Why this ride
79 km from Roost-Warendin to Roost-Warendin, about 1 h 26 of riding. On the way it passes Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt, Fosse n°5 and back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Chevalement de la fosse n°9 and Fosse n°5
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 79 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 26
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Chevalement de la fosse n°9
The tall steel frame that stands over a coal pit shaft is called a chevalement in French, and a headframe in English, and in the old mining basin of northern France they are the cathedrals of a vanished industry. This one stands at the Fosse n°9, a few kilometres north of Douai, in the plain of the Pévèle, where coal was dug for more than two centuries. The basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais stretches for over a hundred kilometres across flat farmland, and its pits, slag heaps, workers' villages and railway lines are now protected by UNESCO, listed in 2012 as an evolving cultural landscape. The last pit closed in 1990, and the people here still talk about the mine in the present tense.
Read the complete Chevalement de la fosse n°9 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chevalement de la fosse n°9 is where the day begins. Next is Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt.
2. Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Drocourt lies in the middle of the basin, between Lens and Douai, and its landscape tells the story of coal on a human scale. The pit-head frames and brick buildings of the old shafts, the spoil heaps sprouting trees and the long rows of miners' houses lie almost within sight of one another, and together they are listed as part of the UNESCO Mining Basin. Nearby is the old pumping house at the Sarteau shaft, a reminder that water was always the miners' enemy, and that huge machines had to keep the workings dry day and night.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fosse n°5.
3. Fosse n°5
Douvrin, Billy-Berclau and Wingles form a little triangle of brick towns at the northern edge of the Lens coalfield, and the old pit known as Fosse n°5 sits among them. It is not a famous site and does not need to be: its value lies in being one of the many pieces that make up the mining landscape UNESCO listed in 2012, a network of pits, housing estates, slag heaps, railways and public buildings stretching for over a hundred kilometres across the north of France. Seen from the saddle, the area is a patchwork of cités, fields, canals and newer industrial estates, with the occasional terril breaking the skyline.
Read the complete Fosse n°5 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Fosse n°5. Next is back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt.
4. back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt, late in the day. Next is Chevalement de la fosse n°9.
5. Chevalement de la fosse n°9
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chevalement de la fosse n°9 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Chevalement de la fosse n°9. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Chevalement de la fosse n°9 to Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Chevalement de la fosse n°9 → Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt to Fosse n°5
Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt → Fosse n°5 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fosse n°5 to back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt
Fosse n°5 → back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt to Chevalement de la fosse n°9
back through Paysage et ensemble miniers de Drocourt → Chevalement de la fosse n°9 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.