Pleas keep me posted re this one CW it looks like my contract is being extended for another year at least so Ill still be earning lol! I like the sound of this for my first trip with bike abroad (pennies willing of course!) Therefore, cheap and cheerful for me, will camp or do B&B if it's not to expensive and will share as long as I know who they are and that they're "safe"..........or they'll be in big trouble pmsl!
I have never rode bike abroad but will defo try for this,,,,,again i like the idea of camping if a large group attends, but will go with the flow, already bought big road atlas of europe!!
May be up for this. Not rode abroad before and they say France is fab. Needs to be after the 20th May though as away before then. Will keep an eye on this one
Dont just talk it - do it :-)
Did this year before last - took tent and camped all the time, woke up when i wanted, moved on when i wanted, stopped when i wanted, without exeption was made welcome (even found a campsite run by a biker who proudly showed me his collection),
July time three weeks.
Roughly - dover calais, west coast france, north coast spain to bilbao,back across the pyranees (skirting pamplona and barcelona) to jaca sort then down to benicassim (valencia) for the music festi amazingly heady smell of tarragon through the lid coming into tarragona) then back up to barcelona, millau bridge (awesone coming form the south) a play around the tarnregion then back up the spine of france through the ww1 sites to the uk.
Awesome.
Highlights - N Spain (been there lots and love catalonia and the basque area anyway) superb roads, pro biker attitude (even the spanish policewhen i got pulled over at a truckers stop - they pulled everyone) millau bridge is stunning (just dont stop on the side of the my at the bridge end to take a pic .. ho hum).
Lowlights - N and w France - boring
Do - go at your pace, keep flexible, take days off if you feel like it
Dont - rush or stress
Got loads of info stored away i think still if you want to pm me.
I have lots of pics online too (but I cant refer to other websites IIRC)
oh personnal preference ..... leave the sat nav behind and take a couple of decent maps ... look each day and if you see what looks an interesting wiggly road try it ... you just never know ;-)
oh budget a tenner a night for tent - they tend to charge per person pre vehicle and per tent per night, camping municipals are everywhere in france, F1 are the cheapest motels IIRC
oh and if you are camping - take a days supply of noodles/beans etc with you with the cooker - just in case you cant get to a restaruant or camp site bar for evening meal (or indeed if you decide to finish riding really late)
enjoy
not sure what I am doing this year for a trip (have a few things in mind but will keep an eye on this thread :-) )
Be careful at islands.
Used to be the case that those joining the island had priority over those already on it !
Law's changed now, and there's 'give way' signs to remind folk, but old habits die hard etc
LOL of course!! It's been a long time since I've seen that acronym I forgot it, cheers ZZR. With my bad recall I should use it more often IICR (If I Can Remember)
Rob, if the French are as impatient, at driving, as the Spanish I'd take extra life insurance cover just in case.
If you venture into Gibraltar beware of the taxi drivers, they're worse than our own, they drive like loonies and Gib' streets are narrow. I only ever got a taxi once, I walked after that or got the bus, which was the total opposite, so slow it's quicker to walk
Hi all, thanks for the great response from all. Just an update, I plan to post a plan next week with dates, times, routes and costs. I hope that you some of you will sign up and join me. By the way, when I say plan, not like got to do, but just a guide, mainly ferries times, possible routes, places to stay and visit.
![Touring France - May 2010 (2) - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8mobileLQ.jpg)
![Touring France - May 2010 (2) - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8desktopLQ.jpg)
