Barely 48hrs later I’m back on familiar ground. Today’s long and straight road gave me time to think about the trip, and somewhat ironically helped me realize why I enjoyed riding in France so much.
Back on Dec 28th I posted: “Biking in France is one of my top 3 favorite type/places to bike (Gravel & Fat biking are the other two). It is one of the only places I’ve consistently enjoyed road riding over the years.”
Prior to that statement I never really put much thought into why I felt road riding in France is so much more enjoyable to me than in North America. All I knew is that whenever I came back home I would try to continue road riding but my interest would dwindle after only a few months… On this trip I was determined to find out why.
After careful consideration I believe these observations are the foundation to my love of riding in France:
- French roads have more elevation changes, are more twisty, and generally less ‘dumbed down’ than in North America. In Canada there tends to be more earth movement, or relocation, to make roads as level and straight (read: boring) as possible.
- French roads tend to have lower rural speeds. This is likely due to large population, confined spaces, or the aforementioned snaking roads. I rarely saw zones above 70kph. In Canada we have a LOT of straight roads which allow for 80-90kph limits (read: 100+kph).
- The French are more patient when behind the wheel of a car. I drove quite a bit on this trip and was quite amazed at how willing everyone was to cooperate for the better of mass movement.
All of this means that road riding in France offers a MUCH more engaging experience without feeling like your safety is compromised. Whether it’s the scenery or constantly changing direction of the road, zoning-out on a ride in France is pretty damn hard to do. Frankly speaking death is not far away if you don’t pay attention over there, in many ways it’s similar to a mountain bike trail at speed. Having said that, safety is much more in your control because drivers are far more patient to pass, if at all (it’s not hard to match/exceed posted speed limits on the frequent descents).
PS: The amazing thing is that despite the positive experience my bike didn’t allow me to maximize the potential on this trip. My Cannondale CAAD10 is old, beaten up, and equipped with tired parts that I could never sell. It’s an awesome bike, but it’s seen a lot of HARD miles, and that’s after I purchased it used from a racer up in Quebec city. I really couldn’t get around to fully trusting my bike (read: brakes) on most of the descents which was a bit of a buzz-kill. Personally I would have LOVED a stiff disc-equipped bike that had clearance for a fat & fast 30mm tubeless tire (Schwalbe S-One). In fact, the new Felt VR4 has caught my eye…