Why this ride
An 80 km round trip from Lens - roughly 1 h 14 in the saddle. It goes by way of Fosse n°13 bis, Cités de la Solitude and back through Fosse n°13 bis. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monument aux morts 1914-1918 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. Monument aux morts 1914-1918
Lens is a mining town that was flattened in the First World War and rebuilt in brick, and the monument to the dead of 1914 to 1918 stands as a reminder of what happened here. Lines of trenches ran across this plain for years, and the surrounding ridges, Vimy and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, were the scene of huge battles. At Vimy, the great white Canadian memorial stands on the ridge, commemorating the attack of April 1917 in which Canadian troops took the hill, and the preserved trenches and tunnels can be visited. At Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, a vast French military cemetery and a lantern tower hold the remains of tens of thousands of soldiers. They are quiet places, and the silence is part of the experience.
Read the complete Monument aux morts 1914-1918 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monument aux morts 1914-1918 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 Monument aux morts 1914-1918.
5. Monument aux morts 1914-1918
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monument aux morts 1914-1918 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Monument aux morts 1914-1918. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Monument aux morts 1914-1918 to Fosse n°13 bis
Monument aux morts 1914-1918 → 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 Monument aux morts 1914-1918
back through Fosse n°13 bis → Monument aux morts 1914-1918 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.