Why this ride
607 km from Grandcamp-Maisy to Grandcamp-Maisy, about 9 h 11 of riding. On the way it passes Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l, Omaha Beach, Juno Beach and Le Havre. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pointe du Hoc and Le Havre
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 607 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 11
- 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. Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc is a headland of grey cliffs, about thirty metres high, between Omaha and Utah beaches on the Normandy coast, and it is one of the most moving places on the whole D-Day shore. On the morning of 6 June 1944, some two hundred and twenty-five US Army Rangers under Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder came in by landing craft, fired grappling hooks and rope ladders up the cliff, and climbed under fire to take a German battery thought to threaten both beaches. They found the guns had been moved inland, tracked them down and disabled them, then held the position for two days against counterattacks. Fewer than a hundred were still able to fight when they were relieved.
Read the complete Pointe du Hoc write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pointe du Hoc is where the day begins. Next is Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l.
2. Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l
On the eastern shore of the Cotentin peninsula, in Normandy, the little port of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue looks out at a low island called Tatihou, and on the island and on the headland of La Hougue stand two stout stone towers designed by Vauban, the military engineer of Louis XIV. They belong to the group of Vauban fortifications that UNESCO inscribed in 2008, and they are among the least known of the twelve sites.
Read the complete Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is Omaha Beach.
3. Omaha Beach
The coast here is long, shallow and sandy, backed by low bluffs, and on the morning of 6 June 1944 it became one of the most terrible places in the history of the Second World War. Omaha was the code name given to a stretch of beach in the Allied landings in Normandy, assigned to American troops, and it was the hardest of the five beaches: the German defences on the bluffs were strong, the bombardment had missed many positions, and the tide and weather scattered the landing craft. Thousands of men were killed or wounded on the sand and the shingle in the first hours, though by evening the beachhead held.
Read the complete Omaha Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 140 km into the recorded legs you reach Omaha Beach. Next is Juno Beach.
4. Juno Beach
On the morning of 6 June 1944 the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division landed here, between Courseulles-sur-Mer and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, in the middle of the five Normandy landing beaches. Rough seas delayed the first wave, so the troops arrived after the naval bombardment had lifted and the German defenders had recovered. The fighting on the sea wall and in the seaside villages was fierce, and Canadian casualties that day were heavy, but by evening the division had pushed further inland than any other Allied force. Today the beach is a long, quiet strand of sand, with low dunes, villas with shuttered windows, and a few concrete bunkers still half-buried at the water's edge.
Read the complete Juno Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Juno Beach, about halfway. Next is Le Havre.
5. Le Havre
Le Havre was flattened. Allied bombing in September 1944 destroyed the old centre, and the French state hired the architect Auguste Perret to rebuild it, which he did in reinforced concrete, with straight boulevards, uniform apartment blocks and a grid of open squares. At first the town seemed grim. Today UNESCO calls it a masterpiece of postwar reconstruction, listed in 2005, and in the right light the concrete takes on a warm, pale-gold tone. The tower of the church of Saint-Joseph, over a hundred metres high, is the landmark, and inside, the light through its coloured glass is dazzling, a thing worth ten minutes of anyone's time.
Read the complete Le Havre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Le Havre sits at 188 km, about halfway. Next is back through Juno Beach.
6. back through Juno Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Juno Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Juno Beach comes up about 417 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Omaha Beach.
7. back through Omaha Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Omaha Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 467 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Omaha Beach. Next is back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l.
8. back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l, late in the day. Next is Pointe du Hoc.
9. Pointe du Hoc
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pointe du Hoc 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 607 km.
Leg by leg
Pointe du Hoc to Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l
Pointe du Hoc → Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l to Omaha Beach
Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l → Omaha Beach is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Omaha Beach to Juno Beach
Omaha Beach → Juno Beach is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Juno Beach to Le Havre
Juno Beach → Le Havre is 115 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Le Havre to back through Juno Beach
Le Havre → back through Juno Beach is 112 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Juno Beach to back through Omaha Beach
back through Juno Beach → back through Omaha Beach is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Omaha Beach to back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l
back through Omaha Beach → back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l to Pointe du Hoc
back through Les tours-observatoires de Tatihou et de l → Pointe du Hoc is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.