Velo Rails !

We tried out the local Velo Rail at Commequiers while on holiday in the Vendee. There are a number of Velo Rails throughout France and they were developed to make use of railway tracks which were no longer needed. To find out if there is one near where you are holidaying have a look at http://www.veloraildefrance.com/
We enjoyed our trip through the Vendeen countryside and as it was mostly under trees we were sheltered from the heat of the afternoon sun. However, be warned !  We were given two and a half hours to travel the 10 kms to Coex and the 10kms back.  At Coex, the velo carriage can turn on the turntable.  It would be easy to blame the elderly travellers in front but in fact I don't think we could have made the journey in that time without an Olympic effort. And in High Season you get even less time for the journey. So, what you have to do to return to Commequiers is to lift the whole velo carriage off the track and turn it ! The same is the case if you meet a carriage travelling in the opposite direction - the one travelling from Coex has priority !  We struggled as a group of four to lift the carriage so if you are travelling as a couple of adults, unless you are very strong, you would have to hope you meet at least two strong adults travelling in the opposite direction...    So, if you try out a Velo Rail, enjoy your trip but make sure and find out a bit more about it beforehand or you may become a case of "The next train to Commequiers is half an hour late !" 


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See Paris by Bike !

Here is a whole new way to experience Paris. You can make use of the new Velib' bike hire service in Paris. It is one of the biggest bike hire services in the World, with over 20,000 bikes available for hire. There are various "Velib" hire sites throughout the city. You can hire a bike for a reasonable price at one site and leave the bike at another. A daily ticket is only 1.70€ and you can use Vélib’ as often as you want during 24 hours! The 30 first minutes of each trip are always free of charge. It's only 8 € for a 7-day ticket to use Vélib’ as often as you want during 7 consecutive days! Again, the 30 first minutes of each trip are always free of charge. (For more information : https://aboen-paris.cyclocity.fr/)

To find out about possible cycle routes in and around Paris then you might want to get this a fantastic guide book :

It tells you routes to use in and around Paris, a description of things you might see and it also has handy sections about the parts of a bike and also about the law with regards to cycling in France.

We have recommended a campsite right in the centre of Paris, on an island on the Seine, so if you really want to explore Paris that might be ideal - have a look at our website to find out some more :
Best French Campsites

Velib Bike Network in Central Paris

You might like to try out the excellent Velib bike network in Central Paris if you are visiting Paris this year. There are over 230 miles of cycle lanes in Paris. For more information have a look at their website at http://www.blogger.com/www.velib.paris.fr

Have any of you tried this and how did you get on ? We'd love to hear whether it all went smoothly ! (not intended as a pun!)
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Loire Bike Routes

If you are taking your bike to the Loire Valley this year then you will love this website : http://www.cycling-loire.com/Default.aspx?base
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Voies Vertes

These are French cycle ways rather like the UK Sustrans network.
Some are entirely off road and some are on quiet roads.
The website has a map and you can see if there are any cycle routes where you are holidaying. You can then download an excellent pdf file with a description of your chosen route.

http://www.voiesvertes.com/