- The bicycle has been popular since the lifting of confinement on our daily journeys. Will it be the same this summer for our holidays in France?
- The bicycle lends itself well to the discovery of our regions, linked by 15,000 km of cycle routes
- But where to go? Which bike to choose? How to get to your starting point? What to put in your luggage? Not easy to prepare your first trip. Cycle tourists Florent Tijou and Maxime Courtoison help us to see more clearly
Effective in the city, compatible with social distancing measures, without C02 emissions ... The bicycle has been on the rise since the end of confinement, pointed out last May 20 the association Vélo et Territoires, noting the 182 passage counters that This network of communities, committed to the development of the bicycle, has spread out on cycle paths.
However, we are talking here about everyday journeys, typically between home and work. Will the bicycle also be privileged this summer as a means of rediscovering the hexagon, for lack of being able to go to the end of the world? "Several signs suggest this," notes Florent Tijou, Web Marketing project manager at France Vélo Tourisme, a group of professionals and local authorities to promote cycling tourism in France. Starting with the explosion of traffic on our website in recent days [+ 110% on May 11, first day of deconfinement, compared to last year] or the hundreds of daily requests to join the Facebook group "Voyager by bike in France ”. For many, new travelers looking for answers to their many questions. "
They are not lacking indeed. 20 Minutes sweeps the main ones with Florent Tijou, but also the touring cyclist Maxime Courtoison, co-author of the blog "En échappée", a mine of information on the bicycle trips he keeps with Lucie, his companion.
Which destination to choose?
This is the trump card of France: with 15,000 kilometers of cycle routes, you are spoiled for choice. "Some areas are still little irrigated today," notes Florent Tijou, who is thinking in particular of mountain areas. Otherwise the mesh is very good. However, be careful not to choose your destination solely based on the landscapes and cultural sites you want to discover. Even more for a first trip. "The difficulty of the route - clear, elevation and security, as much as possible away from cars - is also an important criterion to take into account, slips Florent Tijou.
Routes along canals or rivers with well-laid towpaths meet these criteria. The great classics? The Nantes to Brest canal, that of the Midi or that of Burgundy, but also the Loire à Vélo or the ViaRhôna (from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean). Florent Tijou also cites the Meuse by Bike, the crossing of the Sarthe, or, "more colorful, the Lot Valley by bike and the Vélormaritime, from Roscoff to Dunkirk". And how not to forget the Vélodysée, which also departs from Roscoff and follows the Atlantic coast to Hendaye. "Very nice, especially because it takes us through very different landscapes and climates," comments Maxime Courtoison.
How to choose a bike ?
For a first trip, Florent Tijou and Maxime Courtoison advise against buying new bikes. "It would be a shame to invest to realize that you do not like cycling touring very much," said the first. Renting bikes is a good way to avoid this risk. According to the cycle routes, the offer is not always very developed. "On the Loire à Vélo, things are going well," says Maxime Courtoison. You can rent at one location and return it to another a few days later. "
Another solution: do with what you have in the garage. It remains to be seen which model of bicycle to choose. If the cyclo-touring bike is the Rolls-Royce in this area, "all bikes can do the trick, even the one we use in our daily trips," insists Florent Tijou. In some cases, some adjustments will have to be made. “Typically changing the wheels if you opt for an ATV with wide, studded tires. Quickly a nightmare on certain paths ”, he specifies. Maxime Courtoison just has reservations about racing bikes, cut for speed, as they are not very suitable for transporting luggage. "And again," he nuances, "it all depends on the type of touring cyclist you want to be." There are two currents today: cyclo-camping, where one often seeks autonomy in travel, which involves luggage, and bikepacking where one seeks to travel as light as possible with integrated panniers. to the frame. In this case, the racing bike may be suitable, but Maxime Courtoison as Florent Tijou also advise to look at the gravel bikes, a hybrid between the racing bike and the touring cyclo.
How to get to your starting point?
A detail ? Far from there. It is often THE puzzle of the touring cyclist. The train option can turn into a nightmare, the places dedicated to cycling being very limited in TGVs and the rules not always clear, as we explained to you last August. Florent Tijou and Maxime Courtoison then invite to be tricky, "either by reserving his ticket as soon as possible", indicates the first, "or by referring to the network of TER and intercity trains which offer more places for bikes and without having to disassemble ”. "Good to know, especially for Ile-de-France residents, there is the Loire à Vélo Train which can transport around fifty bikes every day between Le Croisic and Orléans," says Florent Tijou.
And if the train puts you off, there is still the car to get to your starting point or the bus, options several times taken by Maxime Courtoison with Flixbus. "The bike is either put in the hold [it must then be stored in a cover], or in a luggage rack at the back of the bus," he said. Doing a loop, starting and ending with his house is not stupid either. "This is all the advantage of having a well-developed cycle route network in France and accessible from any major city in France," recalls Florent Tijou.
What to take in your luggage?
"Travel as light as possible", will we advise you at France Vélo tourisme. In particular, avoiding any superfluity on clothing. "An outfit for the day, another for the evening, once we have finished pedaling," sums up Florent Tijou. We may not always smell very good, So what? This is also cycling trips. In addition, many accommodations now offer possibilities for washing clothes. "
Well, leaving with a shorts and a T-shirt would still not be prudent. "The ideal is to add two more to this first layer," continues Florent Tijou. That is to say a long pair of shorts with a light sweater, then a rain suit, Kway style. »In luggage, you will also need to provide a repair kit, so as not to find yourself stuck in the middle of the pampas in the event of a tile. Maxime Courtoison also always takes a book and sometimes a pocket board game - we stay on vacation anyway.
Here, a follower of bikepacking will not clutter much more. For cyclo-camping, “the state of mind is a little different since it is often a question of having autonomy in sleeping and eating, explains Maxime Courtoison. It is often necessary to transport a tent and other camping equipment and a minimum of food. And you have to be careful: the weight of luggage increases quickly. "
Or sleep ?
We end with the easiest. Camping, lodges, hotels ... there is no shortage of solutions along the cycle routes. A follower of the first, Maxime Courtoison even rarely says to reserve his pitch upstream. "Touring cyclists often travel with a small tent, we always find a place for them," he says.
To make his choice, Florent Tijou invites you to take an interest in establishments labeled "Accueil vélo". "There are 4,000 in France," he says. They offer little extras for cycle tourists. A secure bicycle garage, a washing machine, a repair kit. Another track that both Florent Tijou and Maxime Courtoison tout is the “warmshower” network, a kind of couchsurfing for touring cyclists. "We sleep with the locals and he is like us, an avid cyclist," says Maxime Courtoison, who quotes another similar network well developed in France: "Cyclo Accueil Cyclo".
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The "agency" option with a turnkey stay?
It is always possible to avoid all the hassles of organizing a first bike trip. Several specialized tourist agencies offer you turnkey stays. From the rental of bikes to the booking of accommodation, including the transport of luggage and the delivery of a "road book".
France Vélo Tourisme lists a long list of these agencies on its website. "It may be suitable for neophytes but it is of course generally more expensive," says Florent Tijou. "What is unfortunate is that these turnkey stays take away some of the pleasures of cycle tourism," says Maxime Courtoison. Including, for example, route preparation. "
To overcome the fears of a first long bike trip, the blogger advises to put yourself to the test, upstream, for a weekend on a bike. "We quickly realize what a cycling holiday can look like, and whether it suits us or not," says Maxime Courtoison.
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