It’s our last day on the Avenue Verte in France. We have 55 miles to bicycle from Gournay-en-Bray to Dieppe, there’s a climb with a 7% grade, we’re now carrying a heavy can of cassoulet au confit du canard for someone in England, and we need to make the 6 p.m. ferry across the English Channel.
Can we do it without stressing?
Thankfully, the worst of the climb isn’t even a half-mile long and by the time we take our break in Forges-les-Eaux almost 20 miles in, we’re about to switch to a long, gently downhill rail-trail that takes us to the outskirts of Dieppe.
But first we have to wander through the small outdoor market that fills the main square in Forges-les-Eaux and buy some proper cheese from a father-son vendor. Somehow I resist the nearby pastry shops and just admire the half-timbered buildings that unusually include bricks.
Also near the square is a museum honoring the French Resistance in World War II. Having started our French cycling adventures at the D-Day beaches, this would make a fitting coda to our French journey. Unfortunately, it won’t open until 2 p.m. And I’m not ready to stress myself out by waiting around for a few hours to try to squeeze in even a short visit.
Anyway, I’ve found another World War II museum — in Dieppe. This one explains the disastrous 1942 Raid on Dieppe planned by the British and that was a massacre for the Canadian units they sent. I had never heard of it. Lord Mountbatten — whose house we pedaled past on our way to the English coast at the very start of our trip — claims the Allies won the Battle of Normandy because of the lessons learned at Dieppe, but I’m not inclined to be that charitable. There’s more than a whiff of incompetence.
The lesson I learned about taking a ferry across the Channel? Bicyclists are assigned a lane and then are among the last, if not the last, to board, after all the trucks and then the campers and cars. There’s no need to 90 minutes early and stand in the cold when you could be enjoying a final French pastry.
On board, I discover that even the ferry promotes the Avenue Verte:
Of course, we’re also among the last to disembark, so by the time we go through immigration in Newhaven, it’s dark. Fortunately, just like in France there is a bike lane to get us out of the harbor. We stay at the nearby Premier Inn, a budget U.K. chain known for its bike-friendliness. Sainsbury is next door. If I can’t have a French pastry, I’ll get some double chocolate cookies.
Did you miss the reports about the start of our Avenue Verte adventure? Here are the links to Day 1 and Day 2.
More photos from the day
Maybe we should turn west and stay in France? This sign is just more proof of how France has embraced bicycle tourism. In the circle is the logo for the Veloroute des Thermes, which connects Forges-Les-Eaux and Rouen. Opened in 2025, it means you could bike a giant loop using this to connect the Avenue Verte and the Seine a Velo routes. You can read about our experience on the Seine a Velo between Rouen and Paris here.
Another castle on the route. It looks a bit like Chambord in the Loire Valley. You can visit, but it’s also now a “Gite de groupe.” Sorry, no rooms for individual tourists.
I was intrigued by the set-up these people have for growing tomatoes. Will the plantsy latch on and grow straight without cages?
The infamous can of cassoulet:
Exploring by bicycle 