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Published: September 27th 2009
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Voie Verte is French for Greenway
Across France, the state is developing a network of greenways—known as
les Voies Vertes—reserved for pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle use. I’d cycled a few kilometers on a greenway in Burgundy last year and was eager to see what one in Upper Normandy would be like.
I chose the greenway called
The Valley of the Epte, so named because it intertwines the Epte River, a tributary of the Seine. The French pronounce
l'epte as if they were saying the English word
lept, as in "he lept to his death." I chose this route for no other reason than it was near the place I was staying.
Here's a map of the route; it's in two pages:
Map of Voie Verte My plan was to devote one day to the lower half of the ride, beginning at Gasny. Then on the second day ride the upper part, beginning at Gisors. The entire route is an easy 28 kilometers.
Seeking the Trailhead
Unlike Burgundy, where maps of the greenways are plentiful and it seems that every roundabout has a sign directing you to the nearest one--I found no signage in Gasny--none--indicating where the greenway
starts or how to get to it. That meant spending a good bit of time Wednesday morning asking people in Gasny (pronounced “Gah-nee”) if they knew where to find it. Although I was eager to get rolling, I didn't regard this time as wasted, because it gave me much-needed practice in explaining what I needed and hearing all the different ways that French people can tell you that they can't help you.
After a while I decided to stop in at the City Hall--surely someone there would know about the local greenways--but of course by then the offices where closed for the two-hour lunch invariably observed in French towns. The pretty brick building was deserted but unlocked, so I amused myself with an inspection of the premises, finding one room upstairs stacked floor to ceiling with old forms and papers. No file cabinets, just papers in towering stacks.
Outside City Hall big planters spilled flowers onto the parking lot. It seems to me that the French abhor a flat expanse of concrete and will interrupt it with planters of flowers, no matter how many parking spaces those planters might consume.
I went across the street to a
Voie Verte between Gasny and Fourges
The area grows feed corn for livestock, wheat, and a miniature sugarcane-like plant used to make...sugar. bar, drank espresso and watched their TV until a man drove up in one of the city's trucks. He turned out to be the person I'd sought all the morning. After examining the map I’d printed from the internet, he gave me precise directions, tracing the route on the pavement with his finger. I was pleased with myself for communicating with him entirely in French and especially for being able to understand his instructions well enough to follow them to the trailhead.
Interestingly, the trailhead was just down the road from the Intermarche where I’d done my grocery shopping the day before. So I parked at the Intermarche (as my guide from City Hall had advised) and finally began what I had come to France to do, what I had daydreamed about since cycling in Burgundy.
Beginning the Greenway at Gasny
The first kilometer or so of the greenway was not terribly encouraging, and I wondered if I had chosen poorly. Gasny is an industrial town, and the greenway snaked across fallow fields lying next to small factories--container plants, steel machining shops, and other metal buildings whose signage gave no clue as to their internal activities.
Former rail station in Fourges
Notice the village name (FOURGES) between the two windows. One of several stations converted to residences on the greenway. Fourges
After a couple of kilometers, though, the factories gave way to pleasantly rolling farmland. Before it was time to stop for a water break, I found myself in the hamlet of Fourges where three aggressive-looking gargoyles burst from the front wall of a crumbling Gothic chapel.
Lying right alongside the greenway was a private home with the name FOURGES engraved in stone on the outside. I realized the house must have once been a rail station. This was the first of several rail-station-turned-residences that I noticed along the greenway.
Although the countryside around me was rolling, the greenway itself was mostly flat. The day was cool and breezy, just cool enough for me to appreciate the merino wool shirt and pullover that RA at Sunshine Cycles had recommended I bring to France. I almost wanted a scarf too, but only for the first few kilometers: those fat tires helped me warm up quickly enough.
Bray et Lu
I stopped frequently, shooting pictures and just enjoying the scent of the woods and fields. Dry leaves were starting to accumulate along the greenway, although there were still plenty of summer flowers too. The countryside got lovelier
as I rode along, more verdant and wooded. The route went through the pretty village of Bray et Lu where I stopped for water break.
Bridge at Aveny
Near Aveny the greenway hugged the quiet Epte River and at Aveny--hardly a village, just a crossroads--there was another converted rail station. I left the greenway to cross a stone bridge leading up to a chateau, which looked like it was probably built in the 19th century, or at least was last rennovated then. It’s now rented out for social and business events; I don't think anyone actually lives there anymore, and you aren't supposed to enter the walled grounds.
At the chateau my camera's battery expired, so I decided to return to Gasny and pick up a few more provisions at the Intermarche. I hadn’t reached the halfway point on the greenway yet but didn’t want to proceed with no camera.
I spent the remaining daylight walking around my neighborhood in Ste-.Genevieve, admiring the residents' vegetable gardens.
More Photos of the Day
I hope you enjoy these pictures of this fine part of France.
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