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london to paris. the dover/calais route and the avenue verte. mike wells. cicerone press paperback. 268pp illus. £14.95
on the day that the hot chillee london to paris ride left imber sports club in south london at stupid o'clock this morning, it is particularly appropriate that i am able to review this recent publication from the excellent range of guides from cicerone press, dealing as it does with two routes designed to get you from one city to the other. having ridden the hot chillee version last year, i don't mind admitting that at no time did i have the faintest idea of where i was; i simply followed everyone else following the lead car, which in turn drove through red lights, roundabouts, road crossings and through road junctions, all closed by the accompanying motorcycle outriders.
sadly, the cicerone publication does not come with a free motorcycle escort.
last year's hot chillee route appears to have been remarkably similar in intent to the first of the two explored in this guide, particularly in its parcours including the city of amiens, with its stunning cathedral, a view of which i discovered was mine for the taking on opening the curtains in the hotel room. if you're ever struggling for a convincing reason to undertake a ride from london to paris, amiens cathedral ought to be the clincher. taken in conjunction with the arc de triomphe and the eiffel tower, you can subsequently park the bike in the shed on arriving home and retire as a happy cyclist.
until the next guidebook arrives, of course.
in common with all cicerone guides, this publication is designed to hold your hand on leaving from either london's tower hill station or, perchance, the london eye, the starting point for the avenue verte, a route conceived to celebrate the 2012 olympics. the latter departs british soil from the port of newhaven, near brighton, while the former, more traditional means of getting to the eiffel tower, travels through ashford and folkestone, en-route to dover. the latter disembarks at calais on france's northern coast; the green route takes the itinerant, yet intrepid cyclist to the port of dieppe.
mike wells' narrative, offering pretty much step by step accuracy that it strikes me, would be hard to fault, opens his guide by providing a historical account of the regions through which velocipedinal activity is about to take place. hot chillee take all the potential strain from the peloton by carrying everyone's luggage from départ to overnight stay, having booked each individual hotel along the way, including rather sumptuous surroundings in central paris. however, should you prefer more rustic means of accommodations, such as bed and breakfast, camping or hostels, advice is provided to metaphorically and literally point you in the right direction.
it has often occurred to me to ask, when perusing other guides in the cicerone series, just how one might return homeward without actually retracing each page from back to front. in the case of the london to paris guide, return by eurostar from gare du nord station or by air is dealt with, prior to sending you frenchwards. the author has also the perspicacity to deal with the subject of road safety, a different prospect on each side of the channel (and how), along with suggesting what to eat, what to wear and what sort of bicycle might be the most appropriate. were i attempting either route under my own steam, i'd be less than inclined to ride the rather superb campag equipped sarto carbon fibre that put a smile on my face last year. in that particular case, the only cargo transported was a selection of gels in a back pocket.
the guide is copiously illustrated with both images of scenes to be viewed along the way and highly detailed maps. it's perhaps worth my pointing out that the avenue verte undercuts its compatriot by half: 240 miles against 490, meaning that once you've completed the shorter one, you can start planning for the other. twice the fun for one price. there are several organised london to paris charity rides that exist alongside the hot chillee version, with every likeihood that participants are as oblivious as was i, to their exact whereabouts. if that's not the way you roll these days, mike wells' potential ministrations on your behalf offer a more than viable and enjoyable alternative.
thursday 26 july 2018
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