1st Eurotrip - any tips? Dunkirk to Swiss Alps and back - 7 days

2manyhobbies

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Hi All,

So I've bought a GS (with top box and panniers) and a tent and a ferry ticket, what could possibly go wrong?:blast

I'll be going for a week and my rough plan is to go down to Switzerland to ride over the mountain passes :thumb2

I've not taken a bike abroad before, and have almost zero camping experience but did enjoy it when I tried it and want to keep the cost down so gonna give it a go.

I don't really have a solid plan in terms of route but I'm aiming to avoid motorways unless I have to hump it back to make a ferry!

I appreciate any tips such as cool roads, nice campsites or anything else,

Thanks,
Rob
:beerjug:
 
Drive/ride - whatever.

But this is serious advice - particularly after you have stopped for fuel, coffee, or to admire the view. Riders sometimes die when they forget....
 
Put some red tape or other telltale on your right mirror to remind you to keep on the right Double the cash and halve the clothes:rob
 
I have a good practical tip ... :)

Take a cheap pocket knife like an opinel. Go and buy some sort of an easy to carry coffee brew kit. (that'll be a thread in itself!).


In the morning, when you get gas at the local supermarche, buy yourself a packed lunch. Fresh bread, sausage, cheese, choccy bar, water to boil for coffee etc etc.

One of the great joys of travelling as you are (no plan ... just drift ... ), is seeing the perfect lunch spot at the side of the road and just doing it. No parking in the centre ville, worrying about the security of your kit, coming off route for an hour trying to find lunch etc etc.

Lunch time pic-nic with fresh bread, and fresh coffee. Perfect. :beerjug:







<a href="https://gileslamb.smugmug.com/Corsica/i-rdtdRpt/A"><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Corsica/i-rdtdRpt/0/fe248a80/L/073-L.jpg" alt=""></a>

<a href="https://gileslamb.smugmug.com/Corsica/i-8NJ3jFf/A"><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Corsica/i-8NJ3jFf/0/e8584440/L/065-L.jpg" alt=""></a>
 
@Giles, great pics, that's the stuff I'm aiming for!

If you are camping, can you just pitch up in a nice spot away from the road or do you generally stick to campsites?
 
Now we’ve done the ‘Ride on the right’ thing to death, let’s progress.

You want great - in fact, ‘cool’ - roads (who doesn’t) and have set your heart on Switzerland. You have decided not to tell us:

A. When you plan on departing

B. How long you plan on going away for, days on the mainland of Europe

C. Where (which port) you cross to / return from

Let’s make things really easy. Go to the RiDE magazine’s website. They have all sorts of suggestions on how to do exactly what you are planning, up to and including a complete ‘Alps’ special.

There is also a whole post on the Swiss Tourist Office’s guide to Switzerland

Have a look at the many posts from Rasher, who knows the Alps as well as anyone on UKGSer

Have a look at those and YOU tell us YOUR ideas.
 
@Giles, great pics, that's the stuff I'm aiming for!

If you are camping, can you just pitch up in a nice spot away from the road or do you generally stick to campsites?


Ive not camped abroad, so I'll leave that reply to someone that has. My gut feeling would be that places like Spain are going to be more relaxed about wild camping that the broom up arse swiss !

(i find switzerland pretty weird. Nobody speeds, there's no litter, no graffiti, no washing on a line, no chewing gum on the pavement, it's ....... weird! The child catcher is constantly lurking ......!)

If I was you, as a new bloke abroad on yer bike, i'd do something like the route des grande Alps down to Nice, and then the route Napoleon back. :thumb2
 
Hi All,

So I've bought a GS (with top box and panniers) and a tent and a ferry ticket, what could possibly go wrong?:blast

I'll be going for a week and my rough plan is to go down to Switzerland to ride over the mountain passes :thumb2

I've not taken a bike abroad before, and have almost zero camping experience but did enjoy it when I tried it and want to keep the cost down so gonna give it a go.

I don't really have a solid plan in terms of route but I'm aiming to avoid motorways unless I have to hump it back to make a ferry!

I appreciate any tips such as cool roads, nice campsites or anything else,

Thanks,
Rob
:beerjug:

http://www.vendee-guide.co.uk/priority-a-droite.htm

Apparently this is being introduced in even more places these days - so this is the best tip I can give you - ride safely!
 
Now we’ve done the ‘Ride on the right’ thing to death, let’s progress.

You have decided not to tell us:

A. When you plan on departing

B. How long you plan on going away for, days on the mainland of Europe

C. Where (which port) you cross to / return from


I'm going 13th-20th August Calais to Dunkirk. I'll check out the RiDE website, thanks.
 
One of the great joys of travelling as you are (no plan ... just drift ... ), is seeing the perfect lunch spot at the side of the road and just doing it.


In two:thumb2

The simple pleasures in life; bread, cheese, fruit and a marvellous view :)

For some reason, whenever I manage the above it makes me think of this old song......

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8aEJ4RRZMcc" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Andres
 
Yeah but your a feckin’ vegan veggie weirdo. You miss out on the pleasures of bread and sausage ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
What Giles said.

Take an empty Tupperware box with you, so you've got somewhere to put your half eaten cheese and sausage.
Unless you want everything in your topbox to smell of cheese and sausage.
 
Trixies socks smell of cheese and his pants smell of sausage...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro



Edit **

Garlic sausage.
 
Which mountain passes do you want to ride over?
I've camped at Interlaken (TCS Camping) [right next to the water linking Thunnersee and Brienzersee] and you're in easy reach of the following passes: Susten; Furka; Grimsel, etc. The susten will take you to Andermatt (love that place) and from there you can ride the Oberalp pass. The Furka is my least favourite but love the other ones.
 
Ok ... OK ... Ok ......

I have another top tip for you Mr 2manyhobbies ...


Time and distance. If you properly wing it, and don't give a rats arse where you end up at night, then distance / time / average speed becomes pretty meaningless.

If however, you do build a bit of a plan, and start using any of the google map / garmin / tyre applications to give you a sense of timing, remember that these will give you a journey time calculated on you doing the speed limit.

So lets say that you plan on doing 250 miles of Alpine passes. They will tell you, that at the national speed limit you can do that in a bit over 4 hours. So you go and book a camp site somewhere 250 from the night before.

At 10 pm when you still have 80 miles to go you'll be wondering where the hell it all went wrong!

In the mountains your average speed will easily be half if not lower than that of any garmin / google calculation. You won't achieve an average of 60 or anything like it. (it's not just the twisty roads, it's all those photo stops, lunch, cuppa, wee, more photos etc etc)

Many a bod has been caught out by over estimating his pace, and trying to bite off too many miles.

:beerjug:
 


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