Fresnes-sur-Escaut sits right beside the Belgian border, on the river Escaut, which flows north into Belgium as the Scheldt. In 1720, so the story goes, coal was found here for the first time in the Nord, and that find began the transformation of the region. The Compagnie des Mines d'Anzin, founded later in the eighteenth century, became one of the largest industrial enterprises in France and helped create the landscape you ride through today.
What remains is a mining ensemble listed among the sites of the coalfield landscape: headframes, company buildings and the housing that grew up around them. The place has the plain, sturdy look of old industry, with brick, iron and wide yards. Just a short way off lies the Raismes-Saint-Amand-Wallers forest, home of the famous Trouée d'Arenberg, a cobbled sector of Paris-Roubaix that is straight, brutal and lined by tall trees. You can find the cobbles from here with a little navigation, but be warned: they are punishing for road bikes and difficult for a loaded motorcycle, and a wet day turns them to ice.
The country is flat and quiet, with scattered villages, wooded stretches and the odd canal. The Escaut itself is a pleasant companion for a few kilometres, with towpaths, locks and fishermen. Traffic is light on the minor roads and heavy on the arterial ones towards Valenciennes. Surface quality varies; subsidence has left the roads wavy in places.
Fresnes has some seven and a half thousand people and enough bakeries and cafes for a break; fuel is in the town or in Condé-sur-l'Escaut and Valenciennes, which are close. Morning light on brick is warm and flattering, and in autumn the forest nearby turns russet. In this part of France, a plate of frites with a Belgian-style beer is never far away, as the border is so close.