Biking in Picardy to Compiègne and parts unknown.
 

Fellow Fodorite Kerouac currently has a thread going about Pierrefonds and one of the topics brought up in discussion was how to get there from Compiègne. One solution that wasn't mentioned (I think) was biking there. The nearby forest is full of bike trails and one of them runs from Pierrefonds to Compiègne. It's a bit over 12km long but it's an easy, flat and pleasant ride through the forest. Not only did I do this ride but I made an overall bike excursion through the region and found some lovely little off the beaten path gems that you might like to know about. I started the ride in the unheard of but not to be overlooked town of Crépy-en-Valois and from there headed north towards Compiègne. Along the way I learned about the two fairies Urca and Altona, enjoyed some scenic countryside, passed by a Gallo-Roman amphitheater, saw several historic medieval churches and some fortified farms, visited the site of the first WWI tank training field, took in several little charming villages, stopped by Pierrefonds (which you are now familiar with), encountered the village lunatic and finished up in the royal town of Compiègne where I learned about a very nice person.

http://tinyurl.com/6snrf3q

This is going to be like a delicious dessert I am saving to have in a little while! The anticipation is sweet.

Did you use your own bike or rent one?

Your photo reports always make me smile. Between Mr. L and Very Nice Claire, this one is no exception.

Thanks for sharing it!

J62, FMT leads biking tours, customized for the clients' interests. I am sure he owns his own bike.
Search his name and you will find several beautiful essays. Google him and you will find the business details.

FMT: Another great thread,and super photos. I realize that this is really a lot of work for you, to put together all the photos and do the research, including old photos. It must be a labor of love, and I really appreciate the effort.

FMT - a big round of applause to you! Another excellent photo-essay which I thoroughly enjoyed and wish i was there with you! In the meantime I'll just have to live vicariously through you.

Are the villages really that empty when you are there or you just purposely omit the people from your photos?

I'm looking forward to your next one.

I have no problem with idea of a Pope giving a sainthood (posthumous right?) to a nice person. But I guess she still was not allowed to read outload from his book of special stories....

That fancy sign board on the Auberge du Daguet makes the place look mighty tempting.

Bilbo, I think that to become a saint, you must have a miracle attributed to you (whatever that means), so this girl will not qualify until further notice

But as far as I am concerned, the beauty of the forest of Compiègne is a miracle in itself. Thank you for this report, FMT.

Ah yes the miracle get out. Still lovely photos look like all my holidays with miles of bike path interspursed by bars. The BBC has a series called "Merlin" at the moment and camalot is the final chateau. Good stuff FMT

cynthia - I hope dessert was as delicious as you hoped. ;)

J62 - I live here and own my own bike but you could rent a bike in Paris and do this as a day trip from Paris. I think there are also places in Compiègne where you could rent a bike.

Leely2 - I wonder how nice Claire would have remained if she were forced into conversation with Mr. L?

taconic - It's always worth the effort when I have such appreciative readers. Love your Dordogne report. Your pre-historic portion has inspired me to do a report about all the pre-historic rock art near Paris, about 1,200 sites in the Fontainebleau vicinity alone. I went out exploring near there the other day and found my first sites.

Piccolina - I'm enjoying your report as well. Can you get some photos to post with it? As for the empty villages, that is not trick photography I'm engaged in. They are as empty as they look. Sure, there are always a few people around but not always enough to be captured on film. I thought in reading your report I noticed that you too experienced some of these "ghost town" small villages. They can be found in any rural area of France that lacks tourists.

bilbo - Niceness aside, I think her miracle was managing to still be talked about 4 decades after her death.

Coquelicot - The Auberge du Daguet somehow looked more appealing to me than the one in Saint-Jean-aux-Bois so I think you picked the right one. It seemed much more "homey", if you know what I mean. Plus, you might get lucky and have Mr. L dining at an adjacent table. What conversation!

kerouac - I was merely providing a compliment to your magnificent Pierrefonds report.

Bilbo - We were posting at the same time so I missed your recent post. Next time you're in my neck of the woods come join me for a little countryside biking excursion. I've been looking at your website and it's quite excellent.

I alwys thought you guys were exaggerating about the deserted French villages but it seems to be so. But then I thought about the average suburban street or country town here and maybe its just that people don't mill around in the streets unless there are shops and cafes - they just get in their cars and go.

I've never doubted the deserted villages part of FMT's photo journals, certainly not since the day, many years ago, when DH and I spent an afternoon in his ancestral village in the Loire, hoping to find a single human being to talk to!! Even the church was locked!

PS: We never found a soul.

Yes, there are some people around the areas of these towns where you have the stores, cafés etc. That is, if there are any stores or cafés. Some of these towns are lucky if they even have a boulangerie. Crépy was actually fairly alive with people on the business streets but just move a block away from those streets and it's ghost town land.