Why this ride
From Divion it runs 70 km to Divion; allow about 1 h 12 of riding. It goes by way of Cité n°10, Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de and back through Cité n°10.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Terril n°10 and Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 70 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 12
- 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. Terril n°10
In the western part of the Nord-Pas de Calais mining basin, around Bruay-la-Buissière, Divion and Marles-les-Mines, the horizon is shaped by terrils, the spoil heaps left by more than two centuries of coal mining. Terril number 10 is one of them, a dark cone of shale and waste rock that has slowly turned green as birch, broom and grasses have colonised it. The basin, with its pits, cités, railway lines and spoil heaps, was listed by UNESCO in 2012 as an evolving cultural landscape, recognising both the industrial history and the lives of the hundreds of thousands of miners who worked here.
Read the complete Terril n°10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Terril n°10 is where the day begins. Next is Cité n°10.
2. Cité n°10
Sains-en-Gohelle is a former coal town in the heart of the Nord-Pas de Calais mining basin, and Cité n°10 is one of its old mining estates, rows of brick houses built for miners and their families around a pithead. The basin, which stretches about 120 kilometres from the Belgian border towards the west, was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, and the cités, the slag heaps and the headframes are its most visible remains.
Read the complete Cité n°10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cité n°10 comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de.
3. Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de
On the morning of 10 March 1906, an explosion tore through the galleries of the Courrières mining company, killing well over a thousand miners. It remains the worst mining disaster in European history. Most of the victims came from the towns of Méricourt, Sallaumines and Billy-Montigny, and many were buried in a mass grave nearby. Twenty days after the explosion, thirteen survivors emerged from the darkness, having found their way through the ruined galleries, and their story became famous across Europe. The memorials in and around Sallaumines honour the dead and the rescuers, including German miners from Westphalia who came to help.
Read the complete Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 34 km into the recorded legs you reach Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de. Next is back through Cité n°10.
4. back through Cité n°10
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cité n°10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cité n°10, late in the day. Next is Terril n°10.
5. Terril n°10
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Terril n°10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Terril n°10. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Terril n°10 to Cité n°10
Terril n°10 → Cité n°10 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cité n°10 to Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de
Cité n°10 → Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de to back through Cité n°10
Monument commémoratif de la Catastrophe de → back through Cité n°10 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cité n°10 to Terril n°10
back through Cité n°10 → Terril n°10 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.