France - 6-day "Iron Man" blast in May

oldrascal

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The April 3rd to April 5th three day 'bimble' to France has not even happened yet and I am already planning Part 2.

My original idea was to get a gang of Southern-based Tossers and 'trial' some more adventurous ride-outs. As we are all relatively near ferry ports and the like, France in the Spring seems irresistable. I know that Wapping is arranging a 4-day trip on April 22nd to France but his route is pretty much Northern France. To me, France becomes beautiful in Provence so that's my goal.

That said, my experience of organising the yet-to-come first expedition has shown me that many people are hugely excited and willing but have come face-to-face with the credit crunch reality. So from about 15 who initially expressed interest, we are down to 4 bold or foolish men who are taking up the challenge. :augie Looking forward to it though.

So I am now planning to organise a 6-day ride in the first 2 weeks of May and much further South in France and into Provence. Provisionally, we would leave on a Monday (say) early doors and stop-over around Dijon, about 4 hours ride from the Channel. The next day would see us around Avignon in time for a slap-up lunch and a bottle or two of local brew. :ChrisKelly

Allowing 2 days (max) to get back, we would still have plenty of time to hit the Med and enjoy the sea air and the great fish. I know that this is a 'big one' and may be too much for some, but we've got these damned globe-circling machines and should bloody well use them. :rob

There are plenty of great bike-friendly and family run places to stay and the weather should be just stunning if we are lucky. Of course you will need to get time-off other obligations which will restrict this to a fairly small group I suspect. I also would want to make this a 'sensible' operation from a money point of view, none of us wants to splash out more than strictly neccessary, I am sure.

Can I get some feedback. :type
 
Sounds a great idea but I will have to dip out of this one unfortunately. Just not enough leave as planning a trip in August to the Alps.

I have an old mate - retired Met old Bill - who runs a B & B with his French wife just outside Valreas, which is on the edge of the Ardeche between Montelimar and Orange. Quite expensive mind as they have a swimming pool, but the food is very good. If you are interested let me know.
 
Clouseau 'ere..............:smokeboun

My friend, OldRascal, 'as asked me to do a little investigation or, as we say in France 'investigation'. Naturally, my sources must remain private, or as we say in France, 'private'. :bash

But I can confirm that the names of OldBill and Mrs. OldBill are Wayne and Francoise. Merci a tous et a toutes. :rolllaugh

How did I do?
 
Hi Oldrascal,

This looks very interesting, was planning a little trip myself to france with a couple of other tossers in May. The only problem we have is that we are restricted with time, so are looking at a 4 day thing, maybe join you for a few days on your trip. Was originally looking at heading for Verdun for all the First World War sites in that area, Though this does depend on the other two guys getting their passports renewed which they did'nt do last year so i had to show one of them around Wales (no bad thing). I see you are meeting up with your April trip team on the 21st at the Franklin in Washington, may pop along for a chat and to meet some more people from this area (if you don't mind a gatecrasher).

Cheers.
 
Hi Oldrascal,

This looks very interesting, was planning a little trip myself to france with a couple of other tossers in May. The only problem we have is that we are restricted with time, so are looking at a 4 day thing, maybe join you for a few days on your trip. Was originally looking at heading for Verdun for all the First World War sites in that area, Though this does depend on the other two guys getting their passports renewed which they did'nt do last year so i had to show one of them around Wales (no bad thing). I see you are meeting up with your April trip team on the 21st at the Franklin in Washington, may pop along for a chat and to meet some more people from this area (if you don't mind a gatecrasher).

Cheers.

All welcome - see original thread:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177952

:beerjug:
 
Hi Old Rascal,
Hope you are abta registered.
This would be of interest to myself and Mrs Brig but we are off to the Paignton bike fest( Bikers Make a Difference. BMAD) weekend in May ,millions of bikes, beer and bands great fun.
If you plan any more forrays, given a bit more notice and you may well see my grumpy face.It is so difficult getting time off from work fitting in with every one else.
Good luck with this one though, been to France loads of times always say I am not going back but back we go at least once a year great roads not too much traffic.:)
 
After the huge success of last weekend's "Great 3-Day Bimble" outing in Normandy, (report and piccies here) there is an even greater shiver of anticipation about this forthcoming expedition into the deep South of France. :bounce1 The proposed dates are sometime in the first 2 weeks of May.

I will be investigating a route and possible stop-overs for a 5 to 7 day trip and will keep this thread active and informed. So if you are interested, can you start letting me know. :thumb I would rather limit numbers to no more than 7 or 8 riders as this makes everything much easier, not only on organisation but also for the various cafes. restaurants and B&Bs that we will be using. Of course the local 'Hoes' are used to catering for parties so that won't be a problem. :rolleyes:
 
I thought that it might be fun to give a few hints of where this ride might be passing through. :augie So firstly:


462px-Route-Napoleon02.jpg


Grasse
Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey
Castellane
Digne
Sisteron
Gap
Col Bayard (1,246 m)
Corps
La Mure
Laffrey
Grenoble


No need for a hint with that one as its spelt out but a pint of wallop at our first stop if anyone gets this location:

704633744_5b9260b852.jpg


gorges20du20verdun_jpg.jpg


More later. :type
 
The most sensible is probably the overnight Portsmouth to LeHavre/Cherbourg. This sets the group off at 0800 and puts us well on the way towards Milau which I think is a great point to aim for on the second day after an overnight somewhere around Limoges or so.

That said, if there are many riders coming from the Eastern part of the UK as well as a Southern contingent, we could consider an early Channel Tunnel crossing for everyone. Alternatively we could form two groups, each taking its preferred crossing route and then coordinate a meeting point for them in France after landing. I am quite open to views on this one and feedback would be useful. :thumb2
 
Thanks for the interest wheeledwidewebb . :thumb

I will keep this thread running here for another week or so as I would like to limit the numbers to about 8 riders. But if there is not enough response and indications of interest from the South East area, I will move the thread over to the 'Open Invites' section of the forum. We will see how it goes.

That said, I will continue to 'flesh out' the trip and start putting in some details of where, what and how much. The general idea, in spite of the 'Iron Man' provocative headline, is to have a sensible and enjoyable run through the brilliant and mostly empty French minor road system where possible and avoiding the major routes.

Enjoyment of the countryside and an appreciation of French culture and food is high on the agenda so the trip may not appeal to speed/distance/red-mist junkies. ;) Which is not to say that we need hang around because there will be a daily inspection of 'chicken strips' to ensure that we are all having fun. :D But France is such a varied and extraordinary country with such a diverse range of regional cultures, architecture, terrain and food that rushing through it blindly is a great pity.

I am lucky to have been educated in France, have worked there for much of my life and I speak fluent French. So, as the French are such complete chauvinists particularly with regard to 'les rosbifs' (Brits), a command of their language and customs tends to open many doors which might otherwise be slammed shut in the face of a bunch of hairy-assed British bikers - even such charming ones as inhabit this forum. :angel

Keep watching.
 
Bonjour - Oldrascal dropped me an email about his excursion and asked me to comment with a view to dropping in on us here www.ridersrest.net in the Central Massif for a couple of nights and taking in some of the rides in this region. www.motomassif.info

We are pretty well placed from us to the Millau via Puy Mary Volcano, then through the Tarn Gorges onto the northern part of Route Napoleon (N85) and Grenoble before heading back up north to the ferrys via Anesey, Geneva (N5) etc... I have emailed OldRascal some suggested Garmin routes but will leave it for him to decide :thumb

May is a busy time but we do have availability Thurs 14th - Wed 20th May available as a block so if you want ot fit into any of those dates please let us know. failing that the 1st 2 weeks of June we do keep an up to date vacancies map at http://ridersrest.eu/vacancies.aspx to help with any planning.

I am not sure how you want to do the accommodation and ride side of things but I guess that is something OldRascal and whoever comes can discuss

We usually do an all in for groups for 65€ per person per night (for the UKGSers we would do a 10% discount so 58€ Per dium) which includes:

***Included***
* Bed linen, and Towel.
* English Breakfast
* Evening meals (Wendy cooks a nice 3 course meal and we can do a BBQ)
* All French Beer Blonde and Wine included -- Yes drink is included
* Workshop facilities
* Led rides through the beautiful Auvergne - Limousin - Cantal regions. See www.motomassif.info ...

***Not included***
All fuel
Lunches
Ferry
Travel Insurance
Breakdown Insurance - But I can recover you to Ridersrest

Accommodation comprises:

1 double en-suite
1 double room with shared bathroom and toilet
1 twin room with shared bathroom and toilet
1 Club Room sleeps up to 9 solo riders with 2 showers, 1 bath and 3 toilets, en-suite - is in its own self contained space.

we can take 11 solo riders in the clubroom and twin room
or
we can take 9 solo in the clubroom and 3 couple in the other rooms.

Hope that is not tooo much info but enough for you to get talking.

Bon Route :blagblah
 
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Thanks, RidersRest, that is really useful information which gives us a datum line to start serious planning. :thumb As I see it, the options are heading towards these two variants:
  • The 'Full Monty' tour as outlined by RidersRest's, which takes us on a reasonably rapid but enjoyable blast to our hosts at Treignac. Then day 2 being a guided blat around the great local roads to Castel de Val, Mont Dore and Puy de Dome. A 2nd night of merriment :ChrisKellyat RidersRest and then we make our own way to Milau, the Gorges de Verdun and the upper part of the Route Napoleon before arriving at Grenoble, the high passes, Lyons and back to the Channel by the most efficient route.
This is about 1,600 miles and will merit the original thread heading of "6 Day Iron Man Blast". :bow

  • The alternative is a slightly more leisurely amble down through the backroads from the coast, stopping off for our first night some way short of RidersRest at an auberge of choice to arrive at Treignac for the 2nd and 3rd nights. Day 3 can be pretty much as described above with the local sights being visited, dinner and booze at Treignac with a departure on Day 4. This is where the plan changes because I propose a less ambitious route, heading more over towards Clermont Ferrand and the Burgundy for a bit of end-of-day wine tasting at one or two local vineyards. This should give us a couple of leisurely and unpressured days to head home on minor roads. This should be no more than 1,200 miles.
So Tossers all, anyone getting tempted? :aidan Remember, if we like what's being proposed, we still have some flexibility on dates between May 14th and May 20th although it would be good to start marking your claim as we are going to be quite limited on numbers.

Finally, this is a strictly amateur attempt on my part (yeah, yeah, keep the raspberry's down at the back there) :rob to put a more ambitious trip together so don't expect that everything will work like clockwork. But as I mentioned in a previous post, I am lucky to be bi-lingual French/English and to know and understand the country's culture well. This can make a huge difference to the trip as the French are much more accommodating in all respects when addressed in their own language - er, a bit like us really. :D
 
The pint of wallop or local brew is yours with pleasure Wapping as long as you are with us for the first stop to enjoy it. ;) But methinks that you've got your hands full with your own liitle 'sortie' in France at the front end of May so the pint might have to wait. :beerjug:
 
As time is running short and I need to start putting some 'names in the frame' as soon as possible for this trip, I have moved this thread over to the Open Invite section of this forum, here is the linky.

See you over there. :aidan
 
Hi oldrascal,

Earlier in your thread i did express an interest in meeting up on your trip, at the moment i am sorting out a little trip for myself and "Anonymous". We are heading into France on the 19th May just for 4 days doing some of the WW1 stuff around the Somme (have a relative layed to rest there that i need to visit) and then down to Verdun, may take in a little of the Ardenne on the way down. I think due to time constraints we may find it difficult to meet up, but you never know.

All the best:thumb2
 
Thanks for the update WorthingWelsh and I hope your trip is as fascinating as others say about the area and subject matter. But hell, I am curious about 'Anonymous'. :D
 


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