Hi
I am hoping to head off for a bike tour, starting in South UK, and I'd like to go over the alps, perhaps turning-around in Geneva. I will only have a week, possibly a day ot two more sometime in the next month or so. I could leave from Dover or Portsmouth.
Is there "an obvious" route to take for the best roads (for me that means best for scenery rather than most challenging off-road mountain climbs).
Is there a good web resource or book?
Sorry to appear lazy, but my experience from planning routes from maps myself is I end up on mixture of motorways through industrial estates and town centres.
cheers
Darren
Honesty (and paying the site subscription) is the best policy...one out of two ain't bad...and it's Sunday.
Right here you go:
Arm your self with two maps (see the sticky thread).
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136891 Shenzi, in post #2, has it spot on!
For the east of France I always start from Dover, not least because I live in London.
Take an earlyish train or ferry. The hour time difference lost makes a big difference and you have a long way to go.
You will not average over 40 mph on the country roads nor much over 60 mph on the motorways.
Here's a very easy way, there are better, but by looking at the maps you will work them out, I promise.
Take your Michelin 726 map (available at all good bookshops or online). As the sticky said, it doesn't have all the routes but its stripped out style helps to give an idea of the rough distances and directions in a very large country, like France.
Take the motorway to Cambrai or St. Quentin.
Pick up the D1 south, Soissons, Chateau-Thierry, Montmirail, Sezanne, Troyes.
At Troyes pick up the green Bis holiday route south.
Chatillon, Montbard, Saulieu. You are now about halfway down France.
Next, Autun.
Now you have a big choice, the classic fork in the track.
Turning left, will keep you on a Bis route, via Tournos, Macon. At Macon, turn left, due east, to Geneva. Or pick up the D2 / N904 / D904 / D992 (all again a Bis route) into Geneva.
Turning right, will take you on a big sweep south, then north east. Roanne, St. Etienne, east, across the Rhone valley. Now it gets vey jumbled up as the roads get squashed between the Rhone and the start of the Alps. In essence you want to try to head, on a diagonal north east, roughly on the line, Chambery, Aix-les-Bains, Annecy, Geneva.
I have got other routes that will take you further east before Troyes. One in essence is: St Quentin, Vervins, Rethel, Vouziers, St Menehold, Bar-le-Duc,
Chaumont, Chatillon-s-S, Montbard, then as above. These roads are not on the big 726 map but can be seen on the smaller scale map book...you will buy it, won't you? It's only about £12 for the whole of France and will last for a long time.
There, that didn't take more than 20 minutes....
I do not know how fast (or how far in a day) you ride but Geneva, via a load of non-motorway roads is, to put it mildly, a reasonably long way. Allow yourself two full days and two full days back. To do the western Alps properly, you need at least 10 days away, giving you the four days (non-motorway) journey time Calis / Alps / Calais and a day (or maybe two) off the bike.
I myself cannot see anything magical about Geneva. Have a look instead at Annecy, perhaps?
PM me if you are stuck.
Let us know what you decide on.
