This is a second attempt at this posting, being drafted in Google Docs as my experience with wordpress has been extremely disappointing so far, hence the rant posting. At least Google Docs will auto save. Our day was long and arduous (potential word of the day). As we had to go off route to find … Continue reading Day thirteen: Moy l’Ainse to Laon →

A day going rouge in terms of route as we death for the sometimes elusive towns with accommodation. Often the town on the recognized only has one option, and if that is not available, cross referencing the accommodation list to Google maps is the next step. This was the case today as we went from … Continue reading Day twelve: Trefcon to Moy l’Ainse →

A modest 18km day, but the easy days are often the hardest. At last we feel like we are on a camino, meeting a German father and son at the Youth Hostel in Péronne last night who are doing the section as far as Reims, and tonight at the rural B&B, the same Germans, plus … Continue reading Day eleven: Péronne to Trefcon →

The generally accepted via francigena path, the GR145, goes directly from B to P, but we deviated by heading south then east, which took in the killing fields of the Somme. In many ways words are not enough, so here are pictures of the cemeteries and memorials that we either visited or could see from … Continue reading Day nine & ten: Bapaume to Peronne via Albert →

Back on shank’s pony. We’d planned to leave our trusty steeds at a ‘recycling’ store we found online, but we passed it by without realizing. Rather than back tracking, we parked our bikes at the roadside - I’m sure they will soon find new owners! It was a great day for a walk through the … Continue reading Day eight: Arras to Bapaume →

A rainy rest day in Arras - laundry and R&R! Being a Saturday, we checked out the market in the Places des heros (renamed to commemorate the hundreds of French resistance fighters who were executed in Arras during WW2). The yellow truck was by far the most popular vendor in the square, so we loaded … Continue reading Day seven: rest day in Arras →

A day focused on keeping our rubbery legs operating in the continuing heat - although it was only a tepid 28c today. It was another day of remembrance, with a specific focus on Canada. Our route took us up a trail on the eastern, steep side of Vimy ridge (ironically, it was 5e steepness of … Continue reading Day six: Aubers to Arras →

WW1 is everywhere, as we headed south towards Arras, essentially following the frontlines of 1914 - 1918. Sign posts to war cemeteries are everywhere, and we stopped at most of those on our route to honour those that died. First major stop was at Messen ( Messines) where there is a memorial to the 827 … Continue reading Day five: Ypres to Aubers →

An early start to beat the heat, and only a short cruise into Ypres (nowadays known as leper). Much was downhill, and reservations about using a busy road were dissipated as it had a dedicated bike lane... way out in the countryside. No wonder the Belgians are great cyclists. Unfortunately there was no coffee, so … Continue reading Day four: Godewaersvelde to Ypres →

Actually, the end point was camping cinq chemins verts, but we never figured out the five green shirt reference. It was a long haul for one day, but we have retained our (t)rusty bikes as a way to beat the heat. With a heat wave on offer for the rest of the week, walking 30km … Continue reading Day three: Dunkerque to Godewaersvelde →