Routes to Agen, ish

[petera]

Hi
I've arranged for the last week in June to stop at a friends in France for a week,
not far from Agen which is about half way between Bordeaux and Toulouse.
I live in the north east of england so will be using the Hull Zeebrugge ferry.
My wife ,who has only just recently passed her test will be accompanying me riding her own bike and this will be her first big trip.
I'm after a little advice on routes to get there. I've allowed 3 full days down (4 inc ferry) and 3 days to return to Zeebrugge, though this could be extended. We have camping gear and weather permitting we would prefer to camp overnight.
Hoping to make the ride there and back an enjoyable part of the Holiday and not spoil it for her by pushing too far in one day. She's not fazed by motorway miles so one motorway higher mileage leg would probable be ok followed by 2 easy days.
Sorry for waffling on , any advice appreciated.
Thanks
Peter

 

[wessie]

Seem pretty simple to plot with a number of green and/or lumpy bits to explore on the way.

Have a look at http://goo.gl/maps/9wzgl which gives 744 miles so easily split into 3 chunks.

 

[Wapping]

Arm yourself with Michelin's Touring map 726 as reccomended in the sticky. On it, look for the Bis Tourist routes. Join up, by the most direct route possible, Zeebrugge and some convenient point on the Bis roads you can find. Job done.

 

[Wapping]

Wessie's suggestion will do just fine. But if you wanted an alternaive suggestion for the way back.

Looking at the same map, go broadly:

Agen
Perigeux
Bellac
Chatellerault
Saumur
Le Mans
Belleme
Conches en Ouche
Evreux
Forges les Eaux
Abbeville
Hesdin
Cassel
Dunkirk
Zeebrugge

This is hacked out very approximately, using a iPad. Seriously, arm yourself with the route planning map Michelin 726. It is designed for exactly what you want to do, that is cross what is a very large country. To go with it, buy Michelin's excellent 1:200000 scale map book, or the local regional equivalent, to fill in the detail. This will be very handy when you come to find a campsite in a small town or village. Back it up with a 791 map and you'll be set for life. Between them the maps will last you about the next 10 years

Michelin also do an excellent campsite book, too. Use all three together. Use Googe maps by all means to hack out rough routes, just as Wessie did. It really is very good for that, not least as Streetview lets you look at the actual roads and towns. But, remember, you will (probably) not have your PC with you on your bike.


http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136891


http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3311931&postcount=18


You may well find this handy, too: http://travel.michelin.com/ For example, pumping in Agen brings up: http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/France-French_Atlantic_Coast-Agen

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

I have spent three or four summer holidays near Agen (about midway between Agen and Villeneuve sur Lot) as I have friends who own a lovley cottage in the area. It is a lovely area, ignored by Brits who flock to the Dordogne valley just to the North. Also spent part of my honeymoon near Cahors.

I have done Calais to Villeneuve in one day, once on the bike and once in the car. It is too far for one day on the bike, I decided! I have always avoided Paris, going down the coast to Rouen then vaguely due South from there. The route Wapping suggests is pretty much what I have taken, although I have used autoroutes to bring the time down. If you have three days then you can indeed take slightly more enjoyable roads.

My "normal" plan is A28/A29 autoroute from Calais to Rouen,(skirting Rouen itself to provide some contrast and because Rouen is horrible (Forges Les Eaux, Lyon la Foret and Les Adelys is a nice route), N roads via Evreux, Dreux and Chartres to Orleans, then the A20 down to Limoges. (There is a selection of cheap chain hotels in Limoges, I've used B&B hotels there and in Chatellerault). A lot of the A20 is toll free, by the way.

From Limoges, I have taken N roads via Perigueux, Bergerac and Villeneuve. The road is nothing special in French terms, but still a damn good 3-hr thrash on some nice fast open roads.

Only you can decide how many miles you want to do each day,and on what kind of roads. I have generally taken the view that while the ride is indeed part of the holiday, I would rather do one long tedious motorway day followed by a much shorter day on decent roads, rather than two fairly long days on nicer roads.

Where are you staying?

 

[petera]

Thanks for all the replies so far , much appreciated.

Where am I staying ?
http://www.larroquegites.com/accommodation.html

A friend managed to escape the rat race a few years back, and bought this property. A keen biker himself he is hoping to build it up to a biker friendly business. Promised myself to visit sometime and this year I have the chance.

Have done several European trips before with a group of friends , with Lesley riding pillion, covering some high mileages at high speed, but that kind of trip is what I'm trying to avoid.

Peter

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

Spooky!

I saw the website address and thought "I can't believe it!" But Larroque is spelt slightly different - the place I've stayed is near a little village called Laroque-Timbaut.

Have a great trip!