500km across the European countryside on a bicycle - Part 3

Cycling long distances has never been my forte and probably will not be. I love cycling, its a extremely rewarding way to unwind. But long distances on a bicycle is not my cup of tea. I am game for short adventures now and then, and that is what this cycling trip taught me.

August 2014 was a period of uncertainties. The only thing that was certain was that we were headed to Paris on bicycles, cycling 500km across the European countryside from Delft in the Netherlands, across Belgium and into France.

Day 3 began just as much as any other day in the week we were cycling. By afternoon, we had found a nice place to eat with some lovely company. Read the previous parts via the links below.

Part 2

Part 1

Back on the road again, after a lunch of tomatoes, sandwiches and cheese with a lovely family and their pet dog. Find pictures in the previous post.

We ended day 3 by reaching the town of Etaples, our stop for the night. The first place we went to was the supermarket to get some fulfilling food followed by a hunt for a place to camp the night. We found a park with trailers and hippies which suited our needs. We pitched our tents and made friends with the folks in the trailer park.

We were off at the crack of dawn, our destination being the town of Dieppe, about 100 odd km from Etaples.

Plenty of small towns on the way. The road was mostly downhill and we had a much easier ride than the previous days.

Rolling fields everywhere. The sky turned overcast in the afternoon, but sunlight quickly followed!

Corn fields everywhere!

Another day, another town...

This was what happiness looked like on that trip. Downhills!

We reached Dieppe very early, at around 15:00 hours in the afternoon. The first thing we did was head straight towards the beach and the bars. We spent quite a while gulping a couple of beers at the local bars and before we knew it, it was dusk. Time to start searching for a place to stay!

By the pier, Dieppe

And to our bad luck, there was some carnival happening in town which meant all the hostels and BnBs were full. The only choices left were the expensive rooms in hotels which we weren't too keen on. The other option was to find a place to camp, and after a quick look at google maps, we decided to cycle about 15km out of town and find some places to camp.

And the rain hit!

And all of a sudden, we were in the middle of the street in the cold rain without a place to stay. We took shelter in a church as we waited for the rain to stop.

The rain stopped after nearly 30 minutes, and we started cycling only to come to a uphill road. At that point, I lost all my motivation and energy to cycle further. Looking around, we came upon a compound that had a number of cars parked. It looked like the building there had been demolished and the place was now used as a parking lot. After some thought, we decided to camp there for the night.

We pitched our tents behind some cars, but by night most of the owners took their cars away and our tent was visible to anyone from the road. In the wee hours of the morning, a couple of drunks threw stones at the tent which made us hastily pack up and leave at first light.

The uphill road that made us stop and camp for the night.

It was a bright sunny afternoon as we cycled into the town of Le Havre, our destination for the day. After the previous day's experience, the first thing we did was to find a place to stay. We found a decent student hostel and a comfortable bed to rest.

We got some beers to celebrate and unwind, talking about the last few days and how we got to do this adventure.

Early in the morning, we left, stopping at Le Havre beach on the way.

We found a cheap train to Paris and decided to ride the train to the French capital. To our bad luck, the train ran into issues and we found ourselves stranded on the platform in some small town waiting for a couple of hours for the next train. By late afternoon, we were in the French capital, and my first time in Paris.

A final recounting of this journey in my next and final post on this adventure. Cheers!

Read the first two parts via the links below:

500km across the European countryside on a bicycle - Part 2 - The French Countryside

500km across the European countryside on a bicycle - Part 1 - Netherlands to Belgium

If you liked this post, please upvote, comment and resteem. Check out some of my other posts via the links below:

Read some of my travel stories and photologs via the links below:

Motorcycling India

Up above the Arctic Circle - Tromso and the Northern Lights

A solo backpacking trip across the UK

Cycling 500km across Europe: Dtube

Another solo roadtrip - Pictures of the Western Ghats, meeting fellow Steemians and a blast of a ride!

A solo roadtrip across the western Ghats and meeting my favorite dog!