Vercors National Park

I'm plonking a bit of a ride report in, because it seems to me that this neck of the woods is quite a well kept secret and worthy of a bit more attention from Brit bikers.

We (wifey and I on 1200GS and friends on new K1600) travelled down to Newcastle, and unusually, straight onto the boat....no fighting or arguing with crew about parking the bike so we could get off/round it, found the cabin, and shortly after the bar....running down the Tyne , in the evening sun with a beer, waiting for our allotted time in the Buffet restaurant. Eat too much as usual, dwinkies in bar and early to bed. We have adopted the practise of going outbound on a Sunday night...saves getting too involved with common people, stag/hen parties etc...

I'm always up fairly early, and enjoy a while with coffee while everybody is abed., watching the morning sun flood in. Calm as Persie loch. Leisurely breakfast, donder down to bike and get ready. We keep a rucsac in the top-box with overnight kit, putting the tankbag in the topbox for the journey, and I wrap both helmets in jackets, wrap them in a pac-safe wire net bag and lock them to the bike....saves a lot of humping of kit up and down stairs...I don't like to load wifey up too much too early.

Easily off the boat and off to the nearest motorway...this part of Holland is pretty dire, and best seen at speed from the motorway. We were heading to Bastogne for the first night, only because Pete has been nagging for years about seeing the poxy tank in the square. Down past Eindhoven Maasricht towards Liege. Previous experience of Liege led me to find a route avoiding it altogether, so we went across to Verviers, down and through Spa-Francorchamps....beautiful...and obviously a wealthy part of the world...across to Houffalize and down to Bastogne....the natives were out in force to welcome me....all out on the streets, flags etc. Busy place.

We had booked....via booking.com in here..

https://www.booking.com/hotel/be/bw...bbfffcd6b15d72e4d6e;dcid=1;dist=0&type=total&

central, private parking, close to town for grub beer etc. 41/2 hours driving from Ijmuiden.

Next day, next stage....bit of N road to Arlon and then join motorway down to Nancy. I realise many willpour scorn on me for using motorways, but if you are trying to cover a bit of distance and avoid such dull places as Luxembourg and Metz, they are worth every bit of peage.

Talking of which, I had got a sanef tag, and a waterproof holder..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0012BQZ0A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

wifey waved it at sensor, barrier up and off we went..even in the 30kph lane...great. Pete and Diane had no success with theirs...don't know why yet. Absolutely brilliant for bikes....no fumbling with gloves, trying not to lose tickets, cash cards, just pull from jacket and hold it up..

We were heading for Pannassieres in the Jura. Past experience told me that it was just as quick off the motorway south of Nancy, so thats what we did, down through/round Epinal, Vesoul, Besancon, then through some (very) country lanes to our next stop...

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/ho...bbfffcd6b15d72e4d6e;dcid=1;dist=0&type=total&

https://goo.gl/photos/rPu3HgDMRqjByQjF7

again booked via booking.com. Perfectly good comfy room and good grub in restaurant. It was hot by now so a cool shower was very welcome. Jim Esson....an ex BMW club stalwart, had driven over from his home in Lausanne to join us for the rest of our tour....good to meet up again after a year, enjoying a beer and a good meal.

Usual bread for breakfast....I've formed the opinion that as much as I like France, there are some things they can't do....plumbing, bogroll.....and breakfast...but I digress.

And off we go toward our final destination...again a country route for the most part, following and crossing the Rhone at Seyssel..

https://goo.gl/photos/xiXw3SQRQ5MkeQm26

We continued past Lac de Bourget, down through Aix-les-Bains, popping onto the motorway to bypass Chambery, popping off at Pontcharra. This proved to be a mistake, but it meant we were able to find, completely by accident, a magic bar for lunch..




We continued into Grenoble on the road running parallel with the motorway which is where my error became apparent...traffic lights every few yards. Garmin finally got us through the city...temps in the high 30's....out te other side, climbing to our destination...

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/au...bbfffcd6b15d72e4d6e;dcid=1;dist=0&type=total&

Much research had suggested this would be a good spot....and so it proved. Completely on its own, 1200m up, with very good grub. Family run, some English spoken...not that we needed it particularly. Its on its own so you are effectively committed to eating there, but the quality of dinners made that a pleasure. We saw over the next few days a succession of locals calling in for their tea...always a good sign.

More later

Fukkit...links not photy's...

You never took a camera then

gerarddwatts said:

Fukkit...links not photy's...

Click to expand...

Gerard, You need to upload your photos to somewhere like google+ / photobucket or similar. Once you've done that, right click on the photo you want and it should give you the option to 'Copy Image URL'.

Go back to the UKGS site and when you want to insert that picture, click the box icon with the tree in it. A pop up appears, paste in the URL then close the box.

Hope this helps.

Lets see..




Ok so thats the second place we stayed at in the Jura....

Worked last time...



and this is the smart place we crossed the Rhone..Seyssel..

And lovely caff for lunch..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B-UiTRj4BVOdkGkjJIGItLOneNXoX-i1EqRvyCH_84w=w876-h657-no

Bollocks




Woohoo...ta very much.....

And onto the main event...The Vercors.

Its a massif bounded by the Grenoble-Lyon M/way in the north. N85 Route Napoleon in the east, Grenoble-Valence-Avignon road to the west, and sort of spreads down through The Luberon park to Aix.

It is very worthwhile exploring, with some amazing roads to explore. The region was effectively the 'heartland' of the French resistance for most of WW11. Eventually the Germans became so exasperated that they parachuted/glidered thousands of troops in and subdued the area by using their tried and tested techniques...murdering women and children and setting fire to their homes/villages.

The massif is a high plateau bounded by cliffs on all sides, there is some stunning scenery, and not many people...



The view below is a village called Vassieux. There is a museum of the resistance in the village which is worth a visit, but better still...if that's the right word ....is the National Memorial to the Resistance, from where this picture was taken, higher up the hill above the plateau. A very well done and thought provoking and fitting tribute to the French resistance fighters. The ticket for the first one gives you half price to the second....or something like that.

Carry on past the Memorial on the D76, and you come to the Combe Laval....take the turn! It is a 'balcony road', scratched along a natural ledge thousands of feet above the base of the cirque. Simply awesome!





More later

It was apparent that our hols had coincided with a french heatwave...temps of 36-38 everyday. Luckily the hotel of our choice..Auberge de la Croix Perrin, had good showers to wash away the sweat and we were able to sit outside all evening with or beers, vin, grub. All in all a happy choice and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the area.







even the pet wolf was amiable..

Another day saw us head down to Avignon and Pont-du Gard. Today saw the temperatures go to 40 degrees. We hammered down the motorway to the roman aqueduct, stopping at an aire for water. The Pont du Gard is an amazing piece of Roman engineering and architecture taking the water supply from the hills to Nimes, spanning the gorge of the Gard. Its quite commercial really, but at least that meant air conditioned spaces to slobber over ice creams.







wifey holding up a very old tree..



same really without the tree..




Phew..exhausting work this..I'll come back after tea..

I have been to the Vercors several times since 2005 - wonderful place, if you want the best biker hotel it is this one

Hotel le Marronnier in Rencurel, can't recommend it enough.

http://en.hotellemarronnier.com/Accueil.htm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/hotel-le-Marronnier/48641794131

Had a toddle through Avignon....just to see the bridge really, but the place was stuffed, and just too hot in biking gear, so we got moving up the motorway, but came off at Romans sur Isere, and up to Pon-en-Royans. This is a pretty village at the bottom of the Gorge de Bourne. The village is built round the river..



you can see a quaint device in the gorge ...a water powered millstone..



and on through the gorge..








more later...

Looks great Gerry, hope you've not sold my whisky to fund your trip

What whisky.......

Great pics. Must get down there one day...

Glad to see you had some good weather for what looks like a top trip. More areas to visit,thanks for taking the time to post.

Onwards....

There has been mention of the landslip at Lac Chambon closing the main road between Grenoble and Briancon. This means the southern side of the Col du Galibler is not accessible without going to Gap and Embrun. Thus eliminating a decent circular tour-Le Bourg d'oisans, Galibier, St Jean de Maurienne-Col de la Croix de Fer and home. So we decided to go to the Col de Galibier via the only diversion...over the Col de la Croix de Fer. Only to find that this was closed for a peddly bike race...on a Sunday!! How can you close a major diversion route for a load of peddly bikers....when I say load, I mean it...7500 of the hoors.. Only in France.

We followed the time honoured practise of french motards and ignored the signs, which worked quite well until the rozzeurs on bikes leading the race came towards us....the first one must have knew me because he waved...I pulled in and he gave me a big thumbs up, so we decided discretion would be the better part of valour, we turned about and retraced our steps. We decided to go to Alpes d'Huez instead but found that the peddly bike race was doing the same route, but at least now we were going the same way as them....slightly less stressful....the bods with orange ping pong bats didn't realize we were just joe soaps as opposed to official motorbiker chappies until it was too late to stop us, so we wended on passing the admiring glances of the crowds gathered at each corner, graciously acknowledging the applause accorded to us as we progressed to the top for lunch...



the race was called La Marmotte, presumably after our new chum...



thence back to the main road, then turning right through a charming glen passing through Ornon, Valbonnais to La Mure the Rout Napoleon to Grenoble, dive round the city on the motorway and back to our humble abode.

Another trip took us south down the D1075 as far as Clelles, then left back into the Vercors..we found a very splendid ex abbey now hotel for coffee..





We were now accustomed to bright sun and 36-38 deg heat...well most of us..



WE thought the Cirque Laval deserved another look...so we did..











NB the UKgser thumby....must be due some discount or other lavish gift.....



and thence again to the pretty village of Pont-en-Royans



and through the Gorge du Bourne where we came across a family making tea..



Not to be denied the Col du Galibier we hammered round to the village of St Jean de Maurienne, and through the much more alpine scenery of this area..





to the top..



(that smart badge on the screen is the Scottish Gamekeepers Association....mine is the furthest travelled....usually only seen on Land Rovers and the like in Scotland)



Having plenty of time we made our way over the Col de Croix de Fer..





and back to our biker neutral but supremeley comfortable lodgings.

Our days in the Vercors had come to an end.

A beautiful area, well worth exploring. It doesn't have quite the same roads as the French Alps for example, but doesn't attract the hordes of kraut nutters that infest other parts.

We travelled north on the motorway past Lyon, until reaching Beaune where we forsook the fast road in favour of the Route des Grands Crus. A worthwhile excursion taking us past many a well known vineyard...extraordinary to see the places hitherto only known to me on labels. A wiggle up through Burgundy, a wobble through Dijon, and then across the Seine plateau, landing finally at our bothy in Piney. Many thanks to JB for his suggestion...a topper of a place; again biker neutral and none the worse for it. Exceptionally well appointed rooms, and a first class restaurant..

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/le...bbfffcd6b15d72e4d6e;dcid=1;dist=0&type=total&

My room through, on the left..





Usual bread for brekkie and a thrash up the motorways to Lille and then Ieper.

We usually stay at the Ariane on our trips there, and did so again...there's enough chat on here about Ieper, Menen Gate etc so I won't repeat it, suffice to say I was accosted in the car park of the hotel by none other than our own Hustler, who was staying with his wife and had clocked the UKgser stickers. Excellent grub as ever in town, decent breakfast and off round town, Cloth Hall Flanders fields etc. The hotel had let us dump kit in their luggage room and leave bikes....guess that makes them biker friendly?...so back there , change, a schlep out to Tyne Cot cemetery, and on to our next stop...

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/la...bbfffcd6b15d72e4d6e;dcid=1;dist=0&type=total&

This was within spitting distance of the motorway for Calais, yet out in the country. The wifey there (femmey?) insisted we put les motos into the garage below....again must be biker friendly?..our rooms were very graciously appointed and equipped..







and extremely biker un-friendly footbath(?)



The grub here was again exceptional; the place did gastronomique extravaganzas and the like. Some one has spent a lot of money on the place to make it a 'destination'; it's getting a bit tired now but still better than most.

Slight apprehension the next morning....the Tunnel Was it running? Were there strikes? Would we be pursued by natives trying to hide their children in my number plate tool-box? Were French workers engaged in the time honoured tradition of burning tyres as a negotiating ploy? Would Robin let us back in? Was Giles using the M20 as his personal plaything? We had taken a car through before but this was Pete/Dianes' first experience. Its actually quite boring, but only lasts a few minutes

In the event...35 mins to terminal, check-in, on, and depart 3 minutes late. The only dusky fellow I saw was one who had made an earlier successful bid and was now working for Eurotunnel.

The biggest issue was the fall in standard of goods in the duty free. I had planned to get some brandy, cognac etc, but there was nothing worth buying. Ho hum.

The next horror was UK roads/traffic/drivers. It was fackin dreadful..Op Stack on the s/b M20 (more traffic cars in 8 miles than there are in all of Scotland), M25 Dartford..shite, M11..A14 double shite, A1 shocking shite. The general standard of driving everywhere is appalling. We cruised, in Lane 1, at 65, past car after car in Lane 2. Only to be held up by a cretinous lorry driver pulling out to overtake at about 1mph faster, usually up hill, obstructing traffic for mile after mile...time and time again. I am never doing that again. Ijmuiden for me everytime from now. Life is too short to be fucking about on UK roads. I quite often have to go down to Sussex/Hertfordshire and back, but in the car, and always go v.early or overnight.... There seems to be no pleasure at all in motorcycling long distance...I suppose we are spoiled up here, but the truth is the roads just ain't big enough for the traffic....your'e welcome to it...I'm going on the boat...

However...there was light at the end of this tunnel The Black Horse at Kirkby Fleetham. You Yorkshire boys will know it, but I can highly recommend it as a stop between Shite and Scotland. A lucky ...and accidental... find...comfortable...very... rooms..





Lovely staff, great bar serving very good beer...Black Sheep....and a terrific restaurant. Obviously very popular judging by all the locals coming to sit in the sun outside with a beer and then have their tea.

A great find, we will come back to explore the dales properly. I have been shooting at nearby Reeth, Gunnerside and Arkengarthdale, but never heard of this place.

A topper of a place to have our last night, even if it was biker un-friendly....well we had to park our bikes in the car park with the civilians....and the breakfast....after 2 weeks of bread....

Thats it. I would happily return to any of the places we went to. Especially the Vercors.

gerarddwatts said:

And lovely caff for lunch..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B-UiTRj4BVOdkGkjJIGItLOneNXoX-i1EqRvyCH_84w=w876-h657-no

Bollocks

Woohoo...ta very much.....

Click to expand...

Got nooo idea what happened to that photy...

gerarddwatts said:

The general standard of driving everywhere is appalling. We cruised, in Lane 1, at 65, past car after car in Lane 2. Only to be held up by a cretinous lorry driver pulling out to overtake at about 1mph faster, usually up hill, obstructing traffic for mile after mile...time and time again. I am never doing that again. Ijmuiden for me everytime from now. Life is too short to be fucking about on UK roads. I quite often have to go down to Sussex/Hertfordshire and back, but in the car, and always go v.early or overnight.... There seems to be no pleasure at all in motorcycling long distance...

Click to expand...

My absolute pet hate, they should have red hot pokers shoved up there ar5es.

But you did have a good holiday!

I enjoyed reading that Gerard, thanks for taking the trouble to do it and posting it up..