down France over Millau

[bmconvert]

there will im sure be war and piece on this already but if someone could point me in the right direction( so to speak!), it would be great. Planning on Ferry to St.Malo overnight and then down through France over the Millau bridge and into Spain, just south of Barcelon to meet up with wife and kids who are very sensibly flying down! The best roads through France but not taking me wildly out of my way and over the bridge is what i am after! Thanks

 

[Wapping]

Don't be lazy...especially when it is so easy (and fun) to do yourself.

All you will need are two maps. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136891

The bridge is on a motorway, so not hard to find, unless you want to see it from the bottom, in which case you may well need the maps....

Search Millau on the site, there is indeed War and Peace.....

 

[ricardo]

Loads of goods routes around there, the motorway over the bridge is probably the most boring! Have a run down the Gorge Du Tarn though.

 

[Deleted account LB]

From St Malo head down to Limoges and the boring bits out of the way - Get down towards Figac and then follow the Lott valley towards the Gorge Du Tarn, pic khat up on the top end way from the bridge, the ride down to the Gorge is fantastic. ride the Gorge which is stunnig but will be filling up with camper vans by now and it takes you straight under the bridge

 

[BeemerBaz]

Heres one I took earlier !

 

[BeemerBaz]

... and here's another

The view is rather spoilt on this one tho !!

 

[BeemerBaz]

there will im sure be war and piece on this already but if someone could point me in the right direction( so to speak!), it would be great. Planning on Ferry to St.Malo overnight and then down through France over the Millau bridge and into Spain, just south of Barcelon to meet up with wife and kids who are very sensibly flying down! The best roads through France but not taking me wildly out of my way and over the bridge is what i am after! Thanks

Millau town centre is very nice around the fountain area, plenty of eateries and bike parking. You wont see the bridge from the town tho, you will need to ride out into the valley, just follow the smell as the valley is the home of the local sewage works !!

 

[garbo2]

Excuse my ignorance but is there any charge for going over the bridgegarbo

 

[BeemerBaz]

Excuse my ignorance but is there any charge for going over the bridgegarbo

Its on a Toll Route, but no specific charge for the bridge. If my memory serves me right that is !!

 

[Wapping]

The best roads through France but not taking me wildly out of my way and over the bridge is what i am after! Thanks

Not too much then?

From St Malo head down to Limoges and the boring bits out of the way - Get down towards Figac and then follow the Lott valley towards the Gorge Du Tarn, pic khat up on the top end way from the bridge, the ride down to the Gorge is fantastic. ride the Gorge which is stunnig but will be filling up with camper vans by now and it takes you straight under the bridge

A quick look at a map will show BMConvert that, starting from St Malo, to go over the Millau bridge, then to Barcelona, is to ride two sides of a (very large) triangle.

If he could tell us just how long he has got before meeting his wife and kids, arriving on Squeezy Jet, it might give us all a clue as to how much scenic stuff he has got time for.

The 726 map makes it very easy to plot some, possible, routes down with the 1:2000000 map filling in all the detail and / or finding a lot of scenic alternatives.

He can, if he fancies, leave St Malo, head roughly south east, Le Mans (the smaller scale map will show a country route from the port a long way to Le Mans). Then Orleans.

From Orleans, he could pick up the green Bis 'Tourist route' all the way, south west, to perhaps, Perigaux or Limoges.

From Limoges it's roughly south east, towards, Mende, to pick up the Millau motorway (if he wants to cross the bridge)

or

From Perigaux, it's near enough due east, via Brive, Aurillac etc.

or

Perigaux, Brive, Figeac, Rodez, Millau.


THAT'S GOT HIM TO MILLAU, AT LEAST


From Millau he again has a choice. Motorway due south and south west, hitting the Med coast and on to Spain

or

backtracking a bit, to Rodez, Albi, Castres, Mezamet, Carcassonne (or Toulouse) and onwards to Spain.

or, of course,

A THOUSAND AND ONE ALTERNATIVES, DEPENDING ON WHETHER HE HAS TWO DAYS, A WEEK OR A FORTNIGHT TO GET OFF THE FERRY AND MAKE IT TO THE BOSOM OF HIS FAMILY. ONLY HE KNOWS. HE ALSO KNOWS WHETHER 200 MILES BEFORE BREAKFAST (OR TEATIME) IS A GOOD IDEA.

The look at the simple 726 map took me two minutes of my time but then another five to (one finger) type....seven minutes of my (or his) life...

Looking at a half decent map (and using a bit of imagination) is easy....If people do not try, then they will never discover how to do it (or find any roads, hotels or fun) for themselves....



PS One might of course suggest that it might be more sensible to consider going Calais, Millau, Spain on a big slightly easterly curved line, to miss Paris? The route might then be:

Calais, Reims, Troyes, Autun, Roanne, St. Ettienne, Le Puy, Mende, Millau. All in all a lot simpler and still a lot of good roads. That's another three minutes gone!

But his heart is set on St Malo.....

 

[Noddy]

The motorway from Clermont-Ferrand to Montpellier is toll free, there is however a small fee for crossing the bridge which was 3.7E each way for a car last wednesday. Might have increased since in line with the daily fuel hike.

Best view of the bridge is Imo, from the south. The gorges are worth a spin through with, again Imo, the Gorge de la Jonte from Le Rozier to Meyrueis as the best. About an hours run each way from Millau but not including photo stops.

 

[bmconvert]

txs

Many thanks to you all for your contributions especially Wapping, although maybe slightly less sarcasm wouldnt go amiss! The timetable i have set is a day down to the south coast from here Nr Blackpool, first night on the ferry...zzzz. and then 2nd day through France 'ish and then 3rd day finishing off in Spain. Im not averse to early starts and will probably do that to avoid the heat of the day! The reason for St.Malo was to get a head start whilst having a good kip! I appreciate its a bit of a triangle and will look at the West coast idea as well. I have never traveled in South France or Spain by bike before but hopefully this will be the start of a lot more and all your help and advices are much appreciated...

 

[Melanie Cheeks]

What time does your ferry arrive in St Malo?

Are you really only allowing yourself one day to cross the whole of France? I'd stick to the autoroutes in that case.

The AA route finder says St Malo to Millau is 865 km and takes 9hrs 24 mins.

 

[Wapping]

Many thanks to you all for your contributions especially Wapping, although maybe slightly less sarcasm wouldnt go amiss! ...

Don't take it too much to heart....

The difficulty with making any suggestions is that it's impossible to know what someone really wants, unless they tell you.

Have you looked at the map? If, as it now appears, you have two days to get from St Malo to the end of the Spanish runway, via Millau, then the easiest solution would have been motorway........probably not what you are after, having requested the 'Best roads in France'. You can do it on the N / D roads I suggested but you will need to get going and be preapred to arrive late at each destination. Lob in a load of rain / a puncture / one or two wrong turns and your time will rocket....Still, only you know you, so go for it.

It's so easy to look at just the two maps and plot the routes. Michelin go to so much trouble to highlight every scenic route there is. It's impossible to do them all, as much as everyone would like to, or to join many of them up if time does not allow.

For instance, the gorge mentioned is excellent. But it will take you the better part of a morning to ride along it. That's fine, unless you then have to turn around and ride back, that's probably the very thin end of a day gone, by the time you have fuelled up, had a couple of scenic stops, had lunch / a pee stop....Not so fine either if you really need to be going in the opposite direction.....to avoid your family twiddling their thumbs, wondering where the hell you are and where you have been....

Enjoy your hol’s.....


PS Not trying to be smart but if you haven't travelled to the south of France, you may not realise just how big the country is. Places that may look close on a map are, in reality, miles apart. Think of England and double it.

If it takes you X hours to do 200 miles in England, it will take you just as long to do it in France, maybe longer if you don't know where you are going or are on the scenic roads. Blackpool to P'mouth is about 280 miles. You have allowed yourself a day, followed by a relaxing kip......have fun....

 

[foolonastrom]

You need an extra day or two!

From Aurillac to Levare (a small village about 45mins inland from St Malo) took me from 8.30am till 7pm, stopping twice (30mins and 45mins) and again for fuel, all travelling enthusiastically on D Roads and N Roads. Aurillac is 2 hours North of Millau!

FYI...

The Bridge Toll is about 3.2 euros for a bike.

I'd second the Valee du Lot, gorges Du Tarn route, fantastic (no campervans on it a week ago)

My Advice, skip the bridge this time(it is cool, but it's not going anywhere), it really adds a lot to the journey. 2 Days from St Malo to Spain will mean you can avoid most autoroute and enjoy some nice roads over the pyrennesse(sp).

 

[Wapping]

You need an extra day or two!

From Aurillac to Levare (a small village about 45mins inland from St Malo) took me from 8.30am till 7pm, stopping twice (30mins and 45mins) and again for fuel, all travelling enthusiastically on D Roads and N Roads. Aurillac is 2 hours North of Millau!

FYI...

The Bridge Toll is about 3.2 euros for a bike.

I'd second the Valee du Lot, gorges Du Tarn route, fantastic (no campervans on it a week ago)

My Advice, skip the bridge this time(it is cool, but it's not going anywhere), it really adds a lot to the journey. 2 Days from St Malo to Spain will mean you can avoid most autoroute and enjoy some nice roads over the pyrennesse(sp).

He's probaly right....

It's the classic, "You want to do the bridge, sir? I wouldn't be starting from here....".

 

[bmconvert]

miss the bridge...?

i think your probably right, it seems a good idea but when you factor in the good roads you would otherwise not have time to do to cover the detour, maybe best left for another time! Hadnt realised the Michelin mpas marked the scenic routes, will get copies and settle down for a few nights planning and let you know what i come up with! many thanks to you all, and no worries Wapping, i disnt take it too heart and share the same sense of humour...sadly!

 

[Wapping]

i think your probably right, it seems a good idea but when you factor in the good roads you would otherwise not have time to do to cover the detour, maybe best left for another time! Hadnt realised the Michelin mpas marked the scenic routes, will get copies and settle down for a few nights planning and let you know what i come up with! many thanks to you all, and no worries Wapping, i disnt take it too heart and share the same sense of humour...sadly!

That's not a bad decision. Why screw up your holiday, chasing your tail, when you should be concentrating on meeting your wife in Spain? I bet she would not be that impressed if you are late to meet her.

The bridge will be there for longer than we are likely to be around, so do it next year, or in 2010. With a bit of planning your wife could fly (quite cheaply) to one of the many southern / central French airports, to link up with you. I will dig out some routes for you, via Calais, that will take you down some great roads, over the bridge and back to Calais. Let me know your email address and I'll send them to you. You could have a look at them, compare then with the two maps and see what I think is a good holiday. If you think it's crap, I will never know.

Yes, the 1:2000000 map shows all the roads in France (major down to very minor) and all the scenic routes. The 726 map only shows the major routes and the alternative Bis 'holiday' routes. With the pair of them you can plan anything you like, quite easily.

The 726 map's purpose is to help get people off motorways but then across a big country reasonably quickly and easily. The Bis tourist routes will sometimes line up with the green 'scenic' routes from the smaller scale map but not always. As I suggested, some of the gorges / mountain passes, meanders along rivers or blats along some excellent twisties are very nice but they do not go anywhere significant, so they are not Bis routes and not shown on 726.

The best tips I can give are:

(1) Plan where you want to go and why.

(2) Tie your destination / day(s) of riding into your preferred riding style.

(3) Compare what you are used to riding in the UK with what you are planning to do on holiday. France is a great place to push it a bit but be realistic. If a (rare) long day out in the UK is 200 miles, 400 miles in France is twice as far. You probably won't do that between 10:00 and 12:30.

(4) Work out the distances and then work backwards. For instance, if you want to be sitting down, washed and changed, with a cold beer in hand at your destination by 16:30, and it's 450 miles away on smallish roads, you are (I might suggest) going to need to leave much earlier than 10:30. There will be no two hour lunch stop, numerous photo opportunities enjoyed or smoke breaks taken. That being said, it's quite possible to do it, have a lot of fun and still enjoy the ride.

(4) Don't ignore motorways. A lot is made about they are dull. Yes, they often are but they are quick. Look at the maps and look at your clock. If, on your journey from A-B, the only sensible main road runs parallel, dead straight, alongside the motorway, you may well decide to spend a bit of cash and save some time. An hour of boredom is, sometimes, better than 2 hours of fiddling about in the rain or baking sun.

(5) Use the two maps, together, to plot the routes out. You will not need any others. But, unless you have weeks away, you can't do everything....though you can do an awful lot.

Richard

 

[BeemerBaz]

The motorway from Clermont-Ferrand to Montpellier is toll free, there is however a small fee for crossing the bridge which was 3.7E each way for a car last wednesday. Might have increased since in line with the daily fuel hike.

Best view of the bridge is Imo, from the south. The gorges are worth a spin through with, again Imo, the Gorge de la Jonte from Le Rozier to Meyrueis as the best. About an hours run each way from Millau but not including photo stops.

So much for my memory serving me right, I was only there last month and forgotten already.

 

[Bateman]

Have you considered jumping on the Plymouth to Santander ferry instead, and then riding the N260 on the southern pyrenees all the way to the coast, then head south?

The ferry takes 18 hours and probably won't cost a huge amount more than the Portsmouth St Malo ferry. You'll spend an extra 7 or 8 hours on the boat but save in petrol costs through France (1000 miles return at approx £1.30 a litre at the moment). And from the moment you get of the boat in Santander, the route south of the pyrenees and down the coast is a great one.

Just a thought