Travelling on sunday

[stick]

I have looked thro many threads - just to check how bad is it to travel on a sunday thro France , as some say bad .
Any advice as thinking of travelling twice on a sunday (over 2 weeks) on N and D roads - is this a good idea or a no brainer.

Stick

 

[Deleted account W]

Whats wrong with Sundays? The French seem to manage to drive on a Sunday so us English shouldn't find it too hard

 

[thornley]

Not a problem now as most unmanned petrol stations now take UK debit and credit cards. If you get stuck hang around the station and ask any french customer to fill you up using their card and give them the cash. I've not had problems for the last 2/3 years.

Autoroutes are no problem, stations are open and manned and there are very few trucks allowed on the autoroutes on Sundays so you make good progress.

I travel to and fro 4/6 times a year on the bike or in the car now spending 8/9months in Provence.

No worries

 

[Wapping]

I have looked thro many threads - just to check how bad is it to travel on a sunday thro France , as some say bad .
Any advice as thinking of travelling twice on a sunday (over 2 weeks) on N and D roads - is this a good idea or a no brainer.

Stick

In what way(s) do you think Sunday might be bad?

I can't think of any. Many of the shops will be shut, just as many will be shut on Monday morning, too. But that is good and shows what a civilised place France is.

Don't worry about the fuel thing..... People moan about it because they can, nothing more. Many do not know how far their bike will go on a full tank anyway, so panic when the 100 miles gone mark passes.

Just fill up before you start to run short; it's common sense. If you have, say, 80 miles left and you pass a station after twenty, think about popping in. That will save you faffing inevitably about in another 50 miles.

You have a mixture of bikes on your tour. Fill up according to the schedule of the bike with the smallest tank, or you will end up stopping every 45 miles, as yet another bod says, "My light has just come on".

As you come into towns you will see signs for supermarkets, often with directions and a petrol pump symbol 24/7. That will be open everyday, all day and night. It may well be unmanned with automatic pumps. The instructions may be in French but are completely logical. Many, many, many are now converted to accept UK chip and pin cards.

Cod is code = PIN no.

V is validate = Enter

Many pumps limit the amount of fuel you can buy and / or the time you can do it in. If you have several bikes using one pump, on one card, get efficient. Avoid Gasoil I can, with great authority, tell you that your bike will not run on it.... I HAVE TRIED!

 

[stick]

Message umderstood.

OOOOPs have learn a lesson - thanks for all replies - just was not sure.

Cheers for all your wisdom !!

Stick

 

[Wapping]

OOOOPs have learn a lesson - thanks for all replies - just was not sure.

Cheers for all your wisdom !!

Stick

No problem.

If you are staying in reasonable sized towns then there will be lots of stations.

Whenever possible everyone fill up the evening before, it saves time in the morning when you want to get on. It also means that everyone is in tune with the tank range of the smallest capacity bike. It also avoids stops getting staggered through the day.

I have a GSA, with a range way way over say a FireBlade, who will fill up, perhaps, twice as often. So, I will: Miss a go, fill up, miss a go, fill up. OK I could probably miss two out but I don't bother. Why? Simply because I would eventualy be looking for fuel when the FireBlade didn't need to, which would slow everyone down. Mix in another two bikes, say a vanilla CBR 600 with a pretty reasonable range and say a VFR, with a reasonable range, and chaos starts. But if the 600 and the VFR both top up with the FireBlade then we can all stay organised.

It makes for a better day for everyone. Not least it avoids just one bike filling, then all the others taking off their helmets, chinwagging, going for a pee, buying sweets, calling home, repacking their luggage..... half an hour goes by, which is about 20 miles on D roads..... Go do the math, as our American cousins are prone to say.

 

[Riders Rest]

further to what Wapping said, most main motorcycle dealerships (BMW being 1) will be closed all day Monday... but Sunday is still a good day to be out traveling just be mindful that fuel will most likely have to come from one of the local super markets 24/7 facilities.

Interestingly we are starting to see a few commercial interests stay open through lunchtimes now and some even opening Sunday mornings during the July August periods... things are slowley catching up with the UK lets hope not though from a residents perspective...

 

[Wapping]

Interestingly we are starting to see a few commercial interests stay open through lunchtimes now and some even opening Sunday mornings during the July August periods... things are slowley catching up with the UK lets hope not though from a residents perspective...

I have noticed that, too. The small supermarket in Apt, sunny Provence, used to shut at lunchtime and all day Sunday. In the high heat of August they are now opening up. Monday morning is still a no-go area though.

I think it's a bit of a pity that they are changing.

 

[gspod]

We always travel on a Sunday because trucks are not allowed and it's a lot more fun on the small roads.