London to Paris by bike on Avenue Verte. Route and top tips

Avenue Verte Route and Top Tips

After completing the London to Paris cycle ride on the Avenue Verte (Green route) in August 2014 I thought it would be useful to share my top tips and route information for anyone else thinking of doing the same. We did it over 4 days which I wrote about on my blog (London to Paris day 1) and in my my book 'The Cake Crusader' which is available on Amazon (click here).

We did the ride on road bikes, mine was a Ridley Cyclocross bike which I put a pannier rack on, and Big George had a Cannodale Caad with a rack attached to his seat post. We both do lots of cycling so expected to average up to 15 Mph, but this was a big mistake.

About the route
The Avenue Verte is one of the longer routes you can take to Paris but has the advantage that as the 'official route' the majority of it is really well sign posted. Apart form getting out of London or the final 10 miles into Paris, then the rest of the route could almost be done by following the signs alone.

I had the route downloaded on to my Garmin E trex GPS. I planned the route on my PC using Garmin mapsource software and the maps from the official Avenue Guide book. On the few occasions we missed a sign the GPS quickly got us back on track (I have put the GPX files I used at the bottom of each day's map which you can download). 

We caught the train from Norwich to London on a Wednesday night and cycled the first 10 miles of the route to the Premier Inn Wandsworth, near the start of the Wandle Trail section. Even at 7.30pm it still took longer than expected to get out of the city. I would imagine during the day it would be fairly busy. There were no London to Paris Avenue Verte signs that we could see on this bit of the route.

The start of the Avenue Verte is the London Eye

Route on first evening

Click link to download London to Paris day 0 route GPX file for your GPS

Day 1  London to Seaford (see blog post London to Paris Day 1 ) 
Next morning we left at 9.00 and continued out of London on cycle tracks, side roads and through some parks, then along the Wandle trail. The sign posting from this point on wards was very good but it was still slow progress as there are no nice long sections where you can build up speed. This section continues in this way until you reach a hilly bit over the North Downs to Redhill.

The route continues south to Gatwick airport (the cycle path goes right by the runway) and Crawley. It took us about 5 hours to cover the 35 miles to get to this point, however fast a cyclist you are you will find the first section very slow so don't over estimate your speed. Things do get faster from here.

The route turns east along the Worth Way to East Grinstead. This is nearly all on a flat offroad track although the surface isn't great you can keep rolling along as opposed to all the stop start there had been up to this point. East Grinstead looks like a good stopping point if you were doing the English part of the route in 2 days. Unfortunately we weren't so had to push on with time against us.

The next section heads further East towards Tunbridge Wells on another old railway line, this time the Forest way. Once again it is very pretty and flat but also a fairly rough surface. It is possible to go a bit faster, if need be, but would also be very pleasant for those not in a hurry. Having a cycle cross bike with 28mm tyres was a help as it felt a bit like riding in Paris-Robaix spring cycling monument race (not that I have).

Here the route turns south over the South Downs. There are several challenging hills to get over but with some great views and you also go through some lovely little villages. However be warned that a little way before you reach Heathfield, at Oxon woods the path turns off into a field for some proper off road which you really need a mountain bike to conquer. If you are on a normal bike with panniers etc you may well have to walk bits of this short section. There is an alternative road route which I would recommend using having tried this way.

The next section is the best on the English route as it follows the old Cuckoo railway line on a tarmac cycle path. It is a lovely smooth track going through some great country side and a real pleasure to cycle on.

From here its back on the little roads again going through a number of typical Sussex villages to Seaford and then along the sea front on some more nice cycle track all the way to Newhaven. 

Cycle path to Newhaven

We stayed at the White Lion Hotel (pub) in Seaford before catching ferry on day 2.

Route from London to Seaford

Click link to download London to Paris day 1 route GPX file for your GPS

Day 2 Seaford to Dampierre en Bray (See blog post London to Paris day 2 )
We cycled to the port and caught the 11:00 ferry. Apart from the restaurant stopping serving hot food 90 mins before docking in France (with no warning) then the ferry crossing is very straight forward. There were a number of other cyclists on the ferry and the crew are very helpful in getting you on board. The crossing takes 4hrs and gets to France 16:00 local time.

The alternative ferry leaves at 11:00pm getting into France 4.00am. We met some cyclists who had done it this way although they looked really tired.

At the other side the trickiest bit is getting out of Dieppe as the Avenue Verte only starts again on the outskirts. There are some signs but they are not clear and the road that goes out from centre of Dieppe, to the re start of Avenue Verte, looks like a road on to an industrial estate. Once again using a GPS made it straight forward. I suggest you have a route planned and mapped to get through Dieppe quickly.

There are then a few miles on the road before you come to a fantastic 28 mile stretch of uninterrupted, flat and tarmaced cycle path. There are toilets, water stops and picnic benches along the path. Take care as the path crosses lots of little roads and you may be speeding along and not want to slow down. These junctions are well marked with barriers but I don't think we actually had to stop for a car.

The path continues past your exit as you have to take the turn off to Forges-les-Eaux so be careful not to miss it (we did).

You are now in typical Normandy country and the next few miles are over rolling hills. We stayed near Dampierre en Bray at Chambres d'hôtes "La Brayonne" (www.chambresdhoteslabrayonne.com). 

I haven't included the 3 mile route from Seaford to the ferry as it is straight along the seafront cycle path and you can't miss it if you keep the sea on your left.

Route from Dieppe to Dampierre en Bray
Click link to download London to Paris day 2 route GPX file for your GPS

Day 3 Dampierre en Bray to Mery-Sur-Oise (see blog post London to Paris day 3)
This was our longest day at over 100 miles. The route continues over the hills for sometime until you reach Saint-Germer-de-Fly where the Avenue Verte splits into an East or shorter West route. We took the East way. I believe an off road section is being planned to run in the valley and avoid this hilly, although very picturesque, section. After the split the route continues in the same way going through a number of villages until it reaches the city of Beauvais. Although progress is quite slow it is still a nice peaceful ride. Beauvais itself is fairly big and there are lots of cafes and shops (as well as a decent tourist info place) you can refuel at.

Beauvais Cathedral

The next stage goes through Bresles to Clermont. Both of these are on hills but there are some good stretches of cycle path along side the main roads to get you there safely. We stopped at Clermont for our lunch were there were lots of shops, bars etc to choose from.

Clermont

From Clermont the route is a bit disappointing as it weaves in and out of some towns and villages on roads until you get through Pont St Maxence. After here there is a particularly good part where you join Euro Velo route 3, which goes from Norway to Spain, for a few miles. On this section you go up the steepest hill on the route and once at the top you join a long off road section which goes through Hatatte Forest which is extremely pleasant. This section ends in Senlis where we stopped for a coffee. It is a nice town for a stop.

Top of steep hill before wooded section

From here it is again a selection of nice off road bits and some not so good on road bits. The route goes past the impressive Chateau de Chantilly and Chantilly race course and from here there is a lot of on road sections which are all rather dull. After a few miles of this the route inexplicitly turns off into a field with a narrow muddy track. It continues like this before reaching the river Oise where it continues on a very poor track for some time. Progress along this section is very slow.

Route goes off road on some very poor muddy sections.

You then pick up some roads again that take you to Mery-Sur-Oise where we spent the night. We rode 106 miles that day and it took us just under 12 hours. 

Route from Dampierre en Bray to Mery-sur-Oise.

Click link to download London to Paris day 3 route GPX file for your GPS

Day 4 Mery-Sur-Oise to Paris (see blog post London to Paris Day 4 )
Our final day took us to Paris. The route starts off going up through the side roads of Mery- Sur-Oise but then follows the river with some lovely off road and on road sections. The route then cuts through the Forest St- Germain-en-Laye on nice off road tracks, although on a Sunday morning it was packed with joggers and other cyclists. This takes you to the river Seine which you cycle alongside for several miles, again trying to avoid the joggers. This is one of the best parts of the route.

Cycling along river Oise

When you turn away from the River you head for Saint Denis on the out skirts of Paris and things start to slow down. You start by following the tramway into Northern Paris and then weave along the side of the canals until a final road stretch in the heart of Paris.Throughout this final few miles the Avenue Verte signs seem to disappear and the ride becomes very stop start. On a Sunday morning there was not much traffic but I imagine it could be really busy on other days. This makes progress mighty slow but eventually you reach Notre Dame and your journey is complete. 

Click link to download London to Paris day 4 route GPX file for your GPS

We then cycled up to Gare du Nord, which is about 3 miles away to catch the Eurostar back to London.

Gare du Nord

Top tips from my experience if you are attempting the route.

Bikes
Although the route is mainly on good surfaces there is enough of it on bumpy cycle paths and some completely off road. I wouldn't attempt the ride on a normal road bike with slick tyres but any other type of bike would be fine on most sections. I took my cross cycle bike and Big George his Cannodale road bike. However we fitted some hybrid type tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Tyre: 700c x 25mm Reflex Wired) which were great and we only suffered a single puncture between us.

My bike had holes in the frame to enable a pannier rack to be fitted. George got a pannier rack that fits to the seat post but this type only takes a few kilograms. If you are planning to spend more time doing the route and therefore need more stuff I think you would need a proper touring bike that could take the weight.

Navigation
First of all I suggest you try not to loose your guide book, like I did, as it is useful to read about the terrain coming up, where the next village or town is etc. 

I put the routes on to my Garmin etrex by plotting a route on the Garmin mapsource software. I use the free Garmin compatible open source maps which are very detailed. You can down load OSM maps here.

You can also down load the GPX files I loaded on to my Garmin at the bottom of each route map.

I would recommend using a bike GPS if you can as it avoids the possibility of getting very lost or having to back track etc. However the sign posts are very good so if combined with a map you should have no problem. The 3 places to have a route plotted are leaving London, leaving Dieppe and getting into Paris where the signs are poor or non existent.

Equipment
Apart from the basics like puncture kit, pump, inner tubes, bike multi tool etc I would always recommend taking a roll of duct or gaffer tape as it got us out of trouble a couple of times. 

If you are planning to do a lot of miles in a day I also suggest you have some bike lights as we twice ended up cycling when it was starting to get dark and we needed them.

Misc
All the hotels we stayed at had somewhere secure for our bikes so we didn't need locks but it is worth checking with the hotels before hand.
If you are travelling on Eurostar note that your bike needs to be with them 90 minutes before departure to guarantee being on the same train as you.
Finally make sure you leave enough time for each section as we underestimated the speed you could go. The table below may help with your planning.

Route Statistics

	Miles	Average moving speed (MPH)	Average overall speed (MPH)	Moving time (Hrs)	Stopped (Hrs)	Total miles
Liverpool street station to Wandsworth premier inn	10.1	9.1	7.5	01:06	00:14	10.1
Wandsworth to Seaford	96	10.7	8.3	08:56	02:36	106.13
Seaford to Newhaven ferry	4.54	8.6	4.2	00:31	00:33	110.68
Dieppe to Dampierre en Bray	46.5	14.4	13	03:14	00:20	157.16
Dampierre en Bray to meet sur Ouse	105	11.7	8.7	08:58	02:45	262.43
Mery sur Oise to Notre Dame	47.4	9.8	8.1	04:51	00:59	309.79
Notre Dame to Gare du Nord	2.05	8.2	5.7	00:15	00:06	311.85

London to Paris. Day 4, the end.

London to Paris,

Day 4

The final part of our London to Paris (Avenue Verte) ride is 50 miles with a finish at Notre Dame cathedral. From there it is a short ride to the Gare du Nord (North Station) to catch the Eurostar train home. To make it more exciting we had a deadline. Our bikes had to be delivered to the Eurostar luggage area by 3:15 pm or they would not be on the train with us back to London. To make sure there were no slip ups we went for breakfast at 7:30 in order that we should have plenty of time to get to Paris on schedule.

At our posh hotel the breakfast was a very expensive Buffett style affair. Therefore to increase the value of it I decided to go to the restaurant in my cycle top so I could stuff croissants and pastries into it's many pockets. We could then eat for free if we had emergencies later in the day (as I had to eat our emergency bread yesterday). At such an early time on a Sunday morning all the other guest were still in bed so we were the only ones in the restaurant and out numbered by the guards, I mean waiters. To be able to carry out my plan a series of distraction tactics needed to be employed. I managed to snuffle 4 mini croissants, 3 mini choc au pain and 2 mini pain au raisins into my back cycle jacket pouches as Big George chatted to the guards in his best pigeon French (francais de pigeon). I then backed out of the restaurant while Big George pretended to choke on his baguette. 

Outside hotel about to set off with stolen pastries

The first part of the ride was excellent as we rode along the side of the river Oise, then through some woods before following the banks of the famous Saine (Thames), all of it along purpose built cycle track.

Cycling by river Oise

In relaxed mood we decided to play a game called 'who can name the most famous French people (and why they were famous)'. The idea of the game is to take it in turns to name a famous French person (including a short summary of why they were famous). Who ever names the most famous French people wins. Unfortunately the game didn't last long. I only came up with 4 and lost. My 4 were: Louis Pasture (who invented milk), Louis 14th (who is the king of France), Asterix the Gaul (who defeated the Romans) and his son Charles de Gaul (who built an airport). I made a note to do some more famous French people research ready for next time I play this game.

With only 18 miles to go and seemly plenty of time left we decided to stop at Bistro se Mamie which had a pleasant outside seating area over looking the river.

Final cafe stop on route

As they had no cake I got out the emergency rations from breakfast and ate a complete set. In terms of drinks Big George thought his coffee was a bit weak but, although not spectacular, I found my hot chocolate to be the best one I had had in France. Despite this The Bistro se Mamie would not be winning any of my prizes on this showing I'm afraid.

The full range of booty stolen at breakfast

On our restart things started off well. We had time in hand and quickly covered several more miles on good quality tow paths. We started to plan our Paris sight seeing tour in the extra couple of hours we would have. But there is many a slip between cup and lip (beaucoup loin de la coupe aux levres) as we hit Paris and our plans turned to tatters. First my pannier rack broke as a screw had fallen off. I was able to make a suitable repair as I have learnt that you should always carry a roll of duct tape on adventures such as this and was able to tape the rack back to the frame.

Looking for duct tape in order to re fasten pannier rack to bike

Next the excellent route signage that there had been up to this point had all but disappeared and I now had to navigate just from the bike sat nav. Then we kept getting held up by traffic lights, pedestrians walking on the cycle paths, having to cross busy roads and going down wrong way roads. With faltering progress the time started to slip by quickly and the miles slowly. We required a final spurt down a final wrong way street and got to Norte Dame with our sight seeing plans in tatters. We only had time to take a quick photo before heading off to find the Gare du Nord (North Station).

Finally made it to Notre Dame but with only time for a quick photo

Once at the Gare du Nord (North Station) it took a little while to locate where we had to hand in our bikes but we eventually got them booked in with nearly 10 mins to spare.

The front of the Gare Du Nord (North Station)

There was just enough time for one last cycle cafe review at one of the cafes across the road from the Gare du Nord (North station) at cafe Au Rendezvous des Belges (meeting with Belgiums) although I didn't meet any.

Experiencing Paris cafe culture but I didn't meet any Belgiums

It was the best cafe stop we had had in France, partly because we could relax having achieved our goal and partly because the hot drinks, beer and food (plus some extra emergency breakfast food) all hit the spot. 

Nice bit of French food for lunch

Big George voted it our best cafe stop but I still felt (and was backed up by the stats) that Poppy's was the winner of the best cafe between London and Paris (which I happened to stop at) so I will be making a certificate to send them.

From here it was plain sailing. We boarded the train and safely arrived back in the UK. 

The consensus was that the official London to Paris cycle ride, Avenue verte (green route), was very good in places but very disappointing in others. Overall a successful trip. I will be writing a special top tips blog (see top tips) for anyone attempting the ride to learn from my experience. Tip 1 will be to make sure your route map guide book doesn't get stolen by international terrorists (at gun point) as it makes estimating the time for each days ride rather difficult. 

Final scores to decide the best cafe between London and Paris (which I happened to stop at)

Cafe	Drink	Food	Ambiance	Score
Poppy Café, London	7.0	8	7.5	7.50
Au rendezvous des Belges	7.5	6.5	7.5	7.17
La Balta Café Bar, Senlis	7	8.5	6	7.17
Forge wood campsite bar, Sussex	6.5	6	8	6.83
Charlies deli and coffee shop, Gatwick	6.5	6.5	6	6.33
Bistro Se Mamie, Nr Paris	6.5	6	6.5	6.33
Le Zinc Bleu, Beauvais	7	6.5	5	6.17
Bench, Claremont	0	6	6	4.00

Click link to download London to Paris day 4 route GPX file for your GPS

Rebel Tour. (Mad Hatters Tea Shop, Wymondham)

Mad Hatters Tea Shop,

Wymondham,

Opening times Mon-Thur 09:30-16:30,

Fri -Sat 09:00-16:30

Recommended 

Whilst on my bike ride from London to Paris (see recent posts) I was texted by Chris (Mrs Crusader) who had clearly been so inspired by my cafe cycle rides and blog that she wanted to have a go herself. This behaviour obviously needs to be encouraged so here is her first ever review.

"With Kevin (Mr Crusader) having done a bunk across the Channel, myself with guests Ali (who is increasingly hard to please) Jodie (the nettle queen), and Alison (substitute hot chocolate taster), I decided to choose a route from the blogs useful routes facility (see which way) and have a go at an independent, unsupervised cafe review.

Preparing for 'unsupervised' ride

Feeling particularly liberated from the planful approach of our normal tour leader we set off on the Wymondham 20 mile loop (see down the road), with a vague intention to stop at any cafe we passed that took our fancy (especially as the official cafe for that route is only about 200 yards from the start - even we thought that a little early for cake). 

After a leisurely and un eventful 15 miles or so, with the only drama being the occasional question as to whether we were doing the route backwards or forwards, we realised we were potentially going to get home without any cafe stop at all. This would not do, so being the impetuous and spontaneous group that we are (when not dutifully following our normal tour leader) we took a detour into Wymondham town centre to find a new cafe to try. Outside seating soon became an essential as we realised that having ventured out without our tour leader, that also meant nobody had brought a lock. So we chose the Mad Hatters tea shop, who not only provided extra outside seats for us when we explained our bike security problem, but had also arranged to have the outside of the building painted to match with Jodie and Alison's outfits. A nice touch we thought. 

Outside seating be prepared for our visit

Alison was already nominated to review hot chocolate, Jodie had skinny latte to counteract the cake calories, Ali normal latte and I had skinny mocha. All drinks were good with a solid 7.5 rating. Cake selection was also good - see rather blurry photo - 7.5 again.

The cakes are less blurry in real life

The cake quality also very good. Having sampled the chocolate brownie, lemon cake and coconut and raspberry cake we again awarded 7.5. 

The cakes had lots of extra sweets on top. We liked the ambience and it was no surprise when we decide to give a 7.5 rating : cosy inside, very friendly and helpful staff, napkins not under the cake (we have been paying attention during our review training and thus knew how important this is). 

Cakes and drinks ready to be awarded 7.5 ratings

All in all a very good stop and a cafe we would happily recommend. One minor concern was the lack of toilet facility, but on enquiry we were directed to to library, across the road which we managed to walk to quite easily (even in cycle shoes so no problem there).  I can't claim we spent quite as long as usual on scoring things, but we did take it very seriously.  We continued with our rebellious streak by taking a different route home, thereby creating a new route for future mapping out, finishing up at a very neat 25 miles."

Ratings for Mad Hatters Tea Shop

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.50