RGA/Route Napoleon

[bladerunner]

I’ve finally got round to writing up the Route Napoleon/RGA trip I did with best mate Mark in 2006 - hopefully will give some idea what a cracking 8 days such a trip can be.

Sunday
360 miles
Nice early start - Mark’s son Simon stands proudly by the bikes - “one day”!

Can’t beat that feeling of riding South early in the mist with 8 days planned jolidays ahead.

Cruised the M25, across the big bridge, then down the M20 to the obligatory first coffee stop by the Leeds castle.

We normally take the ferry and pay the £12 for the premium lounge. The ferry breaks the journey nicely so you can ride straight off South, and it’s fun to watch the disapproving glares from snobby tw*ts as 2 bikes enter the hollowed lounge. The P&O workers are usually ace and interested in your destination.

We blammed down on autoroutes in good weather to make some distance - A26 St Quentin, Reims. Then N44 across to St Dizier and sweet D roads alongside a river to the first destination - Forge St Mary camp site near Poissons - N48 24.373 E5 17.331.

To be recommended - clean site, mixture of tents and vans, good restaurant and we were in time to see an England game in the World cup.

Interesting indoor swimming pool within a barn - had a good swim to ease the aches.

 

[bladerunner]

Monday 250 miles

Potentially spoilt the day by turning left out of the camp site and riding 3 bends before remembering to ride on the right!!! There are plenty of brits use that site so I guess we wouldn’t have been the first.

As it was not to be a hard day, we tried to stay off the main roads. We rode essentially due South via Nogent, skirting Dijon and enjoying some of the Jura region before Geneva.

The Jura is a lovely area of France and attracts fewer tourists than the Alps.

There is a French jokes about St Claude which relies on “les pipes” being the same for pipes and willies. Thus, as St Claude used to be the centre for clay pipes, St Claude women are the happiest in France because that’s where they make the willies!!

We rolled down the hairpins to the lake, and Mark needed a breather as he had seriously screwed on corner and was saved because no car was coming up to greet him.

Skimming Geneva, we headed for Annecy (lovely in its own right) and Lac Annecy to the camp site Le Lac bleu (N45 47. 372 E 6 13.062).

Good camp site, good restaurant. We jogged up the valley in the evening sun to get some blood going to the legs. Met another GS rider who was with partner/wife and too up his own to acknowledge us - hey ho.

 

[bladerunner]

Tuesday
141 miles

Left the lake and headed for the end of the valley. Up and over by Albertville and down to Grenoble.From Grenoble to Gap is to be recommended. Medium height alpine pastures, not too much traffic, long meadows with mown hay and some nice mountain lakes.
We camped in La Viste N44 28.575 E 6 16.225.

We had passed over the water shed and were now in the haut provence region. The air is warmer, Mediterranean conifers and a dusty haze emphasising the red sun set.

As the camp restaurant was not yet open for the season, we managed to hitch down to the reservoir and had a passable evening meal. I was about to blame the elderly woman patron for the foul earthy smell, until I realised it was my flip flops!!

Wednesday

The plan was to cover 181 miles via Castellane and the Gorges du Verdon down to a camp site near Nice.

As it was, we were having too much fun and settled on a good hotel by the Lac de st Croix. The crowded, overexpensive med coast did not appeal. Just 100km inland is so much very more pleasant.

The plateau between Lac de Serre Poncon and Digne les Bains is an excellent ride. Sweeping bends, cliffs on either side, smell of rural hay and the odd good coffee stop.
Dignes les Bains now has a public swimming area of the river with beaches on either side - it extends maybe 1km by 400m wide. Very interesting and I bet your kids would love it.

We found the Hotel du Lac by the Lac de st Croix. This latter is a reservoir - they held the water just at the level of Bauduen. So Bauduen is now a lucky “seaside” village with a pleasant harbour.

Mark and I hired a rowing boat and toured the lake - distracted by the topless beauties along the shore line.

 

[bladerunner]

Thursday

180 miles

We completed the southern rim of the Gorges du Verdon - a must for any biker. You cannot take it too fast - especially as they tend to do repairs in Spring, but the views are spectacular.

Castellane would be an excellent base for a touring holiday of this area - North South East or West the roads are ace for bikers for 200 km in any direction.
We enjoyed the D955 to join the Routes Grandes Alpes - http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/je-voyage/par-la-route/la-route-des-grandes-alpes.html

This is a tourist route which connects the watershed roads at the highest point of the french/Italian border. All the mountain passes are easily crossed on a GS by a biker of moderate/good ability. Some hairpins are a little fruity and the drop off may be 400m + with absolutely no safety rail!!

The D902 is the main route.

Many push bikers use the route and are ferociously fit. We saw many 60+ year old women riding up passes I would gasp to walk up. For one descent, I was riding a GPS indicated 55mph down numerous hairpins, when I was overtaken by a push biker!!!! I enjoyed the double take Mark made as the biker continued past him!


Overnight was the 3 valleys camp site near Briancon - the latter being the highest town in france.

The site was OK and we had a nice swim before walking a few km to the joys of a “Buffalo grill”. Still, once you have a few demi biers under your belt and the sunset reflects off the high mountain cliffs. life’s not too bad.

 

[bladerunner]

Friday

221 miles

Pass after pass, great day’s ride. especially up from Bonneval s Arc to Val D’Isere over the Col D’Iseran. High wide flat mountain meadow with a myriad flowers, little traffic and high waterfalls straight down the cliffs in the U shaped valley. The road narrows and builds to some hairy hairpins before easing out to the top of the pass. Anyone who has skied Val would value seeing the valley in another light. At the top, the glacier skiing was still in action as we passed.

Then an enjoyable descent through Val to Tignes les Brevieres where I had hidden a €5 note in a restaurant when skiing the previous winter!!

All that day’s ride could have been videoed and played back to brighten any winter. Every turn was worth a photo stop. Val D’Isere, Tigne, Bourg St Maurice, Megeve, Morzine - all names familiar to any skier. Well worth seeing the other season with bikers, cyclists, paragliders, 4x4 etc etc all enjoying the fresh air.

We ended in Morzine to greet a load of cyclists friends of Mark who were staying there.

 

[bladerunner]

Saturday 267 miles

Back up North via Jura again to the Forge St Mary camp site.

Sunday around 460 miles

Up to Caliase by the quickest route and wave off Mark again at the service station by Leeds Castle before the joys of M25, M4 and welcome home to Wales.

Lovely hand made poster by my youngest daughter welcoming the return of the “Rufty toughty bikers”! Aaaaaah there’s lovely.



John Herman’s “ Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps and Corsica” is a useful guide and there are plenty of other ride reports on the web.

We went mid June and the weather was perfect throughout - camping was enjoyable. It makes a good 8 day trip - no one day was too much, or too expensive. All the passes were open without problem.

We didn’t bother with the actual coast of the Med and I think that was a good call - a 100 or so km inland is so much cheaper, friendlier and less crowded.


I have the Garmin files if anyone is interested.

 

[Steve the Kiwi]

Cheers for taking the time to write it up!

It looks stunning! consider it added to the list of must do's!

 

[Dave56]

Worth the wait, thanks.................

 

[streaky]

garmin files

Saturday 267 miles

Back up North via Jura again to the Forge St Mary camp site.

Sunday around 460 miles

Up to Caliase by the quickest route and wave off Mark again at the service station by Leeds Castle before the joys of M25, M4 and welcome home to Wales.

Lovely hand made poster by my youngest daughter welcoming the return of the “Rufty toughty bikers”! Aaaaaah there’s lovely.



John Herman’s “ Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps and Corsica” is a useful guide and there are plenty of other ride reports on the web.

We went mid June and the weather was perfect throughout - camping was enjoyable. It makes a good 8 day trip - no one day was too much, or too expensive. All the passes were open without problem.

We didn’t bother with the actual coast of the Med and I think that was a good call - a 100 or so km inland is so much cheaper, friendlier and less crowded.


I have the Garmin files if anyone is interested.

Thanks for your help take and ride safe ,

 

[Jeannot]

Cracking report, so many destination and so little time. I should stop reading those report as they put many ideas in my head

JC