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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2882 |
8th September 2016 Mt. Biking: Les Andelys to Vernon, Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: 25.36 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 35 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Thursday 8th September – Bike ***** Les Andelys to Vernon, cloudy then sunny warm and breezy – 35 miles, 6 hours 20 minutes out and max speed 25.36 A bit cloudy this morning but at least not as hot as yesterday – Got sunny again later:) We did our exercises and had breakfast then got the bikes off and headed out of Les Andelys, over the Seine on the road bridge, then took the track to the village of Tosny, passing lots of fishing lakes. We followed various tracks and footpaths until we came to the next bridge back over the Seine at Gaillon. We joined the D10 road which we knew would bring us to the outskirts of Port Mort where our map showed one of my favourite standing stones! It promised to be a good one being called Menhir Gravier de Gargantua!! Well it was hilarious, as it was on a downhill stretch of road where I can keep in front of Mag (!) I whizzed straight past it!! Mag was calling me and ringing her bell but I didn’t turn round till I reached the junction at the bottom of the road and had to go back! :) It wasn’t the best we have ever seen and didn’t really live up to its name, but any standing stone is a good standing stone :) We carried on on the road to Vernon which was another 6 miles away. We past another Chateau called Madeline and as we reached the outskirts of Vernon we pulled over to the left as another white chateau with lots of turrets appeared around a corner. We biked down to the riverside in the chateau grounds and walked out on the floating jetty of the Base de Loisirs to have a good look at the Mill which is built high up on what was once a bridge over the river. Apparently there were once 4 windmills right across the river! We ate our lunch on the grassy bank on the other side of the mill and Mag shared her crispy roll with the strangest looking duck we have ever seen. Goodness knows what breed that was! It was good fun though and pecked her fingers when she ran out of bread! Back on the bikes after a rest and across the bridge into Vernon town. Not that much to see but some lovely old buildings and a huge church. We visited the tourist information in a really old house next to the church to get a local map to see which was the best way to return to Les Andelys. We discovered that there were tracks running virtually parallel to our original route and we set out to find the entrance to lead us to where they started. We found it and although it was quite a tricky thing to find the right way to go and they were quite rough in places we were treated to a route mostly along the river bank and through fields and woods. We stopped near the sluice at Port Mort for a snack and a drink then set out for the last push which took us between the river bank and a huge lake formed by a gravel works. Worryingly there was a barge in the lake which made us think that we might have to retrace our steps because there must be an entrance to the river which would leave us at a dead end! This theory was confirmed by a silver car overtaking us and then coming back the other way! We approached a wooded area which looked like it might lead to our problem but no, there was a tiny footbridge over the entrance to the lake and we were able to cross easily :) We came off the tracks in the village of Vezillon and followed the road back into Andelys and the van. 35 miles and out for 6 hours 20 minutes!! It was a great day. We had a cuppa and a rest then when the bikes were back on we had salmon and potatoes for tea. Friday 9th September - Relax and travel + walk **** sunny and warm We had a relaxing start and enjoyed reading and eating breakfast on the river bank. Packed up and headed out of Les Andelys and towards Vernon where we biked to yesterday. We decided to stay on small roads and loosely follow the River Eure down towards Dreux. We usually do this stretch on the motorway so it is nice to see what else is in the area. The villages were not as nice as the ones we saw on our bike ride yesterday but it wasn’t a bad route. Yet again a Dolman mentioned on our map just outside Marcilly sur Eure didn’t actually materialize in real life so that was a little disappointing but it did take us to an interesting viaduct style bridge. It had many arches and did span the Eure but didn’t appear to go anywhere at either end! Will have to look up what that’s all about when we get home. A little further on and to the eastern side of Dreux we followed the signs to the Plan de Eau at Mezieres en Drouais and Ecluselles. This turned out to be a really lovely series of etangs and lakes which have a pathway linking them together and forming a bird reserve. The car park was called ‘The Dolman car park’ and we thought there would be a walk to it but it turned out to be on an island in the middle !!!! We had our lunch down by the lake and then around. We saw lots of the usual waterfowl and some unusual Herons. With good photos we were sure we would be able to identify them from our book but no! Another thing to look up when we get home. We returned to the van and had a ride round to see if there was a better car park but returned to the original one and had a cuppa then took our books and the blanket to a quiet area and read for a while in the shade. It is hot and sunny again today. Had our tea sitting outside watching the local joggers and people out with their kids on their bikes while the sun set. We are staying here tonight. Found a small plastic Shaggy character from Scooby Doo who has only one hand :( We have decided to adopt him, he can join the blue footed booby in the front of the van. We can use him like where’s wally! Photo Gallery here |
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