Some biker mates and I are staying in the Dordogne in June. We plan to try and keep off motorways on the way back to Calais and have allowed 2 night stops so we can enjoy some better biker roads. Any suggestions re roads and routes would be welcome. In the meantime looking through articles previously posted on this site, use the Green Guide, etc. Thanks
Brive-La-Gaillarde to Calais over 3 days
- Thread starter GreyHairedWombat
- Start date
Bit limited in terms of dramatic scenery headed due north from dordogneshire, but you could head northeast to Claremont Fernand taking the back roads to get some hills and twisties, and then blast it to Calais on the autoroute from there….
Brive-la-Gaillarde I assume you mean.
I would head NE through the Volcanes and onto the Morvan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EhNJBMHY3cZmDBkaA is selected by Google avoiding motorways. You might do better to look at the Michelin map 1:200000 scale for the region.
Wapping has a hotel to recommend in Quarré les Tombes. Avallon and Autun ore okay too.
Then up past Troyes through Champagne region on D roads and stop in St Quentin or wherever is convenient for onward travel to the Channel
I would head NE through the Volcanes and onto the Morvan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EhNJBMHY3cZmDBkaA is selected by Google avoiding motorways. You might do better to look at the Michelin map 1:200000 scale for the region.
Wapping has a hotel to recommend in Quarré les Tombes. Avallon and Autun ore okay too.
Then up past Troyes through Champagne region on D roads and stop in St Quentin or wherever is convenient for onward travel to the Channel
560 miles. No motorways or tolls.
Is it perfect? No, stuff rarely is but it’s simple to amend using a half decent paper map or on a PC.
Tell you what, you’ve had plenty of help from the forum each year for your holidays. There is also plenty of posts on how to DIY. Have a go at creating something yourself, rather than have others do it for you. You’ve got a few months. Give it a go and put your ideas up on the forum. It’s relatively fun and it’s free. Not least, it’ll also help others.
Is it perfect? No, stuff rarely is but it’s simple to amend using a half decent paper map or on a PC.
Tell you what, you’ve had plenty of help from the forum each year for your holidays. There is also plenty of posts on how to DIY. Have a go at creating something yourself, rather than have others do it for you. You’ve got a few months. Give it a go and put your ideas up on the forum. It’s relatively fun and it’s free. Not least, it’ll also help others.
Last edited:
Thank you all. I was just checking if there were good roads with picking up along a route either west or east of Paris. Route planning is no problem. I know the Dordgne, Central Mastiff, Loire and Burgany from prior family holidays. N or D biking roads were not a priority then. I’ll continue to research and look at the tips given me already
Yup, there’ll be plenty of ‘good roads’ somewhere along the 500 plus miles.
We live about 40 minutes from Brive and when we head north we usually take advantage of the toll free A20 to get some miles under our wheels and then cut across country towards Troyes the Chateau Thierry, Arras and Calais. We are usually in a bit of a hurry so take advantage of toll free motorways when we can.
I would recommend getting round Paris to the east as it is much easier and if I was travelling from Brive I would head for Ussel hen plot a route via Moulins, Auxerre, Chateau Thierry etc.. Roads definitely get busier and less interesting as you go further north but that is true whichever route you take.
I would recommend getting round Paris to the east as it is much easier and if I was travelling from Brive I would head for Ussel hen plot a route via Moulins, Auxerre, Chateau Thierry etc.. Roads definitely get busier and less interesting as you go further north but that is true whichever route you take.
In essence, Wessie and ChasF are suggesting;
There are two hotels I’d recommend in Quarré les Tombes:
The third shown above, is owned by the father of the woman who runs the second hotel. It too is good but stands on its own, outside of the decent sized village.
Of course, Quarré les Tombes only works for an overnight stop if you are in the town to check in. Useless if you are 50 or 100 miles away.
This is near enough what ChasF / Wessie are suggesting, it being the ‘classic’ route up to Calais from Dijon, with the leg from the west tacked on.
All you have to do now is drop the black line onto the roads you want to ride along. MyRoute is an excellent tool for doing that.
By the time you have danced about, it’ll be over 600 miles ie. 200 miles a day on N and D roads. That’s not an impossibly ambitious target, but you are you are you and we are not.
Alternatively, it’s north on the N and D to say Le Mans’ish, then cut across country to say, Rouen and then maybe the motorway to Calais.
There are two hotels I’d recommend in Quarré les Tombes:
The third shown above, is owned by the father of the woman who runs the second hotel. It too is good but stands on its own, outside of the decent sized village.
Of course, Quarré les Tombes only works for an overnight stop if you are in the town to check in. Useless if you are 50 or 100 miles away.
This is near enough what ChasF / Wessie are suggesting, it being the ‘classic’ route up to Calais from Dijon, with the leg from the west tacked on.
All you have to do now is drop the black line onto the roads you want to ride along. MyRoute is an excellent tool for doing that.
By the time you have danced about, it’ll be over 600 miles ie. 200 miles a day on N and D roads. That’s not an impossibly ambitious target, but you are you are you and we are not.
Alternatively, it’s north on the N and D to say Le Mans’ish, then cut across country to say, Rouen and then maybe the motorway to Calais.
Last edited:
This is excellent info/help. Thank you.
There are 9 of us so may be forced to use Ibis type hotels.
I have now been forming a route taking in the Morvan Hills after enjoying the volcanic area roads and then the area towards Chateau Thierry maybe via the champagne region. I have come to a similar conclusion that northern France has less to offer re biking roads. I have Simon Weirs Bikers Europe and note he has more circular routes via his website if you’re willing to pay which could help to find some interesting roads.
There are 9 of us so may be forced to use Ibis type hotels.
I have now been forming a route taking in the Morvan Hills after enjoying the volcanic area roads and then the area towards Chateau Thierry maybe via the champagne region. I have come to a similar conclusion that northern France has less to offer re biking roads. I have Simon Weirs Bikers Europe and note he has more circular routes via his website if you’re willing to pay which could help to find some interesting roads.
Thanks re MyRoute advice. Looks worth the investment.
==========
To save you hijacking your own thread, I have cut your question over MyRoute working with the BMW TFT App on your phone, into the GPS section.
Richard
==========
To save you hijacking your own thread, I have cut your question over MyRoute working with the BMW TFT App on your phone, into the GPS section.
Richard
Last edited by a moderator:
a group of us on the way to Annecy, including Wapping and me stayed here in Avallon in the Morvan. https://hotel-avallon-dakhotel.brithotel.com/ - no restaurant but a few choices in the village centre.
27 rooms so should be able to get in. It's part of the Brit Hotel group, an association of independents like Logis, although not all have restaurants so check out the group for other places.
27 rooms so should be able to get in. It's part of the Brit Hotel group, an association of independents like Logis, although not all have restaurants so check out the group for other places.
That’s very helpful. Thank you. I’ll check it out
My daughter lives in Dept 46 near Souillac and Martel and works in Brive, there are some truly great roads around there and I would certainly try to plot my route across towards the volcanic region and then meander north. Every time I go there, with or without mates, it blows me away and my mates practically beg me to take them back there. Well worth the effort.
There are many good roads in the Lot but unfortunately the place is overrun with speed cameras and I’m always relieved to cross the border into Corrèze, Aveyron or Cantal. That said, we went through there on our way south at Christmas and noticed that most of the cameras have been vandalised and there were a numerous banners protesting against the blanket 80kmph limit.
Other good news on returning home there was a letter saying that because I’ve been such a good boy this year (I use Waze so it warns me of speed cameras) they are giving me a point back - how kind of them!
Thank you guys. Have plotted a route to Troyes through the Morvan hills so have planned a stop at Roanne which has a BRIT hotel (there are 9 bikes). Could also stay a Vichy. Will also plan a route between Roanne and Thenon taking in some of the volcanic region assuming will have the time to include these roads. I’ll keep in mind comments re speed cameras in the Lot
Our plans have changed slightly. Now travelling down from Troyes to Roanne on day 2 via some nice roads in the Morvan Hills. Day 3 will be from Roanne to Thenon (just the other side of Brive-la-Gaillarde). We have a day to enjoy some good roads in the Volcanes and Central Massif. Do you have any roads you'd recommend we include?
just set the satnav to no motorways, add Puy Mary as a waypoint - sort of like https://maps.app.goo.gl/P5QcZwn8uYL1cVtR8 but you would take the D62 from Cheylade and then the D680 over Puy Mary and down the other side. Seasonal closures stop me routing that way today.
Wessie’s advice is not bad. However, I’d comment
Direct’ish from Roanne to Thenon is a bit over 200 miles.
Just because people chose two places in France (or indeed anywhere else) why do they always expect that there will be ‘Great roads, mate’ to join the two places up and still be in their hotel, feet up by the pool by 16:00?
You chose your start and end points.
OP, arm yourself with a half decent Michelin map and mark the two towns. What do the roads look like? Which ones look like they’d be half decent to get you and your mates at least 200 miles from A to B (you’ll be going further on the twisties) within your allotted timeframe?
This gives you a (possible) rough direction to take. It’s about 250 miles, A to B, no motorways:
That’s 50 miles further than the direct route. Real time average speed? 40 mph if there is six or whatever it is of you. You’ve just added at least an hour to your day…. Start at 08:00 or finish at 18:30 it’s your choice.
OP
Here is the route in the screenshot in post #18
It’s really not too bad.
As you can see when you zoom in on a Michelin map:
Here is the route in the screenshot in post #18
It’s really not too bad.
As you can see when you zoom in on a Michelin map:
The screen shot above shows how difficult it is to recommend ‘must do’ or ‘great roads’ over long distances (200 miles plus in your case) between two places, plucked out of the air in a big country.
Here is what I mean:
The GPX route in post #19 takes you along the D137, as that’s possibly the ‘best way’ to go from A to B (Roanne to Thenon) avoiding motorways and taking ‘twisties’. But it inevitably misses the D3 which runs parallel below it. Have you used a ‘Great Road’? Have you missed a ‘Greater Road’? Who knows? Should you have started from somewhere other than A and stopped somewhere other than B journey? Who knows?
Here are screenshots of the D137 and D3:
If you took the D3 and not the D137, what would (or might) you change when you got to Uzerche in order to still get to B, Thenon, as shown below:
What attracted you to Thenon, to make it point B?
It shows how difficult it is planning or suggesting 200 mile plus routes for people. More importantly, it really shows the value of doing your own research, using all the very easy and often free tools out there. Involve the friends you are travelling with, rather than maybe relying on UKGSer to churn it out for you. It really is part of the fun and you know you, way better than we know you.
Here is what I mean:
The GPX route in post #19 takes you along the D137, as that’s possibly the ‘best way’ to go from A to B (Roanne to Thenon) avoiding motorways and taking ‘twisties’. But it inevitably misses the D3 which runs parallel below it. Have you used a ‘Great Road’? Have you missed a ‘Greater Road’? Who knows? Should you have started from somewhere other than A and stopped somewhere other than B journey? Who knows?
Here are screenshots of the D137 and D3:
If you took the D3 and not the D137, what would (or might) you change when you got to Uzerche in order to still get to B, Thenon, as shown below:
What attracted you to Thenon, to make it point B?
It shows how difficult it is planning or suggesting 200 mile plus routes for people. More importantly, it really shows the value of doing your own research, using all the very easy and often free tools out there. Involve the friends you are travelling with, rather than maybe relying on UKGSer to churn it out for you. It really is part of the fun and you know you, way better than we know you.
Last edited:
Similar threads
