After much planning and debate the route was decided. We, being 2 chaps in our 60s were going to Paris mainly on the Avenue Verte but taking our own route from London to Newhaven, the reason being it would give us more time in France to do the longer approach to Paris. We have biked together for many years on similar trips but mainly in the UK. I was on a newly acquired Surly Ogre with a 12x1 SLX setup. Tom rode a Specialised Sirrius hybrid.

London is awkward to ride through which is why we chose a Sunday start looking for quiet streets but as the weather was nice the bike routes were busy with people enjoying the April sun. This made us a little late for our overnight but we had very accommodating hosts. The next day was easier heading straight for the ferry at Newhaven via Lewes and arrived in plenty time.

The ferry takes about 5 hours meaning we were in a cold dark Dieppe at 5:30 with nowhere open but there is a boulangerie en route that opened at 6 serving coffee & croissants. We continued on the dedicated path along an old railway and by 7 the first light was appearing but it was very cold. Although it was going to be a nice day the sun did not warm us up until much later by which time we had knocked off nearly 40km and stopped for a second coffee. A hearty lunch in Forges Les Eaux 19km further on revived us and the rest of the day was in warm sun. We spent the night in Gournay en Bray and the next picked up another easy going railway route to Beauvais where we looked around the amazing cathedral before lunch. Onwards through small quite roads to our second night slightly off route and uphill at Avrigney due to only booking accommodation the week before. Next morning started with a chilly scoot downhill for an early morning C&C, ready for the climb out of Pont Sainte Maxine. There was a peaceful relaxed section to enjoy the solitude of the forest before dropping into Senlis which is a great wee stop for a lunch in a sunny street. After that we weaved our way through country roads and quiet paths with a diversion to see the Tomb of Vincent Van Gogh at Auvers Sur Oise before stopping in Pontoise. This gave us a very relaxed day to experience the very pleasant ride into Paris alongside rivers and through woods before leaving the Avenue Vert at Chatou to dodge through the city streets to take us the the Arc De Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.