The day dawned bright and sunny in Calais after a night of heavy rain. I was worried all the previous day about the weather whilst travelling down to Dover and then a rough ferry crossing.
I set off with a smile and found Euro Velo 5 was signed in Calais and on traffic-free paths alongside rivers and canals. Very pretty, and an impressionist artist would have been inspired. However, the route stopped being marked after a few kilometers and I continued navigating the planed route with my Garmin GPS.
The riding was good and relatively flat. I had a few kilometers off-road next to the canals but not too muddy. It was a joy to share a friendly bonjour wave with other cyclists.
Interesting site visited was a German WW2 Bunker that launched the V1 and V2 Rockets. The museum was partly devoted to the forced labourers forced to work under appalling conditions.
Finished the ride near Lille, the Hotel is called Mr Bed, very suitable for a tired cyclist!
The first posting was sent prematurely, sorry for the error, not easy dealing this little tablet. I haven't been able to paste in photos either, maybe next time! At least I started Blogging!
Ride Facts:
Distance 125km
Duration 7 hours
Av Speed 17.4 km/hr
Total ascent 450 meters
