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| Luckypants |
Luckypant's EuroTripTo get things rolling, here is a little report on my recent trip to FranceSo here is the trip report. Left here morning of the 12th and headed south, late ferry from Dover to Dunkirk. I stayed in a Formule1 cheapy and got an early start the next day. Went south on the motorways to Dole and leapt off there with the intention of riding the N5 to Nyon (thanks Stramasher). Was knackered TBH so stayed in a great hotel (Hotel de Paris) in Poligny. Rode over the N5, was awesome! Check out the view (photos) that just appeared round a bend. Lots of hairpins kept me on my toes as the bike was 300KGs loaded (without me!). Went to Geneva for photo and then on to Annecy. Every road was blocked off for the Tour de France! Every route I tried I was turned around, in the end I went down a little road thinking I could sneak down the course..... but there was a Gendarme and all the locals out with thier BBQs, so I stopped and joined the party. Watched the Tour go past and then carried on - only cost me 3 hours! Stopped in Annecy for a couple of nights, camping. It is a lovely place, but absolutely packed! Not my cup of tea really. Visited the lovely Chateau du Menthon (see pic) and the Col De Facluse. Campsite manageress was a babe... Went over the Col Du Glandon and many minor cols covering back roads to meet my brother in Bourg D'Oisons and here the recurring theme of my trip started - I got lost!! Was all good, just ended up covering an extra 60Kms or so! If anyone wants to ride the Col Du Glandon, I would recommend going up from Bourg D'Oisons rather N6 side as the road is much better. Also go over the Croix de Fer to stay on the good road, then go back over towards the Bourg D'Oisons start via the Col Du Galibier. Met my brother in bourg d'Oisons after an epic descent dodging mad cyclists.... I left my bruv early to meet my son, so never watched the tour climb the Galibier. The ride from Bourg D'Oisons towards Grenoble then N85 to Gap and then D994 to Pont St. Esprit (despite another minor 'lost' incident!) was fan-bloody-tastic! I finally clicked with the Viffer, we were as one and flew down the twisties. The Gorge des Eygues was twisty, well surfaced and too hot for any Gendarmes to be about! Bloody brilliant. Met my lad and spent two days canoeing down the Ardeche gorge (grade 2 max), camping overnight. The French don't do wilderness, so there was full mobile phone coverage and the 'bivouac' had showers and toilets! The number of tourists paddling the gorge was astoundng and really detracted from the experience. Would recommend it in low season though. Also the nudists with thier wrinkly suits and dodgy haircuts (if you get my drift) also put me off my lunch.... Headed off from there towards Millau on some twisty back roads through the Cevennes and planned to come down the Gorges Du Tarn to Millau. However I got SPECTACULARLY lost! At Florac I needed to take the D907 - which I did. What I really needed was the D907b, a totally different road! So I lost half a day wandering the Cevennes, having fun but losing my timetable. I arrived at Millau 5 hours late and had to camp there the night. No bad thing - another lovely town! As I arrived at the edge of the Tarn Gorge on the N9, I stopped at view point - just as I got off the bike this HUGE eagle flew by! At least 200 folks were fumbling for cameras and I swear the lady in front of me could have reached out and touched it's wing tip! Amazing! It's wingspan must have been 2m, it was huge. I think it was a 'Royal Eagle' as the French call them, but I do not know the real name (will try to find out). Took photos of the Viaduc du Millau with the bike and managed a play on some local roads about the Gorges du Tarn. Next day had to be a motorway day to make up some lost time. Did 600Km that day, almost all on the Autoroute. Ended up in a lovely place called Chateaudun, near Le Mans. The municipal campsite is a gem and the view accross the Loire valley was stunning. If going to the Le Mans endurance race, you could do a lot worse than camping here, if camping at the circuit is just 'too much'!! Next day I went north to Le Havre and rode over the Pont de Tancarville (no photo unfortunately) and Pont de Normandie - this was more impressive to ride than the Millau Viaduct as it was so steep and more dramatic to be on. Rode along the Channel coast back to Dunkirk. Those roads in northern France are so straight and boring. I clocked one straight to 10KM long! Next day was blast up motorways to visit brother (other one) in Leicester and then home for tea and medals! (Well pizza, check out the high class VFR pizza delivery bike!) 2660 miles altogether and my viffer is ready for it's 4k service after 6 weeks. Slideshows from photobucket.... First one Second one Third one Fourth one Final one |