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France 2006
June 2006 saw 3 of us on our way to France Paul and Janet on there nearly new GSXR 600s
and me on my 600 Thundercat. I had traded my 04 636 a few weeks earlier.
The ride down to Dover went off without incident , on my three previous crossings of the
channel I had used the Seacat twice and the ferry once, all going to Calais, this time we
were traveling on Norfolk line in to Dunkerque, as we were going south this added about
an extra 20 kms but at £42 ,which is about 1/2 the price of P&O no one
was complaining, Norfolk line are more flexible with times and dates as well.
On the ride down to Dreux, our first night's stop, the Yam broke it's speedo cable, leaving
me working off the rev counter for 10 days, this aside the ride 250 miles south was very
pleasant and done in good time.
Dreux, the first of three pre booked stops, was for one night, all the rest would be booked
on spec.
For 26 euros the hotel was fine, nothing special but to a standard, 26 euros would be in the
end, about the average cost per night for all of the holiday.
Booked in, quick S-S-S, one S less for Jan and off we went to find some food, Steak House,
ok, just up my street, with Jan having a good amount moreunderstanding of French than the
rest of us, she would have to do most of the talking!!!!!!!.
Next morning found us on the way south to Vichy just a few kms north of Clermont Ferrand,
using as little motorway as possible was the idea for the whole trip, in this way we found
some of the best tarmac and stunning roads you could wish for. Just one word of warning, the
French have a habit of putting road signs after the road you want, not before as we do, so
you come sailing on to a roundabout looking for a road number and when you find it you have
gone past the bloody thing, you have to turn in front of the sign not after it.
Having found the hotel and put the bikes into the private car park of our host for the night,
we set of for a walk around the town and to find somewhere to eat.
The war memorial to the unknown Soldier in Vichy
Our third stop would be in the village of Laguepie in the valley of the Tarn river and would be for
three nights and two days, this was to allow us to take a look at the viaduct at Millau and also explore
some of the surrounding French country side and villages.
The Mediterranean is only an hour and a half away.
A word of warning, since my last visit the cost of petrol has risen to almost UK levels and if you must
travel in France on a Sunday remember THE PLACE WILL BE SHUT and I mean SHUT, no cafe, no fuel,
SHUT!!.
Also traffic violations are liable to be charged on the spot any day. The temperature and atmosphere
in the middle of France, means that any slow riding in traffic or stops will result in very sweaty riding
gear, to the point of stripping off at fuel stops, not really fun.
Vichy to Laguepie staying away from all the motorways, takes you on some of the best tarmac and
roads I have seen, the N20 runs most of the way shadowing the EO9 into Cassaude, where we had
to take to the more minor roads and along the valley of the river Tarn.
Laguepie is what you imagine a French country village to be and is situated on the junction of two rivers,
the Tarn and the Garone, it used o be a center of leather tanning and glove making, every second
Thursday is market day, not a market for tourists but a proper country market and takes over all of
the village.
The river Tarn and the Castle
The river Tarn and the weir.
Market day in Laguepie
Local character.
The MILLAU viaduct.
A motorway in the sky, this 2.5kms bridge is awesome and
to ride across it is something special.
This was my main reason for the trip
and was worth it just for this.
Click on the last picture to find out more about this stunning structure.
With five days gone we left Laguepie and headed west in the direction of
Bordeaux, in another five days we were catching the boat back home.
The E72/A62 runs from Montauban straight in to the city of Bordeaux, as you
head west you become aware of a change in climate, still hot, but a lot
fresher, avenues of trees line the sides of the roads just like old oil
paintings, sweeping bends, long straights and every now and then,
stunning views of open country side and vineyards.
The first half of this trip took us in to the Central Massif, with all of the
elevation changes that that includes, you get some of the most
challenging roads you can imagine, the second half was going to be a
lot flatter, I have to say that this western side of the country suites
me a lot more and future trips to France will include this side and
northern Spain.
The riding in Bordeaux is a lot more relaxed and
bigger distances can be covered per day, on this trip we clocked the
best part of 3,000 mls with an average of 300 mls per day, this is ok,
starting about 9.30 stopping for lunch around midday,then starting to
look for somewhere to stay the night at about4.30 means getting about 6
hours riding in, if the roads are ok, an average of 50 is not hard,
very few reasons to stop and traffic that respects bikes, this is not England.
Lunch at midday makes sense because it gets you out of the heat, at its worst( mad dogs and English men etc).
Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Nantes, Rennes, Abbeville and back up to Dunkerque.
Red route the way out. Green route the way back.
Norfolk line docks in Dunkerque, we arrived here about 4 hrs early, expecting
to wait for our boat, Would you like to catch the earlier boat?
sorry!! catch the early boat, yes please. Great people to travel with
these, the only way to cross the channel if you are going by ferry.
Not at any time on this trip did we meet anyone that was not helpful, we
met some very nice people, saw some stunning country side, rode on some
of the best roads you could wish for. And best of all saw and rode the
viaduct at Millau.
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