Golf Sierra
Registered user
Motorcycle touring….
It’s. The. Best.
It’s. The. Best.
How good is motorcycling on the continent?
- Thread starter PapaHayd
- Start date
Your in an ideal spot to nip across the Channel. My first trip to France on the bike was 1983 when I was 22. Touring is really easy now. Mostly one currency unless you are visiting Scandinavia. Credit cards instead of travellers cheques, comms with home without call boxes and phones and satnavs instead of maps to let you know where you are or going. Booking sites instead of hope and Google translate instead of franglais or Spanglish if you get stuck 
. Miss the old way of doing things and my youth
Just remember to drive on the right esp. coming out of minor roads or after filling up. Don’t drive too many miles (which I always did when I was young) it’s easy to make mistakes when you’re tired. Health and breakdown insurance for peace of mind.
It really is a brilliant way to travel.
. Miss the old way of doing things and my youth Just remember to drive on the right esp. coming out of minor roads or after filling up. Don’t drive too many miles (which I always did when I was young) it’s easy to make mistakes when you’re tired. Health and breakdown insurance for peace of mind.
It really is a brilliant way to travel.
You are Wapping and I want a fiver.
Although to be fair you are completely correct. But it does no harm to have the conversation again does it ? We’ve all been in the same situation
Meet me at Hull in June and I'll take you to Cochem.
A nice place to visit with some nice rides in the area plus a few lads from here going
Drinking - riding bikes ( not at the same time
) and good company ( maybe ) and usually good weather.
What's not to like.
A nice place to visit with some nice rides in the area plus a few lads from here going
Drinking - riding bikes ( not at the same time
) and good company ( maybe ) and usually good weather.What's not to like.
As you’re in Southampton, try a weekend in Normandy, you only need your passport and a few Euros, Friday night overnight Portsmouth to Caen/Ouistreham, Saturday ride among the coast passed the D day landing sites, head inland to Bayeux but don’t stay overnight there find somewhere less touristy. Sunday ride around and make your way back to the ferry mid afternoon, home in time for roast dinner.
Riding in Europe is an absolute pleasure
Riding in Europe is an absolute pleasure
Nothing beats the sense of freedom and adventure associated with the feeling and sound of clanging down the ferry or Le Shuttle ramp knowing that you have no work, stress, or responsibilities for however long you are there. If you have like minded mates, invite them. I remember my first trip to Spain, having ridden from Santander to Potes without going on the motorway (almost). We had gathered for pre-dinner drinks in the hotel and all we could talk about were the roads and scenery. We couldn't stop smiling and I had a warm glow and sense of joy that I have had the good fortune of repeating many times since. I spend the whole winter thinking about where I'm going to go the next time and planning the routes and visits. I cannot imagine not having motorcycling and intend to squeeze as much as possible out of it until I can't do it anymore. I discovered fly/ride this year and it has added a new dimension as I can get further afield. You will love it.I've been riding motorcycles since 2015 and I've still never made it onto the European continent for a motorcycle trip. Most of my motorcycling, to be honest has been commuting. I've toured Scotland twice, Wales countless times and taken a decant round the South West of the UK. I was meant to head to the Picos and back to the UK via the Pyrenees and various french Battlefields, however Covid well and truly scuppered this trip and we've not managed to look at Europe since.
Feel free to post what I'm missing out on for some inspiration
J biker
Registered user
Dont wonder, just do it. Aim to get away from main routes, avoid peak times and be amazed at fantastic roads with little traffic.
I've been riding motorcycles since 2015 and I've still never made it onto the European continent for a motorcycle trip. Most of my motorcycling, to be honest has been commuting. I've toured Scotland twice, Wales countless times and taken a decant round the South West of the UK. I was meant to head to the Picos and back to the UK via the Pyrenees and various french Battlefields, however Covid well and truly scuppered this trip and we've not managed to look at Europe since.
Feel free to post what I'm missing out on for some inspiration
Wessie is right; the trip reports should confirm that riding a motorcycle (or indeed driving a car, riding a bicycle or just walking about) is fun in mainland Europe. Or at least it should be fun, most of the time.
I don’t understand what you mean by:
Do you mean, that you want confirmation that going across the Channel is worthwhile? If so, that’s easy. Yes it is; job done. Or do you mean, you are looking for places to go, roads to ride, things to see and do, accommodation to stay in? If so, how long is a piece of string? Not least, how long have you got between riding out from your front door in Southampton, to riding up to your front door again, in order to start commuting again? A week (or less), two weeks, three weeks, longer?
I ask the question because you told us:
To me that reads that you have already been ‘inspired’ enough to know that the Picos, the Pyrenees and / or France (and its battlefields) offer some good riding and / or ‘stuff’ to see and do. But, you maybe run the classic danger (we see it umpteen times on these pages) of making a list of all the ‘Must do’ things, only to then reveal that you’ve only got five days to do it all in. In short, it’s the size of Europe that surprises people.
Let’s take your pipe dream for example:
A. How were you getting to the Picos? Let’s guess by boat, which is definitely 24 hours gone out of your maybe seven days away, leaving six days.
B. How long ‘Doing the Picos’? Two days, perhaps? Four days left to get home.
C. How long ‘Doing the Pyrenees’? Indeed, what does that mean? Crossing over the Pyrenees to get to France? Maybe a day? Three days left. Or was your plan to ride the ridge of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean? Maybe three days out of the four left from ‘Doing the Picos’, leaving one day to cross France and ‘Do battlefields’ (whatever that means) and get home. To be brief, it ain’t going to happen, if indeed you have set aside a week.
Of course I have used the measure of one week, to emphasise the point….. maybe you had two weeks in mind? Maybe you had three week? Who knows? Only you.
Let’s then consider what ‘French battlefields’ means. If you mean those in the west, that is basically Normandy, which (if nothing else) are maybe convenient for returning home to Southampton. But, it’s that old problem of time again. From ‘the Pyrenees’ (say, Pont de Espagne) to say, Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, direct (ie. motorway) is about 600 miles:
To put that into some kind of perspective, Southampton to Aberdeen is all but 550 miles. How long would you set aside to ride from home in Southampton to Aberdeen? A day? Two days? What roads would you ride? Motorways? Or every goat track? Would you stop on the way to seen and do ‘stuff’?
But, what happens if we discover that the ‘French battlefields’ you have in mind are not the ‘Must do’ Normandy at all, but Ypres, for the ‘Must do’ Menin Gate, which is not in France at all but in Belgium. That’s 683 miles, direct:
In other words: Southampton to Inverness is about 590 miles. You are still about 100 miles short of Ypres and (much more importantly) you are not yet home. In fact, you are still a long way from home.
To help you maybe visualise it a bit more, here is the area covered by a circle with radius of 500 miles from Southampton:
You are maybe looking to be ‘inspired’ inside (or indeed, outside) of that circle.
Your turn now……
Last edited:
@PapaHayd A by far better experience compared to to this overpopulated and uncared for island, despite population being to death more than ever.
Do it! You will not regret it.
If you are not comfortable going on your own, book yourself with @Wapping on one of his Wapping’s Wander jaunts. These are generally short trips 3-4 days and venture into northern France, Belgium and western Germany.
“Why do that?” you might ask.
Well, it is quite simple, the organisation will be done, such as hotel recommendation, routes, and Chanel crossings times provided. All you have to do is pay for your own hotel, fuel, grub and crossings. From there onwards you just at along, to see for yourself what is possible, not least as you’ll be in great company of people who will have wast combined reserves of touring knowledge and advice to share with you…
Once you’ve done it, you can then spend the winter planing your own 2026 tour of the continent. Just remember, your average travel speed will be 40mph so don’t think you’ll be covering 300-400+ a day. It will not be enjoyable, and you will need a holiday from holiday. 150-250 miles a day is about right, all depends on what roads you’ll choose to ride and how long and how often you’ll be stopping for the obligatory pictures, drinks, and naturally
Do it! You will not regret it.
If you are not comfortable going on your own, book yourself with @Wapping on one of his Wapping’s Wander jaunts. These are generally short trips 3-4 days and venture into northern France, Belgium and western Germany.
“Why do that?” you might ask.
Well, it is quite simple, the organisation will be done, such as hotel recommendation, routes, and Chanel crossings times provided. All you have to do is pay for your own hotel, fuel, grub and crossings. From there onwards you just at along, to see for yourself what is possible, not least as you’ll be in great company of people who will have wast combined reserves of touring knowledge and advice to share with you…
Once you’ve done it, you can then spend the winter planing your own 2026 tour of the continent. Just remember, your average travel speed will be 40mph so don’t think you’ll be covering 300-400+ a day. It will not be enjoyable, and you will need a holiday from holiday. 150-250 miles a day is about right, all depends on what roads you’ll choose to ride and how long and how often you’ll be stopping for the obligatory pictures, drinks, and naturally
Last edited:
I’ll echo thatRiding (or driving) in the UK* is a misery compared to riding/driving in most of Europe.
Just go.
*ok maybe mostly south of England
I've covered an awful lot of Europe & ridden through Russia when we could. I've also ridden parts of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Chad, Niger, Algeria, Morocco, USA, Canada, Australia & New Zeland over the last 40 years and for the last 30 or so years I've organised trips for groups of my friends & their friends.
Riding abroad on new roads is to me what motorcycling is all about, we can and should expand our horizons where possible to get the most out of life on a motorcycle.
There's a huge amount of imformation available now that wasn't available 25 years ago so planning a trip has become relatively easy these days. Plan and research well to enjoy your trip, limit daily miles to 250-300 miles to allow you to enjoy the riding and the places you visit, keep off motorways where you can, they're practical at times but in the main mind numbingly boring.
Our trip in June this year is already fully planned, ferries & hotels booked etc. I spend the winter months planning the routes, hotels, ferries etc.
Riding abroad on new roads is to me what motorcycling is all about, we can and should expand our horizons where possible to get the most out of life on a motorcycle.
There's a huge amount of imformation available now that wasn't available 25 years ago so planning a trip has become relatively easy these days. Plan and research well to enjoy your trip, limit daily miles to 250-300 miles to allow you to enjoy the riding and the places you visit, keep off motorways where you can, they're practical at times but in the main mind numbingly boring.
Our trip in June this year is already fully planned, ferries & hotels booked etc. I spend the winter months planning the routes, hotels, ferries etc.
Lots of great ideas on here.
But just one general thought that might temper how far you travel in your allotted time.
Be clear about whether you want a motorcycling holiday or a holiday with a motorcycle, especially if taking a pillion, both are very different.
Le Shuttle is cheap and very easy.
Enjoy your trip.
But just one general thought that might temper how far you travel in your allotted time.
Be clear about whether you want a motorcycling holiday or a holiday with a motorcycle, especially if taking a pillion, both are very different.
Le Shuttle is cheap and very easy.
Enjoy your trip.
I love it. Apart from Holland which is just as congested as the uk. I start with the premise to give cities a wide berth, then I would say the lower half of France is fantastic. The Pyrenees are fantastic, as are all of Spain and Portugal. Corsica is bike heaven. I was also pleasantly surprised by Germany, Poland and check republic this year
Passed through Cochem early last year on a shake out ride before heading to Corsica in May. It was a bit cold for camping but, the roads were dry and although I've been in that area before, it was better than I remember.Meet me at Hull in June and I'll take you to Cochem.
A nice place to visit with some nice rides in the area plus a few lads from here going
Drinking - riding bikes ( not at the same time
What's not to like.
You need to come on a “Fuck Up” trip - I’ve been running these for years, they are a disaster..
We drink too much, break down, fall off , get lost and generally never, ever keep to a plan…
And quite often I’ve even been known to fail to attend….
Sadly 2025 is fully booked ( 6 of us off to Foreign in June)
Here’s the 2022 ride report as an example…..
We drink too much, break down, fall off , get lost and generally never, ever keep to a plan…
And quite often I’ve even been known to fail to attend….
Sadly 2025 is fully booked ( 6 of us off to Foreign in June)
Here’s the 2022 ride report as an example…..
Fuck up 2023…. Took me to even more Foreign…….
Fuck up 2024, was so epic…. It’s in June 2025
Last edited:
Thanks all 
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I love this forum.
A wedding to fund in October means > a week away is unlikely. I like the idea of a weekend jaunt though!
Next debate is do I take the 1150 or 1250
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I love this forum.A wedding to fund in October means > a week away is unlikely. I like the idea of a weekend jaunt though!
Next debate is do I take the 1150 or 1250
I could take the ferry to Bilbao/Santander ride to Hotel del Oso, stay the night and return the next day and have scratched that itch.
Southampton is a perfect starting point, probably in the middle of Folkestone and Plymouth, 1/2 hour from Portsmouth. Not forgetting
For those of us who have tasted riding on the continent it’s hard to not think the OP is taking the proverbial. But giving him/her/shim the benefit of the doubt, all you really need to do is ride with your passport/credit card to your preferred port and give it a whirl.
Southampton is a perfect starting point, probably in the middle of Folkestone and Plymouth, 1/2 hour from Portsmouth. Not forgetting
For those of us who have tasted riding on the continent it’s hard to not think the OP is taking the proverbial. But giving him/her/shim the benefit of the doubt, all you really need to do is ride with your passport/credit card to your preferred port and give it a whirl.
June is too hot, it'll be a fuck up.
Similar threads
