gringo_gus

Guys, have been meaning to post these for a while... this are a few pix from a short 6 day tour of Normandy I did with my Dad in June. Manchester - Poole on the train. Overnight ferry to Cherbourg. On the road a 6 am. Great food, nice weather. To start with, anyway....



Manchester Picadilly




just out of Cherbourg first morning



arriving Barfleur, home of famous mussels - "belles blondes et sauvage"



couple of days later, St Vaast, famous for oysters. I ate 49.





one for A to B readers: folder, electric hire bike, Dad's tourer



some of them mussells



Quinneville Beach, saw some WW2 action...



Inland, beautiful, quiet, but a bit hilly.

Azreal911

Looks like you had a great time there with that. how far did you go daily and how did the speed tr perform? All I know is the bike is built heavy and like a tank especially for touring. Any issues with it?

lucille

Looks like a blast, thanks for sharing! You ate 49 oysters? In one sitting???

gringo_gus

Some bump !


On the "tank", well... was riding with my 77 year old dad on a Dawes fullsize. Most of the time, I could keep up with him... Seriously, though, I loved riding it, but it was quite slow. But also, with panniers loaded I am not sure how much the weight of the bike made.

Commuting on it now and then, I do get overtaken a lot though. Jury is out, but this is why I am interested in a NWT, and Lucille's experience. I really, really love touring on a folder though.

Not in one sitting, but I need to work out the math, as to how I got to 49 - usually they are served by the half-dozen or dozen, but an odd number clicked in there.

lucille

Ah, good. 49 in one sitting would be a bit much... Not sure where your oysters were from, but if you're in northern France again, apparently ones from Cancale near St Malo are amazing. I don't eat oysters, but hubby was in heaven. Also ones from Ile de Re were very good.

Back to bikes.... We were not going that fast. I'm not a super fast rider anyway, but pushing bike that's probably about 40 lbs or so, and about same amount of luggage didn't make us fly down those roads, let me tell you. I'm not really all that interested in speed when I tour, but it's nice to actually get to your destination
If you have any questions about NWTs ask away.

Dynocoaster 

mussels in a tomato garlic broth , I am hungry now. Nice pics .

vmaniqui

I just got hold of a speed tr too and I agree with you that this is really a tank so I plan on taking off some of the accessories I might not be needing for my daily commute why did you say that this is a slow bike based on your experience? It has 24 usuable speed and am guessing that should be enough to keep up with the roadies.

Azreal911

that's pretty cool, they made it heavy so you wouldn't run into any problems if you decide to tour on lighter folders. Making it to your destination without trouble is worth more than getting there 30 minutes faster. I looked at the bike and the gear range is very wide for all types of hills and downhills which I thought was pretty good. not bad!

gringo_gus

Hi vmaniqui, yep, I have been following your thread. It does seem a shame to me to take all the stuff off the TR that makes it a TR. I see you are going to take the front wheel with dynamo off, which I understand, but, on the otherhand, you could upgrade the light, etc. But, each to their own.

I don't know if it is me that is slow or the bike. I have just got a Giant Mini 1 which doesn't fold, and I use for commuting when I don't have to do multimode, and it feels megafast in comparison. I can't multimode with the TR either, it is just too heavy and bulky on crowded commuter trains. Apart from anything else, the TR makes you very upright, so wind is an issue. To get back to the tour, riding from Cherbourg to Barfleur on day one was a long slow climb. Still, I told myself, on the way back it will be downhill. However, on the way back, while downhill, the wind was against us, so it still felt like a long slow climb. I needed those gears.

gringo_gus

Lucille, how was the ile de re - nearly went this year. But if you went there, and were in Normandy, you must have have done some distance....