21-03-12, 08:37 AM
Hi guys, an interesting thread. My tip if riding over to barcelona is to avoid it ! Unless you particularly want to see the city, the roads to it are manic. The montserrat ridge is impressive, but after that its just 8 lane suicidal motorway, and a choked up coastal main road.
However I have ridden some great roads in the pyrenees, just over on the spanish side.. My route would be to take in the N260 Sort to la seu d'rgeil road ( just south of andorra)...it is IMI the best road in europe for sheer diversity of bends and challenge to ride. Set in an unspoilt national park, its my all time best ride. And even after doing it 3 times , I would do a ride to spain just to ride it. No doubt others have similar favourites...but if you can fit it in the route, then I would do so.
I dont have great fondnes for france tbh, I find its very poor in catering for the traveller, its very hard to find food in or out of hours except on the motorway. On weekends, after 12 on a saturday - forget it.The small cafe restaurant is a dwindling resource and most towns now only have fast food places- Macdonalds is king over there !
Fuel can also be hard to find.A sat nav is recommended to find it...
France is a massive country and IMO you should plan the route accordingly. To ride from calais to pyrenees is at least 2 days solid riding , using a high proportion of motorway.Given the high chance of getting caught and severely punished for speeding on french motorways, I suggest plan around sticking to the 130 kph limit. I also think unless you plan a lengthy route through France, you wont really get a big feel of what its like.I have ridden many times through France, and would suggest try to take in riding through the Dordogne.I reckon the best part of france is the south west, you can avoid motorway to a great extent , taking in limoges, bergerac, agen, pau, is a reasonable scenic route.Once above normandy its best to stick to the motorway as the countryside is very flat and uninteresting .
One big advantage of french N roads is that many are quite close to the motorway, so if you fall behind schedule, you can switch over to motorway to make up time.
My choice if riding up from andorra would be to head for somewhere around montignac in the dordogne,take the N20 from andorra, taking in the lovely country from aix le thermes through quillan ending up at carcassone ( medieval fortress), then take the country route north, but with motorway nearby.The final run up to montignac takes in sarlat and the dordogne, lovely countryside.... Day 2 would be montignac to orleans, again all cross country , ending up with the N roads to Orleans, again motorway is close by.I particularly like this run, and it does give a good feel of rural France. Day 3 is Orleans to calais , a fast N road/ motorway run, ferry or tunnel crossing around mid day from a 6.30 am start. Thats keeping to limits too.
I can supply a more detailed route if you wanted.
However I have ridden some great roads in the pyrenees, just over on the spanish side.. My route would be to take in the N260 Sort to la seu d'rgeil road ( just south of andorra)...it is IMI the best road in europe for sheer diversity of bends and challenge to ride. Set in an unspoilt national park, its my all time best ride. And even after doing it 3 times , I would do a ride to spain just to ride it. No doubt others have similar favourites...but if you can fit it in the route, then I would do so.
I dont have great fondnes for france tbh, I find its very poor in catering for the traveller, its very hard to find food in or out of hours except on the motorway. On weekends, after 12 on a saturday - forget it.The small cafe restaurant is a dwindling resource and most towns now only have fast food places- Macdonalds is king over there !
Fuel can also be hard to find.A sat nav is recommended to find it...
France is a massive country and IMO you should plan the route accordingly. To ride from calais to pyrenees is at least 2 days solid riding , using a high proportion of motorway.Given the high chance of getting caught and severely punished for speeding on french motorways, I suggest plan around sticking to the 130 kph limit. I also think unless you plan a lengthy route through France, you wont really get a big feel of what its like.I have ridden many times through France, and would suggest try to take in riding through the Dordogne.I reckon the best part of france is the south west, you can avoid motorway to a great extent , taking in limoges, bergerac, agen, pau, is a reasonable scenic route.Once above normandy its best to stick to the motorway as the countryside is very flat and uninteresting .
One big advantage of french N roads is that many are quite close to the motorway, so if you fall behind schedule, you can switch over to motorway to make up time.
My choice if riding up from andorra would be to head for somewhere around montignac in the dordogne,take the N20 from andorra, taking in the lovely country from aix le thermes through quillan ending up at carcassone ( medieval fortress), then take the country route north, but with motorway nearby.The final run up to montignac takes in sarlat and the dordogne, lovely countryside.... Day 2 would be montignac to orleans, again all cross country , ending up with the N roads to Orleans, again motorway is close by.I particularly like this run, and it does give a good feel of rural France. Day 3 is Orleans to calais , a fast N road/ motorway run, ferry or tunnel crossing around mid day from a 6.30 am start. Thats keeping to limits too.
I can supply a more detailed route if you wanted.