cheese-and-wine thing in France, we still got to taste a couple of French cheeses, which was a nice surprise for us.
Oh, and one more pleasant surprise were all of the cycling roads that are available and nicely maintained in France. It seemed that a lot of regular car roads have a bicycle road next to them, and we did a lot of kilometers away from the danger of being hit by a car or a truck. Even though Italy also had a lot of cycle roads, they usually ended before the crossroad or roundabout, and you were left on your own to deal with cars. Then, after the crossroad, they would appear again, as if nothing happened and you could continue riding. Well, in France, they really put a lot of effort into including bicycle roads in the crossways so you almost always know where to drive and who should go first. Well done, France.
And finally, we got our first real experience with the wind. All the way from Montpellier to Perpignan (by the French coast), we had a constant, strong wind, which was usually accompanied by a strong blow every once in a while. Depending on your direction of travel, this could make you go as fast as a rocket or it could move you sideways on the road, trying to push you in front of the cars. And if you’re really unlucky, it will blow right in your face, so you will be slowly dragging along in the easiest gear, also having to pedal downhill to even move. And it’s hard to say in which direction you should travel because the direction of wind can change throughout the day. So, you can go cycling in France and try out your luck. To us, it seemed that we were decently lucky; it could definitely go much worse than it did.