Le Dash - Normandy

It is that time of year again. As we awaken from the gloom of a dark, dank winter, and while birds chirp and daffodils bloom then wither, we ponder our first big rides. We google ambitious destinations - Donetsk, Mosul, Swindon - to see what we can manage in a long weekend. 95 miles a day - a cinch! We forget the rubbishy weather this time last year and the puddles in the corner of the tent, the punctures, the snap happy spokes, the boil. But, we don't forget the sunrise, the spires wrapped in mist, the babbling brooks, the vin, the croissants, the bitter intoxicating whiff of freshly ground 'café'...

The ubiquitous blue line on google maps has been dragged hither and thither to avoid cycling down a French motorway and the route is set - my associate, Neil, and I are doing a quick tour of Normandy. The infamous overnight ferry to Dieppe then up and over to Rouen and the Seine; over to the Vire river and Saint Lo; up a velo route

(Voie Verte du Cotentin de Cambernon à Rocheville), across to Utah beach, back through Bayeux and along Sword and Juno beaches to Ouistreham for the overnight back Portsmouth. Lots of good views, photo ops, oohs and aahs and sobering relics. The hillage doesn't seem to be too demanding - on screen - but there are several rivers heading to Le Manche and so there will be the crossing of valleys to enjoy. The blue line is approx 250 miles long and shares some of the highways and byways of the Tour de Manche. 

Some travel blurb - the DFDS Newhaven Dieppe ferry leaves at 00.30 hundred O'clock hours am. This allows a late start from London - on a cheap fare as little as as a fiver if booked well ahead. The ferry is about £28 per person and includes the bike. The trip is a mere four hours so don't expect to arrive too bright-eyed and bushy tailed - what with a couple of medicinal beers and wriggling around in a reclining seat, it's more a case of arriving bright-tailed and bushy-eyed. The journey back is £135 for two sharing a two-bunk cabin on a Brittany Ferries' crossing that leaves at 23.45. Portsmouth arrives at the boat at 6.45 and there is a 9.16 train back to London for £8 (if bought well in advance) after a load of £35 trains.

The ferry options improve in May as the much shorter and speedier Cherbourg to Portsmouth route opens for summery business.