Tour de Normandie

About this Post

This post offers my perspective on the Glaudax Tour de Normandie of September 2023. There are no route maps, no list of hotels or best places for coffee and cakes because all that detail is the intellectual property of the two organisers, Richard and Tony Evans. They have pointed out to me that there is quite a lot of information on their website. I’ll just state that the Tour de Normandie starts and finishes at the Ouistreham (Caen) ferry terminal.

Getting There and the Start

While the official start of the Tour was at the Ouistreham ferry terminal, most of us met in a pub car park near the ferry terminal at Portsmouth after journeys by train or car. Living not far from Richard Evans, one of the two brothers who run Glaudax, my bike and I had travelled in the van (for a small supplement).

Also on the ferry was this 1920 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost which had benefited from specialist restoration. We were to see other vintage Rolls Royce models during our week.

After a night on the ferry we negotiated customs and passport control to meet for breakfast at the Ouistreham ferry terminal. We then set off along a paved traffic free route, an easy introduction to riding in France.

Our first day was a fairly easy 120 km with climbs totalling 1000m, therefore classed as “flat” by Richard whose criterion for hilly required climbs of more than 1% in total. We arrived in a small seaside town in time to entrust our bikes to the two “domestiques” to lock with their sold secure gold padlocks and chains while we showered and visited the beach. Richard and Tony had done well to find hotels with secure bike storage; our hotel for the first night was perhaps typical small town quirky French with subsequent hotels being very good to superb.

Traffic Free Routes

Britain’s railways suffered from cuts under the infamous Dr Beeching. Many French regional lines have closed and others are under threat. Cyclists benefit from the traffic free routes that have been created, often with good tarmac surfaces, where railways once ran. We passed the former station of Bures en Bray with the remains of the plaform edge.

Alongside the route we also passsed signs indicating the distance to former elements of the infrastructure such as railway points, long gone.

A little further along the Avenue Verte I was alerted by two other members of the group to a couple of goats feeding on the side of the track.

Another day saw us riding on quiet roads alongside the Seine, criss crossing on ferries. Richard explained that these are provided free as part of the transportation network because they are cheaper than building bridges. We were advised that the second ferry of the day was closed for maintenance from 9 am to 12 noon and that we could use an alternative ferry and continue in the same direction on the other side of the river. I chose to continue on the original route and take a short break before the ferry service resumed at noon: not a great decision! I could see the ferry on the opposite bank and I could hear voices and the occasional clanking noise but noon - and other would-be ferry users - came and went. I turned back, retracing my route for 7-8 km to the alternative ferry. Note to Richard and Tony: the alternative route is prettier, at least in my view.

On the positive side, I saw a sailing ship pass while I was waiting before I turned back to take a working ferry.

Tech Talk over Dinner

No dinner time conversation would be complete without discussion of the pros and cons of tubeless tyres – endless faff or life saver? Nor could we avoid discussion of chain waxing – much the same: too much trouble or better rolling bike with a chain that picks up very little dirt?

I’m firmly in the camps of tubeless tyres and waxed chains. Tony and Richard were totally indulgent in giving me time to wipe down my chain at the end of each day, using a microfibre cloth (obviously!) and dripping a little wax lubricant on each link and massaging it into the chain before handing over my bike for storage.

A firm advocate of tubeless tyre, I confessed to having had a puncture in 2022 leaving me having to top up the pressure after the sealant had done its job. Day 3 saw us riding to a restaurant which was normally closed but which the owner had said she would open specially for us: a four course lunch for 15 euros beckoned. Being a little early, I did “the Audax thing” and stopped at a rural bus shelter for a quick break. When I mounted my bike I noticed sealant oozing from the front tyre; it continued to ooze for the next 3-4 km to the lunch stop where a fellow tubeless user picked out a tiny piece of glass. “That hole’s not going to seal,” he declared. Although I had tubeless plugs, I’d never used them, nor had he. Fortunately, after lunch the tyre had not lost any more pressure and I continued to ride it for the remainder of the trip.

One member of the group told me - twice, in a good humoured way - that his inner tubes still had English air!

After lunch another member of the group found that his rear tyre was flat: another victim of glass on the road in those last few km before lunch. He resolved the issue with a new inner tube.

You can’t beat the * fairy!

Focus on Barns

An online article in “Rouleur Dispatches” by Emilio Previtali urged cyclists to stop when they saw a dilapidated building. The same article also urged readers to acknowledge other cyclists and to swim naked: I will pass on the latter suggestion.

Riding in the Chilterns I see very few barns that have not been restored and modernised. Normandy in contrast has many old barns that appear to be in regular use. Below are a few; please click on individual photos for a closer view.

I was also intrigued by a house with its attached bread oven. The house is aptly named, as you will be able to see.

The Only Hard Day

The last day but one was, for me, the only hard day. We did most of the climbing, or so it seemed, in the first few km and then had a longish flat section with a van stop before the final 40 km of this 120 km leg. Two riders had decided that 80 km was quite enough, thank you, and they had already planned to load their bikes in the van and ride in the passenger seats to the day’s overnight stop. This was fine and shows the flexibility that Glaudax offers.

For me, that final 40 km was hard, seemingly forever up and down, to our overnight stop in Bayeux. The reward was an excellent hotel and a great dinner in a nearby restaurant. The itinerary provided for a fairly short final day, giving time for a visit to the Bayeux tapestry, which one of our group reminded us on several occasions is actually an embroidery. Like some or most of the group, I had seen the tapestry/ embroidery before but visits are now enhanced by an audio guide (price included in the admission charge), a permanent exhibition of relevant materials and a cinema with a timetable for films in different languages.

The Normandy Landings

The last day was a mere 50 km to give time in Bayeux and along the beaches that featured in the Normandy landings. Just two photos: a veteran looking out to sea and three soldiers.

Reminded yet again of the futility of war and the evil of one demented leader, I rode on to the ferry terminal at Ouistreham. Having checked where we were meeting for the evening meal, I rode into the old village and found a patisserie that was still open. Looking in the window I saw a delicious looking “cake” at 4 euros and started to count out all my small change. Only 3 euros 40! I searched pockets and counted again - 4 euros. I entered the shop, asked for the item I had seen and placed my pile of coins on the counter. The assistant counted them out and informed me that I was one euro short; as she started to count them to show me my error, she realised that I had indeed given her the full amount. She passed over the carefully folded box with its precious cargo which I took outside and ate on the grass by the church. It did not disappoint - delicious.

And so to a leisurely evening meal, so leisurely that Tony had to remind the staff that we had a boat to catch.

Brexit - the Gift that Keeps Giving

We waited to embark behind a group of cyclists on a charity ride from Rome to Milan to London, with a support vehicle from Stannah. The rear doors were open and one or two large dogs were carrying out some sort of search, barking very loudly and fiercely, causing considerable distress to one of the riders.

On our way back through customs in Portsmouth, all cars were being searched somewhat perfunctorily: probably not thoroughly enough to find much but slowly enough to cause an annoying wait.

And Finally

Back to the pub where we all met to unload bags and say goodbyes until some, perhaps many, of us meet again for Glaudax Brittany in 2024.

There was so much more to this trip; I hope that I have succeeded in whetting the appetite of at least some readers for a Glaudax trip.