Riding In France, As I See It
Jane and I try to keep a strict one hour riding then stop regime.
What this essentially means, is around 60 miles, stop for 5 minutes, just enough to keep the circulation in your bum, then another 60 miles, and refuel.
You always get a longer stop at the refuel, but not too long obviously, as distance is the key here.
Keeping this up you can easily average 50 miles an hour, and with plenty of breaks, the journey is an event, rather than a chore.
At each stop remember to drink plenty of water, it really helps.
Doing this I expect that a 350 mile trip will take around 8 hours.
This is not as bad as it may seem, this is with 8 breaks, one of which you will take as a meal break.
Be VERY careful on the periferique, it is a dangerous road.
But other than straight through Paris, which is not that bad, but will take longer, it is the best option.
Just in case you don't know, you will need to take the following things with you.
A complete spare bulb kit.
And a Day-Glo yellow jacket, which needs to be easily accessed.
We often travel over 300 miles in a day, it really is not so bad, our record is 750 miles in one stint, that was murder!!!!
The worst time for accidents is at filling stations,
it is very easy to pull out looking the wrong way, straight into the path of on-coming traffic, take care when you fill up.
The French drivers are very good with bikes as a rule, and will often pull over for you.
The French police have caught on to the speed camera fund raising idea, and they hide behind bushes as you come into towns, watch your speed.
France is a magnificent place to ride, mostly open, straight, traffic free roads, and beautiful villages and towns everywhere.
Just keep your eyes open, drink plenty of water, take regular breaks, and the trip will be a breeze.
Hope this helps you, you never know.
