Normandy June 2026

View from the Front - Chris J

As I rode off from the Ouistreham ferry, there was a gaggle of 10 high-viz clad cyclist behind me, and for the next five days, whenever I looked behind me, there they were! The locals were generally amused, as only the British do, touring in the land of the Tour de France. We did give them a new take on the yellow jersey. Well, we did well to give them something to try to overtake!

So, I did my best to show the peleton what I like about cycling in Normandy, along with the French characteristics. Even on the simple route from the Ferry to the hotel, we went from cycle paths across the nature reserve of the estuary marshes to the French delight of “priorité à droite” as we navigated the splendours of Cabourg.

I soon realised that as long as I could hear the banter and chatter all was well. Silence meant trouble – and subsequent awkward questions and challenges. But as long as I kept going through the green and lush paysage de Normandie, and I could hear the chatter behind me, all was well. Uphill and downdale, we rolled along. Hills, we found a few, but you cannot make a tour without breaking a few hills, and we did start each day at sea level, so the only way was up! Of note was that we could not find a translation for “pothole”. We believe that this is because there just were not any potholes to be crashed into.

Cafes, we soon got the hang of these, and that if you asked for une café au lait, les serveurs served you une café crème, and visa versa. But at one café where we challenged, the difference was the size of the cup! Jo tried to make life easier by organising a kitty, which made for good entertainment as we negotiated the terms regarding the inclusion of a piece of gateaux or not. Judging by our negotiating terms, HS2 will be lucky to run by 2080! Many thanks to Jo for her sterling efforts (in euros).

We also raised to the challenges in the restaurant menus. “Pour trouver le homard”, John came closest as we think that a lobster stirred a dish that he was served. Also, we are not sure if the size of “les moules” reflected our status in Europe.

I hope that you all enjoyed the tour, and that I managed to showcase cycling in Normandie in a good light, despite the weather. I find it a wonderful region for cycling, the chief ingredients being space and tranquillity plus touches of unexpected excitement and Frenchness. I feel touring is best shared, like a good bottle of wine. So, I hope that we can share many more tours and bottles together in the future!

Many thanks to you all for being such a good petaton on tour, and particularly Malcolm as co-leader, Jeremy and Howard as back markers and Chris B as reserve cheer-leader!

À la prochaine !

Chris

Day 2 - Tim A

After our first night in Les Cabines we awoke and made a beeline for the restaurant area. Here we had on offer a range of meats, eggs, jams, cakes and viennoiseries along with the usual coffee and fruit juices. Delicious!

At about 9.30am we set off on our Day 2 ride once we had posed for a picture taken by the "patron". Initially we were slightly concerned that the road was inclined in an upward direction and it seemed to carry on interminably. Jeremy, whose e-bike at this time was only providing intermittent power, was clearly struggling, nevertheless he pressed on manfully without complaining too much. Howard was always behind him encouraging him to keep going. We purchased lunch in Bonneville and took coffee during a small shower of rain. At Beaumont en Auge (somewhere near the highest elevation on our journey) we stopped to eat lunch. A major calamity occurred when John H discovered he had lost a glove. After a thorough search we had to admit it had seemingly disappeared from the face of the Earth.

On the way back to Houlgate Jeremy and Carla swapped bikes and Carla confirmed the fact that the bike was not performing as designed. Luckily the final 2.8 miles were downhill!

In the evening, after a bevvy in the bar we strolled to our restaurant of the day for the evening meal after which we made our way back to our "spacious" rooms for rest and récupération. It had been an excellent day despite a little rain. The scenery was stunning and the route well planned, thanks mainly to ChrisJ.

Day 3 France Normandie - Roger P

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Breakfast in our excellent hotel in Houlgate (Pont l’Eveque- yummy) and then we mount our bikes ready for the ride. 

It’s the Houlgate, Branville, Beaufour-Druval, Dives-sur Mer, Houlgate loop today, about 33 miles. As we reach the top of the hills south of Houlgate, to the north we can see the English Channel glistening and to the south the beautiful undulating Normandie countryside unfolds before us. Beuvron-en-Auge for lunch, and then a stop at Dives with its connection to William the Conqueror and a beautifully preserved medieval hall, before heading back. The pace is gentle, we stop frequently for coffee, cidre, and to admire the scenery and the wildlife. Back to the hotel, freshen up, then drinks and the evening meal: moules anyone? Great day out, great company, great banter.

Next year, think like Nike - JUST DO IT.

Day 4 - John J & Carla B

The day started bright. Following a bit of climbing towards Putot-en-Auge and the memorial we had a religious moment at the Glorious Cross. The rain then hit hard but spirits were high, especially while lunching on substantial baguettes in a Troan bar.

The ‘piece de la resistance’ was the ride through the marshes towards Bavent in glorious isolation where we saw storks, herons, egrets and more. A wonderful calm peaceful ride – a unique experience.

Then to Cabourg for coffee and ice creams or something stronger and Houlgate for rest and recuperative aperitives before dinner at Aux Bains Fleuris.

Howard had a hard time, his electronic gears ran out of juice (and he lacked a charging lead) so spent the whole day in a low gear peddling extremely fast !

What a great way to spend a day.

Day 5 - Houlgate to Home - Miranda O & Jo B

Last day today! There was a choice on rides so we all had the freedom to make our own plans for the day. Inevitably though we all wanted to stay together a bit longer so our long-suffering leader agreed to continue leading! Chris knew every detail of the route so well that we were all only too happy to follow him to the iconic WW2 landings sites and we enjoyed our final coffee as a happy little group at the famous Pegasus bridge cafe.

The ride from Pegasus Bridge was along the canal with more birdlife to see. Great cycling, smooth path and very flat. So no trouble in riding along loaded up with all our gear. We arrive at the ferry port but scooted past to head along to the Normandy Beaches and the famous Sword Beach. We stopped at the memorial for a bit of contemplation and then rode along further to visit a very nice cafe/Restaurant serving up delicious lunch in the glorious sunshine on the beach p p.m.

After lunch we rode along further to soak up more of the beaches and trying to imagine the D-Day landings. Lots of history there with memorials and statues 

 Could have cycled for miles just taking that scenery in but saw our ferry arriving so sadly, had to leave this wonderful area to make our way back to Ouistreham for the 4.30 sailing to finish our wonderful week. 

 To sum up Great easy Cycling 🚴‍♀️ Great Company 

Great hotel with great hosts

 Great restaurant choices 

 Can’t find any faults 

 Thank you Jo