Dieppe to Paris, south following the Seine and back along the London to Paris route

Once I had left Coventry and got to Newhaven the trip started. Once I got to Newhaven I had a short ride to the room I had booked up a 14% hill, not quiet the ride I wanted especially as I had to go back down to buy some food. There was a storm that night, 30mph winds with torrential rain but the following morning it was nice and still for the ferry ride. Got to Dieppe about 4ish and stayed the night there. The next morning started off ok but by 10am the hills came along step and long, then the rain, then the wind, then more rain it was torrential. From Dieppe to Yvetot was 45miles, there was no where to buy food or get a drink, didn’t even notice a grave yard where there is always water. The surfaces were varied, at least the gravel paths or hard pack didn’t come until after the rain had stopped. Without food and the weather it was a hard slog but but as the afternoon wore on the sun came out and I didn’t see any more rain until the last day back into Dieppe. The next days I rode to Rouen, it’s a lovely city with shops and places to see you wouldn’t know you want to see. I stayed in the old town which was full of antique shops and cafés. The roads were varied again but once you reach the Seine you’re not always riding along the banks. The surfaces vary again with a some areas really rough. Some paths are just there to take you from one road to another but using a short cut. I left there and made my way to Vernon which was another nice town. So much road works going on but being on a bike it didn’t disrupt the ride much. Overall the ride was easy enough with only one hill to climb. You end up closer to the Seine now. The final day to get to Argenteuil near Paris was with more rolling hills with a few steep climbs added. Great views along the river with the early morning mist. Through out the ride to Paris the traffic wasn’t heavy and along the stretches where your on the road cars were ok with bikes. But Paris is like any big city the car divers are frustrated and want to get past. I rode into Paris to see some sights, cycle paths most of the way except crossing some of the bridges. I am always amazed when I see the Eiffel Tower but I wasn’t in the mood to get caught up with the tourist bits so I just rode around sightseeing. The ride back to Dieppe was mainly through farm land and the scenery change drastically. More hills, all seemed to be either rolling hills which are fine or over 6% up to 15%. Not much traffic but the cars I saw gave me a lot of room to over take. The villages had limited places to eat so brought food at the first place and carried it with me, then stopped where I wanted. From Forges les Eaux there is no food for 36miles but it’s sloping down and on the disused railway so there were no cars but lots of crossing to stop at.Finally I got back to Dieppe where I had a wait for the ferry which left at 5.45pm so I stocked up with food for the journey. The last day was showery with a heavy head wind at times, it was the tail end of the storm that hit USA. Later in the afternoon the sun came out and it was lovely and warm sitting waiting for the ferry.Overall a good safe journey with a few hours of rain in 2 days. I used Airbnb and the places were fine for one night. Not as cheap as camping though which I would normally do. This is the second time I’ve done this journey and I won’t be doing it again…