Mayday on Les Boucles de la Seine

So this happens towards the end of any trip, no matter the length. Your mind starts to be drawn to your next adventure, or in this case, drawn back to our new home in Seattle. And on longer trips, travel and moving about can just wear you down, especially when moving about as we like to do cycle touring. Ok, our accommodation is generally pretty nice…but constantly packing, unpacking, and hand washing clothes is still tiring after 5 weeks.

Heading out of Honfleur with a new plan.
But first dodging the public market in old town, bone rattling cobbles, and a swing bridge. These folks were headed out for a leisurely e-bike jaunt. Trade bikes?

So as a travel planner, it’s important to keep this in mind, as maybe you can do things to diminish the “end of vacation” funk. Of course, we are now retired, so this is A LOT less of an issue than thinking about the projects, presentation, and meetings you had when you get back to the office. Or ramping up your work engagement remotely as you near home. Gotta answer 100s of emails; postpone, divert, and remind everyone you’ll be back next week. Uhg. Don’t miss any of that.

This impressive Pont de Normandie cable-stayed bridge was built in 1995 and spans the mouth to Le Havre on the North (River Droit) side of the river. Luckily, we did not need to cross it today.
Described in forums as the “Second scariest bridge crossing in France!” It’s steep and windy with no bike lane and full of trucks. Apparently there is a shuttle bus you can catch, so if you are heading to Le Harve and Normandy coastal points north, take it! BTW, it turns out we have done the scariest crossing at the mouth of the Loire in 2023, ha!
Starting into a moderate headwind. The Seine is huge here.
Cheryl soon decides this 8km exposed section is better in my slipstream as we have a long day ahead. We also hug the wall for added windbreak.
And we were able to load up at a large E. Leclerc grocery outside of Honfleur which had Cheryl’s favorite Normand yogurt. And Poire (pear) is a close second to Citron Vert.

And of course bike touring has its own challenges, including things you can’t control, like the wind, road closures, and mechanical issues. But sometimes you CAN adjust plans for the winds. I had looked at the forecast as we headed up the Normandy coast in cross/head winds and just as we turned up the Seine towards Paris, the winds would be strong and full onto us from the East. Hmmm.

This dramatic part of the lower Seine is mostly in a designated Nature Park which limits development and I imagine funds thatching for the roofs too.
And soon there were lots of thatched roofs.

So with the headwinds, there was no way we were going to make it the 350 kilometers to Paris on the designated Seine à Vélo route as we had a non refundable reservation there starting May 3rd. So our new goal was simply to get to the City of Rouen, where we could spend a couple of nights and then easily catch one of the frequent trains into Paris. Rouen to Paris on the Seine will have to wait.

Horse country just upslope from the historic floodplain of the Seine on an old bend (boucle) in the river
Then a bit of dull forest, but out of the wind!
This bird watching tower next to some extensive wetlands was the only publicly accessible break spot for about 30km…and mostly out of the wind.
A great way to get your veggies…and goes down easily while touring. Mostly.
My name is Rich, and I swear by Alvalle Gazpacho
And even more tidy thatch. Thatching and repairs must be a big business around here!
So it turns out the irises on top of almost every thatched roof here serve to anchor the clay cap with their dense root systems, absorb excess moisture and prevent rotting. And the iris is closely tied to French heritage, historically recognized as the royal flower of France (fleur-de-lis). Cool.
After some serious 30mph afternoon headwinds, we made to our first (and turns out only!) crossing of the Seine by small ferry boat.
We had 20 minutes to wait, so Cheryl relaxed a bit. 8 straight days without a rest day was wearing us down a bit.
Finally here comes the boat for a quick end ramp load and the 5 minute crossing. The boats run every 20 minutes all day, except for “designated breaks”, when the gap is double that.
Bacs de Seine are a “network of 8 free, flat-bottomed passenger and vehicle ferries in Normandy. They operate across the lower loops of the River Seine, offering a charming shortcut and a beloved tradition for locals, cyclists, and drivers”
With remote lodging, you always need to figure out dinner, and it appeared all that was (maybe) open in our little village of Jumièges on Wednesday nights was a take out pizza place, so we bought a few back up supplies
Our amazing Suite at the Domaine le Clos des Fontaines in Jumièges. They nicely upgraded us after seeing how tall I was as we were slated for a smaller upper floor room with slanted ceilings.
And yes, dinner was two delicious take out pizzas and some red wine on the patio. Cycle tourists dream.
Jumièges is a lovely little village, especially in the fragrant Spring.
The big attraction in Jumièges is the stunning and atmospheric Abbey ruins.
The Benedictine Monastery dates back to AD 654. After being burnt down and pillaged by the Vikings, it was rebuilt in the 10th and 11th century, expanded in the 16th century and was renowned for its charity to the poor.
It was partially deconstructed for quarry stone after the French Revolution before being a recognized as an important historic site.
But I imagine there have always been Abbey cats.
Lovely gardens to wander
There is a 500 year old Yew tree in the Cloister and these Scots pines surround the area.
Unique stone carvings adorn the Abbey.
Nice chairs to soak in the gardens and history.
After all, this was a “rest day”.
After the abbey, it was nice to have a room fridge and a patio to enjoy, protected from the East winds And then a brisk swim in the pool was a perfect afternoon refresher.
Our second night in Jumièges we were able to enjoy a lovely country dinner at Le Petite Auberge
Packed up and ready to head to Rouen. Very refreshed.
And surprisingly, the little épicerie in Jumièges was open Mayday morning, so we grabbed a few things for lunch.

So May Day is a HUGE holiday in France and we’ve been caught out by it a few times in the past. How huge is this workers holiday? Well the Bacs de la Seine run 364 days a year, so are are only closed on one day. And yup, you guessed it, it’s May Day. I had been thinking about food and restaurants on the holiday, but it did not occur to me that the ferries wouldn’t run at all. We needed two crossings to follow the river route from Jumièges to Rouen, so this way would not be possible.

Since the Bacs were not running on May Day, we had to take an alternate route only on the North bank instead of the planned 55km River route to Rouen. The planner was as a bit frustrated by this, but c’est la vie.
The alternate route did include some nice new rail-trail, and was only an easy 40km.
The Voie Verte Claude Lemesle eventually turned from paved into a dirt track with the rails still in place. Ok, but not ideal as too narrow to pass others without a small diversion.
Turn right before the old rail viaduct and head up the ridge.
After climbing over a big ridge, we descended into one of the older industrial valleys near Rouen. It felt a bit like an English or Welsh coal valley. But we did manage to find the one shady quiet bench for our lunch on this quiet May Day.
(Hint: always try near the Town Hall or Marie)
We opted for a new Hyatt Place up the hill from central Rouen. It was not your suburban USA Hyatt Place, and instead a 2024 green renovation of a 19th century women’s teaching school. Very nice.
Nice new room with a view.
And a fantastic secured bike room nicely located and with proper U racks! Nice -:)
The French cities take a while to wake up on the weekends, so still pretty quiet at 9 am as we crossed into the vast old city center of Rouen.
Cheryl actually impressed by Rouen’s famous and ornate cathedral. In her defense we have seen a lot of cathedrals, so it takes some doing to impress her now.
The Rouen Cathedral is magnificent and “famous for its asymmetrical Gothic facade, the 151-meter cast-iron spire (the tallest in France), and as the subject of Claude Monet’s iconic Impressionist paintings”
Rouen was scene to fierce fighting at the end of World War 2.
Franco-German artist Jan Vormann has “repaired” sections of the old courthouse by filling its war scars with colorful Lego bricks.
The legos are a playful but effective illustration of darker times in the heavily bombed industrial areas around Rouen.
The interior courtyard of Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen with the umbrellas of the city exhibition, which was featuring the role of rain in art.
“Horizontal” by Alexander Calder fronts the museum and peaceful adjacent park.
Painting of the Sons of Clovis in Rouen. We had just read about the 12th century legend of the vanquished brothers at the Jumièges Abbey. Tendons cut, they were cast adrift by Queen Mathilde to float down the Seine, yet taken in and looked after for the rest of their days by the Abbey. Cheryl thinks this story and art work are too creepy for words. If it’s true?
And 2 days in larger city like Rouen meant more diverse food, like these delicious momos at Bhumtso, a Tiebetan restaurant.
The Mussée Les Secq Tournelles houses pre-industrial cast iron works in an old cathedral.
Thousands of metal works here, but I was particularly impressed with the amazing lock mechanisms and bespoke keys.
And then tasty Malaysian food for dinner at Kopitiam.

Rouen is a lively city and has an extensive grid of old streets and half-timbered buildings, and we enjoyed our 2 nights there. The riverfront was a little disappointing as the city still dedicates it to cars. Hopefully someday they’ll take back some of the space and make some of the dramatic livability improvements that Paris and Lyon have embraced.

Easy ride between rain bursts to Gare de Rouen and a casual clothes day.
Loved the oversized elevators to the platforms.
And then the skies opened up after we were on the platform. Thank you!
No problem loading at the beginning of this TER train run as it started it Rouen, but it was packed by the time we got to its terminus in Paris. Luckily, they were holding the passengers waiting to board from accessing the full platform. This was the end of the two week spring school holidays!

So we made it to Paris, making sure to pick a local train TER that started in Rouen, not a longer distance Nomad train. We also splurged a tad for first class on this short trip as these fancy bi-level train sets have bike access for both 1st and 2nd class. We knew the trains would be very crowded as this was last Sunday heading into Paris at the end of the 2 week school holiday period for the region. And it WAS crowded, but first class less so and a very spacious and nice ride skirting the edges of the last bends of the Seine.

Clear of the busy Gare de Saint Lazare in Paris and ready to ride across one of our favorite cities -:)

Cheryl will finally take us home to Seattle in the next post. Keep riding!

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TravelRich

Embarking on the next phase of my life after working as a full-time Civil and Transportation Engineer in the San Francisco for 30 years. My wife and I will be following our shared passions for world travel, culture, and sustainable transport.

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