Finale

Now home after a drive to the Loire, where Margaret and Rodger welcomed us again, and then a flight from Tours to Manchester.

Given that we have ridden 1100k and driven another 700k, can I just have a final word about French drivers?

As a fellow motorist I think they are generally hopeless. They drive way too fast, and way too close.

However most French drivers are brilliant when they encounter cyclists; much better than their English counterparts.

French motorists, even lorry drivers, will actually stop if they cannot pass you safely.  And by safely , I stress that they will often wait till they can use the other carriageway to pass and so give you as much leeway as possible

Moreover there is no fuss; it’s just the norm.  They don't sound the horn, or wave a finger etc. 

Indeed one day we came across a small cycling club out for a ride, two or three abreast, doing around 20kph . This peloton was followed by a caravan of about a dozen of more vehicles waiting patiently to overtake.

 This queue included several white vans and at least one Audi, yet we detected no stress or impatience.  They would all get by when it was safe.

In contrast your typical English driver seems more concerned about scratching their paintwork than looking out for cyclists safety.

As long as it will not marginally inconvenience them, a “Volvoiste” will sometimes self-consciously pull out and give you a reasonable amount of room.

If they would have to slow their progress by any measurable extent however, they generally prefer to see if they can just “squeeze past”.

Their concern for their paintwork means that, as they do so, they probably unconsciously hold their breath or even hunch their shoulders so as “feel smaller” as they pass.

Once past, the act of breathing out and relaxing their shoulders probably means that they don't look in their mirrors and see the cyclist giving them the finger!

So French drivers are the best if you are cyclist. 

But hold on, wasn’t I knocked off my bike by a French motorist? 

Well that happened on a cycle route: I would have been safer on the road.

So bravo and vive la France.  

Ps. But I don’t think these reflections apply to taxi drivers. Whatever side of the Channel, each seems as bad as each other.  Oh Audi drivers are probably exempt too