Today, I wanted redemption and headed out again. It was drizzling for most of the ride, but nothing serious. I only had one flat tire (where did that glass come from?) and did not have any navigational issues. In a nutshell, this ride was absolutely spectacular. There are are a few, very brief sections of riding on roads with no shoulders. Otherwise, it was mostly bike lanes or extremely quiet and friendly roads. I apologize for not having pictures but Jennie has the camera right now (but I will take her for a ride on this route when she gets back and update with photos!)
Total Distance (from door-to-door): 50 miles / 80 km's
The following directions are basically for my own benefit so I know where to go next time!
Big Scale
1. Riding through Bois de Vincennes. You can either spend extra time enjoying this park, or you can take one of the most direct streets through as indicated. The important thing is to end on Ave. de Gravelle heading East.
2. Both yesterday and today I get tourned around here. I always want to veer right, which takes me quite a distance away from the Pont de Jaunville (where I need to cross the Marne River). After the bridge, take a u-turn to the right and follow the bike path back to the river. Turn right and enjoy the ride for 6-8 miles!
3. Once the bike path starts looking 'more urban' again, and after a sharp meander to the East, cross over on the pedestrian bridge just prior to the islands in the middle of the Marne. Turn right on the road (Quai de Mariniers) afterwards.
4. I ate lunch at the NE corner of this long (2km) retangular lake in the Park of the Nautical Basin of Vaires. Beautiful view.
5. Details to ride through the town of Vaires-sur-Marne.
6. This is where I got my flat tire. This is also where I noticed that EVERY house in this area has big dogs (German Shepard or larger).
7. Making my way to Villevaude.
8. Entering Villevaude. There is a pretty monster hill that leads into town (this picture and the next). Before entering town you ride alongside a field with MASSIVE powerlines/poles. This sleepy little French town must use the same amount of electricity per capita as the average North American!
9. Riding through and leaving Villevaude. The road after the traffic circle has no shoulder and can be tight. However there was little traffic and this section is short.
10. Riding through Villeparisis. I had to walk through the market just before turning onto the canal to go back into Paris. The market was packed. This would be a good place to check out if you had the time.
3. Once the bike path starts looking 'more urban' again, and after a sharp meander to the East, cross over on the pedestrian bridge just prior to the islands in the middle of the Marne. Turn right on the road (Quai de Mariniers) afterwards.
4. I ate lunch at the NE corner of this long (2km) retangular lake in the Park of the Nautical Basin of Vaires. Beautiful view.
5. Details to ride through the town of Vaires-sur-Marne.
6. This is where I got my flat tire. This is also where I noticed that EVERY house in this area has big dogs (German Shepard or larger).
7. Making my way to Villevaude.
8. Entering Villevaude. There is a pretty monster hill that leads into town (this picture and the next). Before entering town you ride alongside a field with MASSIVE powerlines/poles. This sleepy little French town must use the same amount of electricity per capita as the average North American!
9. Riding through and leaving Villevaude. The road after the traffic circle has no shoulder and can be tight. However there was little traffic and this section is short.
10. Crossing under the two highways here is the only real urban riding (not counting getting out of Paris) required on this route. I had a lot of fun here though because I was keeping up with traffic and since I was, I was treated with real respect as a car (not just an annoyance on the shoulder of the road).
10. Riding through Villeparisis. I had to walk through the market just before turning onto the canal to go back into Paris. The market was packed. This would be a good place to check out if you had the time.
Once you get onto the canal, you just follow the path, which is clearly marked, all the way back to Parc de Villette in Paris. This is VERY enjoyable section that winds through the national forest for a bit too! Before the forest, the path will make a u-turn. However, there is another pass that veers right - take this path! Then follow it until it leads back to the canal.
All 'n all a great ride...I hope to do it again very soon!
For those who made it this far, after the ride I met up with a guy I met at a birthday party on friday and ran ~12 very enjoyable miles through the Bois de Bologne.
Now my pizza has just been delivered and I do not want pizza sauce on my keyboard, so go read someone else's blog.
A+
2 comments:
Good to hear that you had a successful do-over on this ride after what sounded like a perfect storm of disaster on the earlier attempt. Would love to see some photos of the route, sounds pretty spectacular.
I bought you new cleats, can I hhave mine back now?
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