Click here to see video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLiKHPe9rcs

Sport Adventure’s first ever route and still one of our favourites, the Normandie takes in the best trails in what is a spectacularly beautiful area - lots of woodland, lots of sunken tracks, a fair splattering of mud and an absolute minimum of road work. Extensively modified at the end of 2006, the route now comprises of three 150 kilometre loops running from the small country town of Gace. Accommodation however is still in the same charming, family run hotel, complete with bar and excellent restaurant. Extremely easy to get to (approximately one and a quarter hours south of both Le Havre and Caen) participants have the choice of taking the night ferries that arrive at the channel ports the morning of the start of the trip or crossing over the day before, in which case we will be happy to arrange accommodation. Either way the ride finishes in plenty of time to catch ferries back to UK on Friday night.

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Photos taken Nov 2000

Dominique fighting the current - incredibly no one fell in!

Lunch stop on the second day. Even in March it was warm enough to eat outside!

The natives run for cover as the Sport Adventure posse rolls into town

A bright Normandy start.

Gavin in Tunnel: 'So this must be one of the sunken trails Evans was talking about'.

Second rider: 'I hope he knows were he's going - I haven't the faintest idea where we are on the road book'.

TBM's editor Si Melber nurses his WR450 test bike carefully across a water crossing.

And then has another go at full speed.

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Photos taken March 2005

The March Normandie is usually nice and muddy and around 10 degrees centigrade. This year however, like the rest of Europe, we got caught out by the Siberian winds, that saw temperatures plumeting and lots and lots of snow. Incredibly we were able to complete days 1 and 2 and were only forced to cut short day 3 by 50 kms when visibility got too bad to continue.

Dutch rider Bart pushing his XR400 through the snow drifts. Fortunately 99% of the tracks were rideable, but where they were particularly open, drifts meant that the lead riders at least had to get off and push

On other tracks the frozen puddles required a less than stylish approach!

When the drifts were particularly deep the only solution was to walk ahead and stamp the snow down. It was exhausting work - which everybody took in turns!

If snow and ice wasn't enough to contend with there were also a few trees to move out the way...

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Photos taken March 2006

Once again a cold snap coincided with the first trip of the year - perfect conditions for those after a challenging ride!

The ice man cometh!

 The water crossings were swollen with melted snow - but everybody got through OK.

Some valleys were virtually snow free - especially after some afternoon sun.

There was plenty of water about in the sunken tracks

Oh no - another sunken track!

Yasmina putting a bandage on Ian Smith's neck after he had an argument with some brambles.

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Reconnaissance photos taken Nov 2006

Dominique checks out the depth of a new water crossing - what you thought I was going to see how deep it was?!

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Photos taken March 2007

Mike Zullo shows some style through the mud. 

There was plenty of water about too.

'Aerial' shot of Bob Hammond going down a sunken lane.

Yet another sunken lane.

Yet more water.

And yet more mud.

A nice mixuture of mud and water!