Thank you very much for your report. I'd be very intererested in seeing a general map of your route if you could post it online (or pm me if you'd like).

Two of my dream tours are to (1) follow the Western Front of WWI from Flanders through northern France all the way to Verdun and (2) the Ardennes region that you visited (my father in law served in the area in WWII).

There is plenty of information available online on how to tour the historic sites in these regions by car, but not much by bike (at least in English); I think most bike tourists head for regions further south. I have a "DIY" bike tour of the Western front about 1/2 planned, but still searching for time to do it....I see a lot of online advice (directed at Americans, largely) that advises avoiding northern France for a bike tour but when I've driven through by car a couple of times I remember it as reasonably pleasant countryside -- rolling hills, nice little towns, etc. The Champagne region, in particular, is close to where many of the American WWI sites are and I recall it as pretty nice.

In any case, in the process of planning my little Western Front tour I realized I could just head north from Verdun into the Ardennes and I'd have a whole 'nother area to explore, which is why your post caught my eye...

I liked your post because I've often thought that touring these areas by bike would be perfect. We visited the Normandy area by car several years ago and there is so much to see that you just can't stop everywhere you want to when traveling by car. Somehow traveling by bike I imagine it's quicker/easier to hop off the bike and read the roadside markers and plaques, or just duck into a little village museum you would blow by in a car.