Rotub* 

Cyclists from all around the world have expressed their interest in this trip; I have recieved quite a few emails asking for more information. A the bottom of the page you will now find a response that I sent to the latest email i recieved.

If you have further questions, please use the comments at the bottom of this page. That way everyone can benefit and help, thanks :)

One thing I really wanted to do with my time in France was visit the countryside. I decided to cycle from a little town called Bayeux in Northern France to Omaha Beach in Normandy. The day I arrived for the cycle was very rainy and cold. My perfect plan was:

• Catch a train very early from Paris,
• Arrive in Bayeux,
• Rush to a backpackers to drop off my gear, 
• Find the local Tourist Office to ask for directions and get a map,
• Hire a bike from a shop across the road from the Tourist Office,
• Cycle to the beaches,
• Look around, take photos,
• Cycle back to Bayeux before the bike shop closed at 8pm

The minute I arrived things started falling apart. I had planned on staying at a hostel called The Family Home. However, upon arrival I was informed by a guy who was "not the manager" that the place was closed during the winter. I asked him a few times during our conversation whether I could just stay one night to which he kept replying "i'm not the manager, sorry". The reason I wanted to stay here was because it was cheap, which was rare in France!

The guy obviously felt sorry for me - he started to help me find another place to stay that would be cheap. He pulled out some town maps and set me off in a general direction, "Everywhere is so expensive in Bayeux. This place is the cheapest."; He continued, pointing at a map, "this pub here...it has a hotel on top of it, go there. It's the only other cheap place in town. Goodluck.".

Time was running out so I was eager to find the pub. When I found it I paid for one night, ran upstairs, chucked my stuff in the door and hurried to the Tourist Office. When I finally found the Tourist Office, it was closed! I almost gave up but spotted a couple of brochures through a metal gate at the Tourist Office entry. Luckily, the brochures were about D-Day Beach tours and, most importantly, they had maps in them. The maps weren't great but they were good enough to get me to where I wanted to go.

A grocery store across the road from the Tourist Office was right where I had spotted it on Google Maps months before at home. I quickly hired a bike, asked for directions out of town and set off. I was glad to be on the bike and that my day-trip had not been ruined.

The bike ride, although in the rain, was beautiful. The green grass and flat roads; small and broken, yet populated, houses; castle-like buildings and french farm animals along the way were awesome views and exactly why I had invested time in the trip in the first place. It was good to be in the country and out of the city. Having been in London and Paris for a bit over a week I was craving a bit of nature and less man-made things so I really enjoyed the ride.

Omaha Beach itself was very interesting. I'm a huge fan of war films and my favorite one would have to be Saving Private Ryan. The opening scene in this film takes place on Omaha Beach and it gives a realistic view and insight into what soldiers went through. Thousands of soldiers perished, as sitting ducks running up the beach into German gunfire. It was surreal to be in the same place as where the events took place.

The cemetery that exists on the beach was massive. There were hundreds and thousands of gravestones (crosses) lined up across the well-kept greens just off the beach itself. Being there really made the death toll feel real and I realized just how many young people had died. I spent some time reading the gravestones, calculating ages and catching my breath from the ride before doing it all over again on the way back to Bayeux before the bike shop closed at 8pm.

All-in-all it was an awesome day and one of the best things I did with my time away in Europe. Definitely recommend riding to the D-Day beaches if you ever decide to visit them.

More information

The tourist office is located on the corner of Rue Foch and Rue St Jean/ Pont de Saint Jean. Easy to find, as it's the main street in town and its pretty unique looking as it stands alone compared to the rest of the shops on the street. When I went, the Tourist Office was closed but they had some maps out the front which gave me a rough idea of how to get to the beaches. Plus the man at the bike hire place gave me directions as well.

You will have no trouble finding the bike hire shop from the Tourist Office. There is a sign up across the road saying bike hire, from memory you can see this sign while standing outside the tourist office. The shop is a little grocery store with a sliding door. There is an old man owner there who speaks little English i.e he didn't know what I meant when I asked for a "bike lock". Through simplfied English and gestures we got there in the end.

It costs about 15 Euros a day (8.30am to 8.00pm) for a pretty good bike (21 gears or something like that). Have a good check of the bike before you head off - I realised too late that my tyres were very very bare and it was wet/raining so I almost slipped on the edge of the road a couple of times while letting cars past.

The actual bike and gears worked good. However its nothing special. They will supply you with a chain and a lock. I didn't ask for a helmet and didn't wear one, I didn't see any in the shop so can't give any more info about that, sorry.

You will need ID (passport) and he will ask for the address in which you are staying. He will want card details for the security deposit (360 Euros) but nothing is taken from the card unless you damage the bike.

I think he may have changed the closing time from 8pm to 6pm. Pretty sure I had to be back with the bike by 6pm.

Originally, I was going to do what you want to - arrive from Paris, cycle and return to Paris (all on the same day). This would be very tight timing but it could definitely possible. I wasted a bit of time looking for accommodation and had lunch before I left for the beach. So all things planned nicely you would have more time at the beach than I did.

It took me about 2 hours to cycle to the beaches. The roads are flat and its a really nice ride through the country side.