The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

2025 Seine à Vélo and Hidden Normandy

September 14th to October 1st

Ride Director: Sue Bunten
Ride Co-Director: Graeme Thomson
Report by: Paula Power

Participants:  Leslie Ogden, Jackie Arnett, Sandra Meyerhofer, Cathy Munneke, Jane Holahan, Finlay Ferguson, Mary Ferguson, Kate Faulkner, Bill Faulkner, Sonia Sandomer, Jannine Farrell, Regina Coose, Ernie Coose, Holly Miller, Eric Brodsky, Paula Power, Don Mosley, Dave Adler

Paris ®(San Denis) (Saint Germain-en-Laye) Poissy®(Monet’s Garden) Vernon®Rouen®Jumieges®Honfleur®Lisieux®Caen®Port-en-Bessin®Bayeux (Mont Saint Michel) ®Paris

This is a ride where emotions are stirred and history comes alive.  It is the thrill of navigating urban Paris, the joy of cycling on dedicated bike paths through iconic villages and landscapes, and numerous visits to historic sites, memorials, museums, churches, and monasteries. This trip has it all!

Cycling began with a challenging and technical rides through and around Paris. We learned the rules of the road and local bike infrastructure designs as we  successfully dodged pedestrians, commuter cyclists, and autos.  Our rides included the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame de Paris, and spectacular Versailles. 

We continued our cycling journey on La Seine à Vélo, a 400-kilometer path that follows the Seine River to the English Channel at Honfleur.    Passing through small villages, historic Saint Denis church, and lovely village of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on the hill overlooking the river, the forested cycling path along the river bank calmed our nerves after the hustle and bustle of Paris.  This region is the birth place of Impressionist painting; and of course, we made our way to an iconic location:  Monet’s Garden in Giverny.

Next stop:  the bustling, historic city of Rouen where Joan of Arc, the patron saint of France, was burned at the stake for her role in defending the French nation at the siege of Orléans during the Hundred Years’ War. 

La Seine à Vélo continued through progressively more bucolic countryside with four varieties of apples for distilling Calvados, stone houses with thatched roofs and irises growing on the ridgeline, and cows: brown, white, or spotted all producing the delicious cheese and butter we ate each morning, noon, and night.  It’s not surprising Normandy is called the ‘Larder of France’!  The peaceful countryside of Normandy made way for the historic town of Honfleur at the mouth of the Seine. 

The mood changed as we arrived at Caen where the Mémorial de Caen is located. This museum commemorates World War II, the June 6, 1944 Normandy Invasion, the Battle for Caen, and the liberation of France from the Germans; and is focused on the fragility of peace told in the spirit of reconciliation.  Riding along the beaches of Normandy where the June 6, 1944 invasion by the Allied forces took place, we saw beaches, cliffs, and villages of the D-Day landings. We also visited museums, read educational signage, and reflected on memorial sculptures.  All reminded us of the horrors of war and the sacrifice of so many to liberate Europe.

The somber rides through the beaches of Normandy were punctuated with an evening in the little fishing village of Port-en-Bessin on the coast.

A day trip to Mont Saint Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site amazed us.  This island village is famous for its medieval Gothic abbey built one stone at a time between the eighth to nineteenth centuries on a rocky tidal island isolated daily by fast-moving tides.

We packed our bikes in Bayeux.  From there the bus took us to Paris and our last dinner together.  It was time to bid adieu to Paris, Normandy, and our new biking friends.  What a great trip!