Why this ride
From Lens it runs 80 km to Lens; allow about 1 h 14 of riding. The stops in between: Fosse n°13 bis, Cités de la Solitude and back through Fosse n°13 bis. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Maison syndicale Lens and Cités de la Solitude
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 80 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 14
- 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. Maison syndicale Lens
Lens still wears its history on the surface. The town was flattened in the First World War, which fought over it for most of four years, and rebuilt in brick and concrete in the years after, so what you ride through now is mostly the work of the 1920s and 30s. The Maison syndicale, the union hall, is one of the buildings that belong to that rebuilding and to the world of the pits that surrounded the town, when coal paid the wages and the union bargained for the men who went down. It stands as a reminder that this was a place of organised labour as much as of industry.
Read the complete Maison syndicale Lens write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Maison syndicale Lens is where the day begins. Next is Fosse n°13 bis.
2. Fosse n°13 bis
Oignies holds a special place in the story of French coal, because it was the last place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais where a pit closed. The final coal came up at Oignies in December 1990, ending nearly three centuries of mining in the basin, and the old pit buildings there have since been turned into a concert hall and cultural centre. Fosse 13 bis, a few kilometres off, belonged to the Compagnie des mines de Courrières, one of the great names of the coalfield, and the whole district falls inside the Mining Basin World Heritage Site that UNESCO recognised in 2012.
Read the complete Fosse n°13 bis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fosse n°13 bis comes up about 14 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cités de la Solitude.
3. Cités de la Solitude
On the edge of Waziers, near Douai, the cités de la Solitude are rows of brick houses built by a mining company for its workers, laid out in neat streets with small gardens. Such company towns, the cités minières, were the backbone of life in the coal basin of northern France, providing housing, schools, churches and shops for miners and their families, and they are among the most important elements of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin, listed by UNESCO in 2012. The name Solitude seems almost ironic for a place built to house so many people close together.
Read the complete Cités de la Solitude write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 37 km into the recorded legs you reach Cités de la Solitude. Next is back through Fosse n°13 bis.
4. back through Fosse n°13 bis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fosse n°13 bis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fosse n°13 bis, late in the day. Next is Maison syndicale Lens.
5. Maison syndicale Lens
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Maison syndicale Lens write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Maison syndicale Lens. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Maison syndicale Lens to Fosse n°13 bis
Maison syndicale Lens → Fosse n°13 bis is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fosse n°13 bis to Cités de la Solitude
Fosse n°13 bis → Cités de la Solitude is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cités de la Solitude to back through Fosse n°13 bis
Cités de la Solitude → back through Fosse n°13 bis is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fosse n°13 bis to Maison syndicale Lens
back through Fosse n°13 bis → Maison syndicale Lens is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.