Why this ride
A 293 km round trip from Rouvroy - roughly 4 h 38 in the saddle. On the way it passes Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7, Hôtel de ville, Terril 125a and Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cité de la Parisienne and Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 293 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 38
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Cité de la Parisienne
Drocourt is the sort of place you could ride through without a second glance, and you would miss a small piece of the story of northern France. The Cité de la Parisienne is a mining housing estate on the edge of the town, a grid of brick houses built by the coal company for its workers and their families, part of the UNESCO-listed Mining Basin. The name comes from the company that dug coal here. Hénin-Beaumont and Rouvroy press in on either side, and the black cones of the slag heaps rise above the rooftops.
Read the complete Cité de la Parisienne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cité de la Parisienne is where the day begins. Next is Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7.
2. Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7
Picture a pit village at six in the morning in 1950: men walking to the headframe with their lunch tins, the siren calling the shift, the women already up and stoking the stoves, children getting ready for the company school. The ensemble around Fosse n°7, near Maisnil-lès-Ruitz and Barlin, preserves the setting for that daily routine: the pit buildings, the housing, the paths between them, and the terril rising nearby. It was a self-contained world, owned and run by the mining company, which provided houses, coal for heating, schools, churches and even doctors, in exchange for loyalty and hard work. The site is one of the many components of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin on the UNESCO list.
Read the complete Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 comes up 35 km in. Next is Hôtel de ville.
3. Hôtel de ville
A town hall makes an odd target for a ride, but Carvin's is a good excuse to stop in a place most people only see from the A1. The town sits on the northern edge of the old coalfield, between Lens and Lille, and its civic buildings and squares reflect the confidence of a community that grew with the mines. Like many such places, Carvin's centre is a mix of brick, stone and post-war rebuilding, and the town hall faces a square with cafés, bakeries and a market on certain days.
Read the complete Hôtel de ville write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
69 km in you reach Hôtel de ville. Next is Terril 125a.
4. Terril 125a
On the southern edge of the coal basin, where Auberchicourt, Écaillon and Aniche run into one another, a long spoil heap rises above the brick roofs and the fields. Terril 125a is one of the many numbered heaps that the Nord-Pas de Calais inventory catalogues, and it belongs to the old concession of the Compagnie des mines d'Aniche, one of the historic coal companies of the region. Aniche itself is a reminder that the north was not only about coal: the town had a long glassmaking tradition, and the combination of fuel, sand and labour made the area an industrial hub well before the twentieth century.
Read the complete Terril 125a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Terril 125a, about halfway. Next is Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm.
5. Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm
In 1757, a group of aristocrats and entrepreneurs founded the Compagnie des Mines d'Anzin to work the coal seams found under the plains near Valenciennes. It grew into one of the largest industrial companies in France, owning dozens of pits, thousands of workers' houses and its own schools, churches and shops. The ensemble here at Fresnes-sur-Escaut, close to the Belgian border, includes buildings connected with the company's long history, and it is part of the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin World Heritage site.
Read the complete Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Terril 125a.
6. back through Terril 125a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Terril 125a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Terril 125a comes up 173 km in. Next is back through Hôtel de ville.
7. back through Hôtel de ville
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hôtel de ville write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
208 km in you reach back through Hôtel de ville. Next is back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7.
8. back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7, late in the day. Next is Cité de la Parisienne.
9. Cité de la Parisienne
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cité de la Parisienne write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 293 km.
Leg by leg
Cité de la Parisienne to Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7
Cité de la Parisienne → Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 to Hôtel de ville
Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 → Hôtel de ville is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hôtel de ville to Terril 125a
Hôtel de ville → Terril 125a is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Terril 125a to Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm
Terril 125a → Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm to back through Terril 125a
Compagnie des Mines d’Anzin: Ensemble comm → back through Terril 125a is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Terril 125a to back through Hôtel de ville
back through Terril 125a → back through Hôtel de ville is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hôtel de ville to back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7
back through Hôtel de ville → back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 to Cité de la Parisienne
back through Ensemble minier de la fosse n°7 → Cité de la Parisienne is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.