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Trains and bicycles
You could, alternatively, send your bike on ahead by going to a SERNAM depot, which may or may not be located near a French railway station. SERNAM is the trucking company associated with the French railway system that will box your bike and deliver it to your chosen depot for about 40 euros within 48 hours. You can phone 08 25 84 58 45 to locate your nearest depot, for other information, and to pay the delivery charge by credit card. You can also pay for this service when you buy your train ticket at the station, or at a SERNAM depot. However, it is important to bear in mind that the depots are usually only open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, with only major depots open on Saturday mornings. They are closed Sundays and public holidays. As some depots are situated some distance from a town's railway station you will have to take alternative transport to reach the station.
I prefer to be on the same train as my bike and keep an eye on it whenever the train stops – that way it will reach your destination when you do, and you are ready to start your tour without any hitches.
For timetables and further information visit www.ter-sncf.com for regional networks, or www.voyages-sncf.com for train journeys from one region to another.
Roads
The condition of French roads varies considerably. One moment you may be cycling along a recently resurfaced road with a cycle lane – the next you are avoiding potholes on a bumpy stretch of cracked asphalt! The reason for this is usually a régional, départmentale or communale one. In effect, there are three levels of local government.
Near Gabre (Route 6)
France is divided into 22 regions, sub-divided into 96 départments, and these are, in turn, sub-divided into about 36,000 local communes – the equivalent of a parish or borough. The regional councils are responsible for Autoroutes (motorways) and Routes Nationales (main trunk roads), often marked on maps and road signs as ‘N’ or ‘RN’ roads. Bicycles are not allowed on Autoroutes, which are marked as ‘A’ roads and their road signs are blue. ‘D’ roads are the responsibility of the départmentale councils and are quieter secondary roads, while ‘C’ roads are rural roads that the local commune looks after (or not, depending on funding). Most of the roads covered in this guidebook are in good condition or have recently been resurfaced, many with cycle lanes or paths running alongside them. It is also not uncommon to discover, for example, that the D77 (that you have been cycling along) suddenly becomes the D52 for no apparent reason. This is probably due to you having crossed the boundary line between départments.
Apart from always remembering to cycle on the right side of the road, it is important to take care at roundabouts which come in all shapes and sizes and spring up all over the place. Do not be surprised to find that a junction mentioned in this guidebook is now a mini roundabout – the French love building them. Traffic already on a roundabout has the right of way. You will often see signs indicating that you do not have right of way (vous n'avez pas la priorité) or that you must give way (cédez le passage). At junctions, traffic coming from the right has right of way (priorité à droite), even if they are on a minor road. Traffic on these roads, however, must give way to you if they have a stop sign. You know you have right of way if you see the sign with a yellow diamond inside a white one.
If a road has a cycle lane or path, you must use it. Drivers do not take kindly to cyclists who ignore a cycle path and hold up traffic on a narrow stretch of road. A cycle path (piste cyclable) is usually indicated by a white bicycle symbol on a blue background, or could be a narrow green track with a white bicycle symbol painted on it. A cycle lane (usually about a metre wide) will run along the extreme right of the road and also has a bicycle symbol painted on it.
As cycling is a national sport in France, the vast majority of drivers are very considerate, will give you a wide berth and may honk to let you know they are coming up behind. Strangely, I have discovered that in some parts of France you can cycle for days without anyone honking you, but in other parts nearly every car or truck will hit the horn. Don't get the hump if they do – they mean well. Many disused railway lines have now been turned into well-surfaced cycle paths and I have included several of them in the tours.
Maps
The blue IGN (Institut Geographic National) 1:100,000 Carte Topographique Top 100 maps are highly recommended for the tours in this guide. There are 74 in all, covering the whole of France. They are detailed maps complete with contour lines, aimed especially at cyclists and walkers. Most good bookshops can order them in, or you can buy them online at www.stanfords.co.uk or www.mapsworldwide.com.
This is a list of the relevant map numbers for the tours in this guidebook:
Brittany tour 13 (Brest/Quimper), 14 (St Brieuc/Morlaix)
Marne Valley and Picardy tour 09 (Paris/Laon)
Alsace tour 12 (Strasbourg/Forbach), 31 (St Dié/Mulhouse/Basle)
Alps tour 45 (Annecy/Lausanne), 53 (Grenoble/Mont Blanc), 54 (Grenoble/Gap)
Provence tour 60 (Cavaillon/Digne les Bains), 66 (Avignon/Montpellier), 67 (Marseille/Carpentras)
Pyrénées tour 70 (Pau/Bagnères de Luchon), 71 (St Gaudens/Andorre)
Dordogne and Lot tour 48 (Périgueux/Tulle), 57 (Cahors/Montauban)
Auvergne and Languedoc tour 49 (Clermont-Ferrand/Aurillac), 58 (Rodez/Mende), 59 (Privas/Alès)
Michelin publish the very useful France 1:200,000 Motorist and Motoring Atlas, updated annually. It covers the whole of France, indicates most recommended campsites, and includes some city and town maps. The campsites in this atlas are described in detail in Michelin's Camping Caravaning le guide, which is also updated annually.
Passports, Visas, Health and Insurance
At present, citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not need an entry visa for France for stays up to 90 days, only a full passport. If you intend to stay longer than three months you need to apply for a visa in your home country before reaching France. Citizens from European Union countries can travel freely in France (passport, or identity card, depending on issuing country) for up to three months, but should officially apply for a carte de séjour if wishing to stay any longer than this. South African citizens need to apply for a short-stay visa up to three months. For information regarding visa requirements for entering France from any country in the world visit www.diplomatie.gouv.fr. For Embassy and Consulate addresses, websites and relevant information regarding visas, passports, emergencies and so on see Appendix F.
Citizens of all European Union and Scandinavian countries are entitled to take advantage of French health services under the same terms as residents, providing they have the correct documentation. British citizens need to have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC); apply online via the Department of Health website, or call 0845 606 2030 for an application form. You can also pick one up at major post offices. North American and other non-European Union citizens have to pay for most medical attention, so it would be prudent to consider travel insurance.
