A weekend on the D roads of Brittany and Normandy

[GreatScott]

Friday morning started with thick fog at Newhaven, delaying the ferry to Dieppe. Having met up as planned ScunbaSparky, Windychuffer, Oldrascal, Strider and myself took the time to get to know one another before boarding.

The fog had lifted a little at Dieppe but far from the fine weather which had been forecasted. Having cleared the port we headed out on the motorway towards Le Havre and Caen. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WFKBdEYoKNs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WFKBdEYoKNs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

The sun tried to come out as we reached the impressive Pont de Normandy over the Seine before the grey gloom got the better of it. We eventually made our B & B at St James and a lovely home cooked meal with unlimited complementary wine!!

The weather deteriorated over night and we woke to a grey old day with drizzle and the promise of sun and 21 degrees by lunchtime looked unlikely. Undaunted we set of, following our host's recommendation, out towards Pontorson on the D30, picking up the D797 Route de la Baie, which follows the road along the north Brittany coast. On a fine day I should image this would be a lovely run, with little French fishing villages selling fresh seafood with oysters a plenty.

Stopping for an early coffee at Le Vivier sur mer to dry out a bit before carrying on to Cancale. The scenery changed markedly at Cancale from the very flat coastal topography of north Norfolk to the dramaic scenery of the Cornish coast, which tempted us into a bit of sight seeing at Pointe du Grouin.

 

[GreatScott]

Part 2

The route then took us along the D201 coast road to St Malo. Back on the main road for a short hop to the lovely seaside town and sandy beaches of St Cast le Guildo for lunch, where the forecast was as good as it's word and the sun came out. The change in the weather was as dramatic as the scenery.

 

[GreatScott]

Part 3

After a fabulous lunch we headed out on the D13 to Matignon and Henanbihen. After Henanbihen we turned off the D17 onto the D89 following the back roads to Dinan, passing through a series of lovely Breton villages. After Dinan it was back onto the main roads following the D 794 to Combourge. Another stop St Remy for a quick drink in a little Tabac where the owner seemed please to have a group of bikers turn up on his door and he popped out to check out the bikes.

We carried on along the D795 to Mezieres sur Couesnon before heading north on the D102 back to St James in time for a beer or two in a local bar, before another fine meal at the B & B

The weather on day three started much more promisingly but unfortunately we rose to find out Strider has been called home and had left early to catch the tunnel. As disappointed as we were we wished Strider all the best. Five though soon became three as OldRascal also needed to catch an earlier ferry and left us to fly up to Caen.

The mantel of lead out man fell to WindyChuffer and his trusty Street Pilot and a damn good job he did too. We left St James on the D30 which was quite an unexpected joy, starting with a hairpin out of the village. In fact the whole of the day's route was a pleasure - traffic free, wide twisty roads which we had come for and with not a Gatso in sight !

At St Hilaire du Harcouet we took the D999 north to Brecey but unfortunately we hit thick fog but we soon left it behind picking the D911 passing through Sourdeval and Tinchebray. At Conde sur Noireu we dropped down the D15 to Pontanges Pont Ecrepin before heading back north on the D909 to Falaise and lunch. Unfortunately being a Sunday much was closed but we found a little Tabac selling excellent and massive ham and cheese baguettes, which hit the spot.

 

[Stevie73]

Great stuff GreatScott! Would be interested to know what video camera you've got, and where it's mounted? Looks like top quality..

 

[GreatScott]

Part 4

After lunch the route continued north east on the D511 to St Pierre sur Dives continuing on the lovely twisty roads of Normandy to Livaret and Orbec.

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The road straightened out on the D145 and D28 to Lieurey for another stop for a cold drink.
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We continued on the back roads to cross the Seine on the chain ferry at Duclair, which marked the end of a great day on the wide clear roads of Normandy as we had to get onto the motorway to make the ferry home. WindyChuffer's timing was almost perfect as we pulled up to the ferry we were waved straight on past the cars and made it first into the canteen for steak and chips.

Thanks guys and great trip and good company.

 

[Red Rock]

Great report!

Great stuff GreatScott! Would be interested to know what video camera you've got, and where it's mounted? Looks like top quality..

I was about to ask exactly the same thing!

 

[GreatScott]

Great stuff GreatScott! Would be interested to know what video camera you've got, and where it's mounted? Looks like top quality..

Cheers. I have a cheap pentax W10 (which is waterproof) bog standard digital camera, on a ram mount by the left hand mirror. I use a high speed 8 gb SD card and use the camera on sport or video mode - seems to work well enough.

 

[Big Lee]

Great stuff GreatScott! Would be interested to know what video camera you've got, and where it's mounted? Looks like top quality..

Great report!


I was about to ask exactly the same thing!

Me too!

Cheers. I have a cheap pentax W10 (which is waterproof) bog standard digital camera, on a ram mount by the left hand mirror. I use a high speed 8 gb SD card and use the camera on sport or video mode - seems to work well enough.

Very impressive video Do you have a pic of the setup? I`d have thought the vibration for a normal digicam bolted to the bike would`ve been too much for it? Looks like not!

 

[WindyChuffer]

Good pix, vidz & write up, GreatScott.

 

[Scuba-Sparky]

Hi Great Scott
Feel like a real member now I'm on video!

Some great pics as well, look forward to the next outing chap.

Ref the steak did look good!

Scuba

 

[GreatScott]

Me too! Very impressive video Do you have a pic of the setup? I`d have thought the vibration for a normal digicam bolted to the bike would`ve been too much for it? Looks like not!

Thanks. Made my brain hurt working out how to photograph my camera, until I remembered I had another camera

This is the best position for pushing the shutter button, but on this camera it is difficult to turn it on with a gloved finger so you need to set it up so it won't automatically power down. The down side is on a long run you flatten the battery. I will have to look into to seeing if I can power it off the bike. Vibration doesn't seem to be a problem though it is prone to fly strike so you need to clean the lens regularly.

 

[oldrascal]

You may not be seeking office GreatScott but you have now placed yourself firmly in the top spot as 'Official Archivist' to any ride that you undertake. That was a great report - but how the hell did you keep track of our route. Amazing considering the number of times we backtracked, turned around, spun on our heels and generally faffed around.

And it was a real pleasure to meet such a great bunch of like-minded mates on what turned out to be a wonderful and hugely enjoyable 3-days. And like all good things, it has now left me with a burning desire to get on with the next one in France. So here is the linky to the proposed 6-day "Iron Man" blast scheduled for early May. Keep watching and I'll keep working on it.

Cheers all.

 

[GreatScott]

You are assuming I got it right of course !! Actually I've WindyChuffer to thank as I checked with him on the ferry home

 

[WindyChuffer]

Bunch of tossers....

 

[Riders Rest]

Good report, nice pics.Weather looks a bit grey but I bet it didn't detract from the good roads and the comeraderie of the 3 days...

 

[Brig]

Nice report great scott,would have liked to have gone myself.Sounds like a you all had a great time with a decent bunch of blokes.(Did that sound a bit gay?)

 

[oldrascal]

Gay................who us lovely lads? Nah, its just the way we walk after 3 hours in a GS saddle. Why not try and come along in May on the next trip Brig - I am sure that it will be just as much fun.

 

[Big Lee]

Thanks. Made my brain hurt working out how to photograph my camera, until I remembered I had another camera

This is the best position for pushing the shutter button, but on this camera it is difficult to turn it on with a gloved finger so you need to set it up so it won't automatically power down. The down side is on a long run you flatten the battery. I will have to look into to seeing if I can power it off the bike. Vibration doesn't seem to be a problem though it is prone to fly strike so you need to clean the lens regularly.

Thanks for that I`ve a Canon A720 with the tripod mount on the edge of the camera like yours and was a bit concerned it might break it but it looks like the RAM mount gives the camera a good bit of support with the wide "foot". I might just give that a go I`ve got an adaptor to use with different filters so that could be used for absorbing fly strike with a clear lens rather than the lens its self

 

[Hairnet600]

brill!!

put some of those in the shat nav for our small jaunt to le mans

thanks

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Good stuff I enjoyed that. Thanks for putting in the effort.