Since Julie came to Paris with me, I stayed a couple of extra days so we could enjoy the city together. So instead of setting off on the 14th, I left two days later—on Wednesday.
Right off the bat, I took a shortcut: I skipped the first bend of the Seine out of Paris and headed straight to Nanterre. That trimmed at least a dozen kilometers off today’s ride. Later on, I cut another corner.
In the end, today’s stage turned out to be pretty short—especially compared to my last trip, when I routinely clocked over 100 km a day. I stopped at Verneuil-sur-Seine because the next town with a campsite was a couple of hours further, and the sky had been threatening rain since I left Paris (which, by the way, never actually happened). I didn’t want to gamble and end up soaked.
As for Verneuil, let’s just say it won’t be winning any charm awards. Nothing particularly interesting, but it does have a big supermarket—which counts for a lot when you’re bike touring.
Oddly enough, despite it being the middle of summer, the campsite was practically deserted—just me and two other tents. On the bright side, I had my pick of spots. Peace and quiet.
Today in numbers:
63 km – distance cycled
1830 — monuments in Paris
8.7 — million people visited Le Louvre in 2024
5.75 m — the length of Rue des Degrés, the shortest street in Paris
78480 — Verneuil-sur-Seine postal code