Historical Tour of Normandy

Itinerary

Day 0- Meet in Portsmouth for Dinner and catch the ferry over to St Malo, roughly 2300 ferry departure.

Day 1- 0800 Ferry arrives into St Malo with breakfast on the ferry, we'll then head along the coast to Mount Saint Michele. After a late morning coffee we'll head north up to Coutances.

Day 2- After leaving Coutances we'll head to the coast to Utah Beach @ 1100 approx. We'll then trace along the coast to Point Du Hoc @ 1400 and Omaha Beach @ 1500.

Day 3- The final day sets off from Bayeux and reaches Gold Beach for 1000, before a quick ride to Juno Beach for 1100. The final landing site is Sword beach where we'll have some lunch and the final section to Caen.

Day 4- Jump on the ferry at 0830 with a crossing to arrive into Portsmouth for 1315.

Accommodation

We will be accommodated in simple but comfortable hotels in shared twin and triple rooms. Our first night on the ferry we will be accommodated in 4 berth Cabins.

What is a Level 2.0 Cycling Challenge Like?

Level 2 rides are designed to be suitable for riders progressing past their earliest cycling experiences, now gaining confidence, and looking for slightly longer rides. In your own time, you will be used to going on training rides of up to 3 hours, and covering distances of up to 40 miles, with a few small hills thrown in for good measure! Level 2 rides will get you out and exploring places you didn't expect to be able to get to on 2 wheels!

How Fit Do I need to be to join a Level 2.0 ‘Bike Ride’ ?

You must be active and with a moderate level of fitness. You should be taking regular exercise, consisting of bike rides and a mixture of other activities (swimming / football / running etc.) You should be comfortable in undertaking long country rides of up to 4 hours or 60 km in the lowland English countryside. Your training rides will encounter a few reasonable length hills.

Included In Trip

Ferrys

4 Nights Bed and Breakfast (1 on the ferry)

Cycle Leader

Support Vehicle

Excluded From Trip

Lunch

Dinners

Equipment Required

Kit lists specific to your trip dates and location will be issued upon enquiry...below is our guide advice to give an idea of what you should bring on a multi--day ride in Europe

Bike Items
Road Bike / Hybrid Bike (with puncture resistant tyres) - please call us for guidance on type of bike on a trip by trip basis
2 X Water Bottles (bladder system/cycle water bottles)
Cycling Gloves, Bike Lock, Neck Scarf, Inner Tubes*, Multi-Tool (with allen keys)*
Day Bag for support vehicle, Small Holdall (for overnight gear)
Bike Lights (front and rear, head torch can be worn)
Saddle Bag (recommended - can be used to carry asterisk* items)
Puncture Repair Kit*, Spare parts for your bike (specialist parts and spokes), Pump (suitable for your valve type)

Helmet (compulsory)
Personal Medikit  Suncream, Plasters, Vaseline, Painkillers, Sunbloc, Insect Repellant

Washkit

Warm Clothing Medium Weight Softshell, Long sleeve Jersey / insulating layer Lightweight Gloves.

Cycle  Clothing
Padded Lycra Cycling Shorts, Cotton Shorts, or Long Cycling Trousers (Tights/Tracksuit Bottoms)
Short Sleeve Cycling T-Shirts (wicking type material) or Cycle Top with rear pockets
Cycling Shoes (approach shoes or sturdy traners suitable), 

Spare Shoes/Sandals for after ride

Casual Evening Wear - tracksuits, jeans, T shirts, fleece ...

Waterproof Clothing
1 Outer Fully Waterproof Jacket (gore-tex, e-vent) - comfortable to cycle in

Other
Travel Documents, EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) Credit Cards, Cash, Local Currency, Mobile Phone, chargers, EU plug adaptor, Sunglasses
Snacks for Cycling Days (dried fruits, nuts, flapjacks, cereal bars etc)
Travel insurance (not included), Passport

Important
Make sure you do not ‘over pack’ - bring only what is essential for the trip. It is advisable to check that your travel insurance covers the value of any expensive items of kit that you chose to bring along with you. 

A final kit list will be provided in your ‘Final Joining Instructions’ pre-departure

Weather

The weather is obviously dependent upon the time of year - but typically from April to September when we run these rides, you can expect reasonable weather. If we prepare for all conditions then we may be pleasantly surprised! You should prepare for both the possibility of hot and cold weather - as it can be fairly unpredictable.

Notes on Cycling Events

This is our standard range of Cycling Challenges in the UK, Europe and further afield. However, we offer completely tailormade itineraries to your specification. Call us to discuss! Please note that for overseas point to point cycling challenges we can transport soft cases for bike transport - but not hard cases, due to space limitations on board our support vehicles. On all our cycling events, please pack sensibly and bring a reasonably sized soft holdall type bag. To participate in an overseas Adventure Cafe challenge - you must carry Travel Insurance (to be for the activity you are participating in, and to include repatriation to the UK). Please also note that you should have a good level of cycling experience and be competent to handle your bike. We ride on roads shared with other vehicles - and you need to be able to deal with this safely.

Adventure Cafe Booking Terms and Conditions

To Reserve Your Space on this Challenge