DAY 1 - Paris to L'Ile du Saussay

Day 1 report, Paris to L'Ile du Saussay
Total distance 34 miles, average 10.3 mph
Weather - 30 degrees hot, sunny


You'll remember from the previous bit that when the train was called to board we were very quickly reminded that panniers are not so good to walk with for any significant distance; our reallocated seats had put us in carriage 16 and we topped the ramp next to no 2! Some time later we gratefully flopped into our seats and found that on the plus side, panniers pack very well into the Eurostar luggage racks. The Eurostar service to Paris is very efficient and comfortable, so  that bit passed quickly and we discovered that the advantage of being in carriage 16 is that you don't have so far to walk when you get off. That said, the pickup point for the bikes at the Gare du Nord is in the equivalent of the basement with the broken stairs and lights where Arthur Dent had to go to find the bypass plans ... Fortunately, some of us had been there before and to our great relief the bikes were there. Bit of damage to my saddle, but otherwise all ok. Loaded up and off in no time, Rowan was quickly introduced to the pleasure of cycling in Paris.

Reunited with the beloved bikes

We finally located Roy, our 4th team member (he had cycled from St Malo to Paris over the preceding 3 days) having lunch in one of the cafes at the side of the Seine overlooking Norte Dame; after an agonised debate we eventually decided to join him. Very nice quiche and salad.

The team together for the official start at Notre Dame

So it was that we rolled away from Notre Dame at 2 pm to officially start the ride. The first part was easy, following various cycle routes generally along the north bank of the Seine. Safe but a bit slow with all the start-stop typical of such city centre cycle routes. Eventually we crossed to the south side at a pipe bridge with cycle path hanging off the side, then into a more industrial part of the Paris suburbs. Lots of fresh developments since our ride in 2010 that had used the same starting route. Familiarity with the route often helped the navigation and we made generally good progress, eventually breaking away from the Paris to Venice route to cross the Seine one last time and pass through the town of Evry. It's a strange place, a bit like Milton Keynes with a wide mix of modern architectures (including a rather large and gold painted pagoda structure) and planned streets. It's strangeness was confirmed when we passed people playing cricket in an athletics stadium!

Blog support discovered that this is a Vietnamese Buddhist pagoda complex which was opened by the Dalai Lama 

Finally we were out of the great conurbation and into the rural courtyside, initially along a broad but quiet main roan, then off through the small villages strung out along the sides of the L'Essonne valley, including the villages of Grand and Petit Vert.

Not long after, we had arrived at our destination; a small hotel of modern build with large windows opening out onto a balcony overlooking a small lake. Beautiful setting. But, restaurant closed on Sunday! I mustered up the French to enquire our options and then pass on our request that the receptionist phoned up for a pizza delivery, which she happily did. A quick round of showers and clothes washing just filled in the waiting time perfectly before the food arrived. It did not last long!

view from the balcony

Thank god for pizza delivery!

We have just watched a rather nice sunset over the lake with the crescent moon reflected in the water. John is already asleep, Rowan has been asleep and is now awake again, whilst Roy is writing his journal.

Tomorrow three of us will do our first full day - nearly 100 km as we cross over to the Loire valley and our first camp site.

Forecast: 32 degrees and sunny.

Favourite bits of the day
Ro's - coming down the Rue de Grand Vert and seeing our first chateau in the valley of L"Essonne. Interesting, almost Germanic architecture.
Roy's - evening pizza! Meeting up with the rest of the team at Notre Dame.
John's - falling asleep before I could write this bit!
Jeremy's - view back to Notre Dame as we left

Random thought of the day:
The motto of L'Ecole de Louis Pasteur should be: our school does not believe in a sterile learning environment.