Biking through The Brie to Provins
Jul 20, 2010 20:46:27 GMT
Post by frenchmystiquetour on Jul 20, 2010 20:46:27 GMT
If you like biking through rural, agricultural countryside dotted with centuries old villages and on relatively flat and gently rolling terrain then this bike trip awaits you. And if you're not a biker you will enjoy it just as much by car (well, almost as much – there's no substitute for the direct interaction with your surroundings the bike alllows). I usually plan my longer bike trips around the weather and I picked a winner for this day. Clear blue skies with temps around 27 degrees celsius and a light breeze, strong enough to be cooling but not so strong as to create a headwind.
On this day I rode through the area known as The Brie, as in the famous cheese which takes its name from this region. It is a large plain east of Paris generally situated between the valley of The Marne River in the north and The Seine River in the south and covering an area of roughly 5,000KM. It is geographically divided into 2 regions with the Haute-Brie (High Brie) north near Meaux and Basse-Brie (Low Brie) south near Provins. While it certainly isn't the most beautiful region of France that doesn't mean it's not pretty. It is quiet, tranquil and rural and a nice place that is close by if you sometimes seek to escape from the heaving sea of humanity in and around Paris. Most of what you will see are vast expanses of agricultural fields with lots of wheat, corn, sugar beets and other leafy green plants whose names remain unknown to me due to my limited knowledge in the scientific field of ''leafy green plants''. Or perhaps I just don't eat enough vegetables.
Of course you need milk to make cheese and the eastern half of the region is primarily where the cows are located. But I'm just dealing with the part between Brie Comte Robert and the medieval city of Provins in this report and it is pretty flat for the most part with slightly more hilly terrain near Provins. It is occasionally punctuated by patches of forest and the ever present church steeple poking above the horizon. Exploring this region will help you undertand why France is referred to as The Breadbasket of Europe.
Now for the ride. I had Mrs. Mystique drop me off with my bike in a small town east of Brie Comte Robert called Coubert. I had mapped out a rough route the night before that would take me through lots of small villages. Of course it was a rough route since I had no idea how long it was going to take me to reach Provins. Visiting the medieval city of Provins was going to be the big reward waiting at the end of the ride. The catch was that I had to be at the train station in Provins by 6:45 to catch the last train back to Paris. I had scanned and printed areas of Michelin maps to bring with me to guide me throughout my ride. The plan was to stay on the white roads as much as possible since these have the least amount of traffic and generally connect villages as opposed to being main thoroughfares between major regional destinations.
Starting in Coubert I headed south towards the town of Soignolles.
This is a pretty typical village of the region. A church, tiny shopping area and collection of old houses in the village center with more recent development on the outskirts. Most of the regional villages have historical roots at least as far back as medieval times and often further so there is always something old to see no matter where you go. The oldest existing structure is usually the church and often times that is the only object of great photographic interest. I mean there's lots of individual objects such as a window with purple shutters adorned with a flowers planter, run down barns, rustic stone walls, ivy covered facades and all kinds of other pretty details. You can find all the little details if you do the ride yourself, and there are plenty of these types of subjects for the photographically interested. But I'm giving you the big picture, as in, this is what is in front of you.
Leaving Soignolles I encounter the first of many vaste expanses of agriculture.
Here's the church in the tiny village of Champdeuil.
Here's the approach to Crisenoy.
View behind the handlebars.
On this day I rode through the area known as The Brie, as in the famous cheese which takes its name from this region. It is a large plain east of Paris generally situated between the valley of The Marne River in the north and The Seine River in the south and covering an area of roughly 5,000KM. It is geographically divided into 2 regions with the Haute-Brie (High Brie) north near Meaux and Basse-Brie (Low Brie) south near Provins. While it certainly isn't the most beautiful region of France that doesn't mean it's not pretty. It is quiet, tranquil and rural and a nice place that is close by if you sometimes seek to escape from the heaving sea of humanity in and around Paris. Most of what you will see are vast expanses of agricultural fields with lots of wheat, corn, sugar beets and other leafy green plants whose names remain unknown to me due to my limited knowledge in the scientific field of ''leafy green plants''. Or perhaps I just don't eat enough vegetables.
Of course you need milk to make cheese and the eastern half of the region is primarily where the cows are located. But I'm just dealing with the part between Brie Comte Robert and the medieval city of Provins in this report and it is pretty flat for the most part with slightly more hilly terrain near Provins. It is occasionally punctuated by patches of forest and the ever present church steeple poking above the horizon. Exploring this region will help you undertand why France is referred to as The Breadbasket of Europe.
Now for the ride. I had Mrs. Mystique drop me off with my bike in a small town east of Brie Comte Robert called Coubert. I had mapped out a rough route the night before that would take me through lots of small villages. Of course it was a rough route since I had no idea how long it was going to take me to reach Provins. Visiting the medieval city of Provins was going to be the big reward waiting at the end of the ride. The catch was that I had to be at the train station in Provins by 6:45 to catch the last train back to Paris. I had scanned and printed areas of Michelin maps to bring with me to guide me throughout my ride. The plan was to stay on the white roads as much as possible since these have the least amount of traffic and generally connect villages as opposed to being main thoroughfares between major regional destinations.
Starting in Coubert I headed south towards the town of Soignolles.
This is a pretty typical village of the region. A church, tiny shopping area and collection of old houses in the village center with more recent development on the outskirts. Most of the regional villages have historical roots at least as far back as medieval times and often further so there is always something old to see no matter where you go. The oldest existing structure is usually the church and often times that is the only object of great photographic interest. I mean there's lots of individual objects such as a window with purple shutters adorned with a flowers planter, run down barns, rustic stone walls, ivy covered facades and all kinds of other pretty details. You can find all the little details if you do the ride yourself, and there are plenty of these types of subjects for the photographically interested. But I'm giving you the big picture, as in, this is what is in front of you.
Leaving Soignolles I encounter the first of many vaste expanses of agriculture.
Here's the church in the tiny village of Champdeuil.
Here's the approach to Crisenoy.
View behind the handlebars.
