Well I've got the touring bug again and this time am planning a shorter break abroad, probably to France.
It's the first time travelling abroad on a bike. So the usual, what's what, road recommendations? Good b&b's? We'll be getting the euro tunnel over as it's only £50/bike return journey (and the mrs doesn't get on with ferries).
We'll only be going for 4-5 days total, so I'm planning roughly 1 day each side for travel (as travelling down from yorkshire) and so 2-3 days actually in France. Ideal mileage as worked out on the end to end last year was approx. 200-250/day. Anymore and it's tiring and painful!
James
Lower Normandy or Loire is very good for biking. There is a great B&B run by an English couple who are bike friendly in a small village near Mayenne I can give you the details of if you need them.
Round there you have the Alpes Mancelle ( not spelt right) and Suisse Normandy within an hours ride as well as Le Mans and the coast at St Malo.
Another ex-Fazer rider that is a foccer again
Details of the b&b would be great thanks, I can the start looking at rough routes.
Christo, what sort of time would it take to get to this area from Calais? Thinking of a bit of back road and main motorways if needed. Just conscious of distance and time.
interesting topic as this year I am taking 7 other chaps on a tour of Europe, and often there is a big split in opinion over whether to plan or not to plan...some considering even looking at a map takes all the fun from it. Well I usually counter that Europe is a massive place and just hoping to stumble on best roads is as likely as finding petrol in a village in France on a sunday ! LOL
IMO some prep is vital. It can vary from planning every route to just deciding towns you want to head to.The disadvantage of no planning can mean having to use expensive hotels, ride on into the night searching for digs, even running out of fuel and sleeping in a ditch!. And yes while I didn't do that , it happened to someone I know.
If its your first trip I could write out an A4 on dos and donts, if you want more info, feel free to PM me.
On the plus side, france is close enuff to UK for it not to feel too different , but still remember it is a different country with its own laws, practices and customs, which are quite at odds with for example weekends over in UK .Seasoned tourers gloss over much which has to be learned, but remember they have gained that often through experiences which could have been avoided with better prep.
The goal is to enjoy the vacation, not spend it regretting what you could have done.
For me the moment I leave Calais, the holiday starts in earnest , but that feeling of freedom still has to be tempered by having done enuff prep so you can relax into it!
Calais is a long hike, so if I were you, I'd bomb down to Normandy on the autoroutes, and take it easy from there.
I think it takes my parents about 6hrs from Dinan to Calais in the minibus.
The Deef's apprentice
The couple are called Pam and Dave. The website here (
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/france/FR6148.htm) shows the apartment that they rent out too but they also have some B&B rooms.
Trevor (Big Mac) has a house in the same village so if you call them, tell them that Trevor or Bob (me) recommended them. A few other foccers have stayed here too including PhilC (not sure he is on the board anymore) and GarethG.
Takes about 5 hours to get there from Calais or 3 from Dieppe or 1.5 from Caen.
Another ex-Fazer rider that is a foccer again
Plenty to start at then, will certainly have a look at the b&b recommended. I've seen best biking roads before, shows loads around me to get on!
