Thanks allI’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
Save up for the 2026…….FU OT
How good is motorcycling on the continent?
- Thread starter PapaHayd
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Save up for the 2026…….FU OT
Even bigger fuck up, it's looking good.
It’s on
Even bigger fuck up, it's looking good.
BTW, I miss the Gnarly Bar, has it been boarded up.
Drag Dave along...ride to the Tunnel, cross, then ride an hour the other side to Poperinge, BE. Base yourselves there and spend 2 or 3 days riding round the quiet country roads visiting a few of the WW 1 sites. Spend a day riding the 50 odd miles down to Arras, visit Carriere Wellington and a few of the WW1 sites around there. last night back at Pop, then ride home.
2 Countries, areas well set up for UK visitors, not too far to ride. A bit of history and your European cherry popped......
2 Countries, areas well set up for UK visitors, not too far to ride. A bit of history and your European cherry popped......
I will be riding in Jeans and a tee shirt too……
I do try to fuck some life in on occasion…… but it’s a lonely gig
Even bigger fuck up, it's looking good.
BTW, I miss the Gnarly Bar, has it been boarded up.
I do try to fuck some life in on occasion…… but it’s a lonely gig
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When I was a kid we came to “the continent” every year for 4 weeks in the car with my parents
I’d see folks touring on big bikes and it became my dream to tour Europe on a bike when I was older
Fast forward to 1993 and I met a French girl, we moved to France in 1998
So by a twist of fate we’ve been touring in Europe for the last 27 years, countless long weekends and 2 or 3 week tours further afield
We’ve also done France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Austria with my buddy and his wife from Blighty, we meet up with them somewhere over here and off we go
Living here means I’ve done a lot of Europe on a bike, and I’m well located for the best parts of France and Italy, but there’s a million times more that I haven’t done and I’m definitely not bored yet
Get over here and enjoy yourself/ves , there’s a lot of it to go at and it’s not difficult, live the dream
I’d see folks touring on big bikes and it became my dream to tour Europe on a bike when I was older
Fast forward to 1993 and I met a French girl, we moved to France in 1998
So by a twist of fate we’ve been touring in Europe for the last 27 years, countless long weekends and 2 or 3 week tours further afield
We’ve also done France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Austria with my buddy and his wife from Blighty, we meet up with them somewhere over here and off we go
Living here means I’ve done a lot of Europe on a bike, and I’m well located for the best parts of France and Italy, but there’s a million times more that I haven’t done and I’m definitely not bored yet
Get over here and enjoy yourself/ves , there’s a lot of it to go at and it’s not difficult, live the dream
I always enjoyed riding in Europe - with the exception of Finland, I've ridden in every European country.
First rule (and, believe me, people forget this!) - ride/drive on the RIGHT!
Roads, in general, are in much better condition than you find in the UK. Traffic is less dense (of course there are exceptions). Drivers seem to be more aware of bikers.
You'll meet some, hem, 'interesting' people.
Friendship Bridge crossing the Danube between Bulgaria and Romania
Asian side of the Bosporus, Istanbul
See some interesting places.
Make a few U-turns!
Life's an adventure. Go and do it!
First rule (and, believe me, people forget this!) - ride/drive on the RIGHT!
Roads, in general, are in much better condition than you find in the UK. Traffic is less dense (of course there are exceptions). Drivers seem to be more aware of bikers.
You'll meet some, hem, 'interesting' people.
Friendship Bridge crossing the Danube between Bulgaria and Romania
Asian side of the Bosporus, Istanbul
See some interesting places.
Transfăgărășan Pass, Romania
Make a few U-turns!
Life's an adventure. Go and do it!
When in June Doc? Me and a brother are going over early June for a few days.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.
Best part of the COVID ‘shut down’ was the empty roads & campsites in Spain. We had great trips away in 2020 & 2021, the only hassle ( & that’s an exaggeration) was getting tested in Spain before returning to the UK.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
I’ve been doing at least one bike trip a year to Europe (Alps, Picos, Pyrenees and much more) for the last 20 years and in every case the riding has been far superior to that in the UK. Better roads, less congestion and car drivers that actively look for bikes and make room when needed for you to pass.
We’ve never had a problem finding hotels or campsites and never bother booking in advance nowadays.
If you’ve not done it you’re missing out.
So you won’t be doing the Picos, the Pyrenees and the battlefields of France in one jaunt in 2025, I guess.
Weekend jaunt to France from Southampton? It’s possible, depending on what you mean by ‘weekend’ and / or whether you include the time spent getting from your front door to mainland Europe (and the return) in the weekend’s two day period.
Logically, (assuming the service will run) the fastest crossing from near enough Southampton is:
The fastest ferry on the Channel is back – Brittany Ferries
brittanyferriesnewsroom.com
That’ll deposit you in Cherbourg. From there, go to Normandy for all the ‘must do’ D-Day stuff or down into Brittany.
Job done, perhaps?
The Belgian fuck up was the most epic trip I have ever done
I rode 250 miles to Folkstone to meet everyone except you because as the organiser of the trip you didnt come
We arrived in France and rode 5 miles to a hotel and got incredibly pissed and IIRC a fight with some ambulance drivers
My usual start time of 0800 for a days ride became 1100 as people awoke and off we went to our destination in Belgium but at 1300 we stopped for lunch and discovered there were no hotels at our destination in Belgium so we headed for the nearest town which was a bout 20 miles and settled in for the night and got royally pissed
The next day we set off for a coastal town but everyone got separated and lost but we all ended up there and stayed in a caravan
Driven into town by the owners where we got royally pissed
Back to the Chunnel and home total miles covered about 680 in total
It was the best bike trip I have ever been on
It wasn't my usual abroad trip I admit but it was the best laugh I have ever had on a bikeThere appears to be a common theme running through your post……
Back to the OP though
Foreign particularly Spain and Portugal are just incredible
The roads are superb in every way from the best corners to the best surface and little traffic - if you want to ride a bike and have fun ( read like a hooligan) there is nowhere better
Pretty picture as requested
You see a photo like that and wonder why the hell I’m in the UK.
Long weekend - leave early Friday AM return Sunday PM/Monday AM. Likely chunnel for speed into France!
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