Axe Majeur

Avenue Verte, Day Seven: Bray-et-Lu to Maisons-Laffitte

There was quite a lot of gravel today, especially early on, and some of it was interspersed with stretches of high, exposed roads subject to crosswinds. There was also some rain – and a few issues with breaks; we had an orangina stop at Avernes and another, in the rain, at a supermarche where we ate strawberries under an awning whilst the owner had a fag and tried to ignore us. Things started to look up at Cergy, where we diverted a little to find the Axe Majeur, a fabulous 3Km-long bit of land art, with steps, sculptures, pathways and a walkway out over the River Oise. Much of it was rideable, which was cool, and there was a cycle path from the end to get us back on track. We continued along the Oise to where it meets the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. At Maisons-Laffitte we checked into our IBIS and then crossed the river for gallettes and crepes on a very nice square by the station at Sartrouville…