A six days diagonal route across France - Moto magazine

Wapping

Wapping

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Every time I go across the Channel, I always try to pick up a local motorcycle magazine, many of which have some excellent touring route suggestions.

Last weekend's jaunt to Le Mans found me in a village newsagent's, clutching this month's splendid Moto magazine with an interesting suggestion for a six day diagonal ride across France.

Conveniently for us Brits the diagonal route starts on the ever popular Cherbourg peninsula at Barleur, finishing on the Mediterranean coast at Menton. This at least saves me the trouble of reversing it!

I will transcribe all six routes into Garmin friendly Mapsource files and (if you are lucky) end by splicing all six together. From a very quick gander, all six would offer good riding and would stand individually, should anyone want to just ride individual segments.

Enjoy..... :thumb2

Richard


PS The files will exceed the site's individual upload limits, so I will probably have to zip them up. They should open OK.
 
Thanks for that! I'm mulling a South of France trip for next year.... I ran out of holiday days for this year. :augie
 
I really like the French and German 'Touring magazines', way better than anything offered by the UK publishers. On the whole our continental cousins seem far less hung up over the 'pack up and ride off' idea than the Brits. I am sure the gap of the Channel plays a part in it. Equally, I am just as sure that there are 100 motorcyclists. Living in Nice, who would love to have the time and money to ride the diagonal but never will.

Many of the routes over the six days follow the tried and tested. That's maybe inevitable as it's over 1000 miles, on the diagonal. It matters not. What was interesting was to see how well they had broken the legs up, longer 'flatter' days at 280 or so miles, 'twisties' at 180. That's pretty sensible distances, conservativly achievable for any reasonably competent motorcyclist, setting off at a reasonable timeafter breakfast, stopping for snaps, coffee and lunch; still arriving well before the hotel owner puts the cat out and snuffs the candles.

They use a chunk of motorway on one of the days. Whilst the purists will scoff (or object to spending €5 on a toll) it really was the most practicable way to go from A to B if the real purpose of the day was really to get to C.

Are they all 'great rods'? Not over a thousand miles they ate not, no. Do they work well for a grand excursion NW to SE across a very big country? Yes, of course. Could anyone, as Tony ort of suggested, stop off somewhere and ride something else? Yes, of course. It's not meant to be a bible of "Must does' or 'Never do' just a 'Maybe try to do, one day'.

What I will try to do is add in some hotels the magazine suggests and / or places like Riders Rest. If nothing else it will give bods an idea of what is available.... The rest as ever is up to them.
 
HA!

Now there's a coincidence, after Le Mans, we went to Le Mans, and were in Barfleur for the best Moules Marinieres/frites I'd EVER had, and I was back home at mid day today.
But yeah, 6 days makes more sense.:D
 
Sorry to have missed you.

Barfleur, so I have just learned via Google, is famous for its moules. Between five and nine thousand tons being harvested each year :eek:

Got a name for the restaurant, as I see there are several.... All quite good. It's a bit off my normal beaten track but I feel a Wander coming on in 2014 or 15.
 
original_concept said:
There's an annually updated german magazine called: Motorrad Touren Atlas, Alpen 2012.

Wonderful thing....
Click to expand...

That's one of the mags I try to pick up. As you say it's really very good. They (or something very similar) also do some hard back publications. I have a couple. Yup, you can download routes.

One of the really great spin-offs of the whole www. and 'Internet thing', coupled to GPS based mapping, is the ability to create and share routes virtually at will. Mix in the miles upon miles of pictures, hotel websites, Google street view (I recently looked to see exactly where a signpost indicated for a friend of mine, looking for a route), tourist guides (in multiple languages), blogs and even UKGSer's own excellent Travel section, I don't think there is anything anyone cannot do, all from the comfort of their comfy armchair.
 
Google maps is brilliant. Here's a photo of the restaurant we ate in Barfleur. Little terrace outside the giftshop actually belongs to the restaurant which looks kinda derelict here on the left. Called "Chez Buch" and the moules AND frites are to die for.
 

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Wapping thanks for taking time to put the routes on here. Ive saved em on to map source as a possible for next year :beerjug:
 
No problem.

I'm just lifting what look like a good route from Calais to Rome......
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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