Suggest Recommend route Cherbourg/ one week/ Cherbourg

In my excitement, I had forgotten that as you may be on the west side of France, you can perhaps see the two biker ‘Must do’ sites, without which you’ll never enter the gates of heaven. These are:

1. Oradour-sur-Glane

And….

2. The Millau bridge

Visiting point 2 will, coming from Cherbourg, take you past (or close to) point 1.
 
To quote a famous general "Planning is everything", and a buddy of mine - "Without a plan you have nothing to deviate from" - both valid because all plans go out the window when you have 1st contact with the enemy (weather / Road Closures / Biker Mates individual desires / breakdowns / bikes in hedges)

Your landing site is not ideal - although not sure where you live and if this is an overnight ferry out? and six bikes is a big group (IMHO)

You have to fill up in line with the shortest bikes range - and you need to make sure EVERYONE fills up at same time, or else 25 miles after everyone else has fueled up some Muppet will pull alongside you pointing at his tank.

Unless all hardened Euro-travelers it is unlikely they will all be able to manage a 2 hour riding stint even when fresh in the morning, and by day 3 you might be struggling to go for an hour at a time between stops.

Progress will be slow as you have to go at pace of slowest rider, and may have people getting lost and going the wrong way at junctions etc - best if they ALL have a sat-nav that is capable of displaying a TRACK as this will be the same, different navs can calculate very different routes from the same set of waypoints (we have a Garmin 340 and 345 always updated to latest maps / firmware before a trip and it is a rare a day does not go by where at some point the routes differ)

With 6 bikes in a group I suspect you would be doing well to average much more than 35mph on Rural French roads unless willing to "stretch" the limit a bit. Its the villages that really hurt our times - 20 mph zones, traffic lights etc. but we can top a 40mph average if we "press on" a little, but to do much better than that puts you into expensive fine territory (we might cruise at 65-66 in a 50, but 68+ sees the fines increase sharply)

Motorways are generally fast - we average 65-70 on them quite easily by just setting the cruise to the French 81.75mph (130kph) limit, junctions and tolls (plus pulling in for fuel) are all that stops you averaging 80 as traffic in most places in France is light.

I think if you want to get to Switzerland you're going to have to have at least one full day on Motorways on way out and back, here is a 2 day motorway route;

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5503669

We (me and Mrs) average about 15 minutes stopped for every hour ridden roughly, plus extra 30 mins if we have a nice lunch rather than a service station sarnie, so a 9-5 day is about 6 hours riding at most - I doubt you will do so well with a group of 6, as we will do a full 2 hours plus on 1st stint, then maybe 90 mins for most of rest of day.

You could aim for a 90 minute 1st stint then about 1 hour stints for rest of day with last stint being 30 mins = 6 hours riding / 5 stops = Fuel / AM Coffee / Lunch / PM Fuel / PM Coffee = 8.5 - 9 hrs.

3 days to Andermatt gets you on much better roads for 2nd and 3rd day;

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5503751

You did not actually say where in Switzerland, but most folk would agree Andermatt is pretty much the defacto Swiss Alps location, but just past Lausanne you are in the Alps with lots of good riding close by, and that knocks about 2 hours off the route.
 
Good advice from Rasher, as always.

He is spot on with the average speeds, whether that be on D roads or on motorways. That being said, with a group of six or seven bikes, the averages will probably drop a bit further. You only need one of the bods to decide that (having waited for everyone else to fill up) he then needs to make use of the facilities and other 10 minutes will drift by. During this 10 minutes the other six or so bods in the party will then take their helmets and gloves off and settle down to bikermate banter. Two of them will also start to fiddle with things on their bikes. Matey will return from his call of nature and then start to chat to one of the blokes who is fiddling with is bike. Eventually, they will all give up on their bikermate banter, the two fiddlers will stop fiddling, everyone will put their helmets and gloves on and it will be time to leave. Except you won’t as one bod will have turned his sat nav off and will then spend the rest of the day panicking that he’ll get lost. So he’ll spend five minutes prodding at it. Then and only then can you depart.

One thing I did notice when running Wapping’s Wanders, the group of six or so bikes did get more efficient as the tour went one. By the last couple of days, they were like a well oiled machine…. Or at least most of them were.
 
Good advice from Rasher, as always.

He is spot on with the average speeds, whether that be on D roads or on motorways. That being said, with a group of six or seven bikes, the averages will probably drop a bit further. You only need one of the bods to decide that (having waited for everyone else to fill up) he then needs to make use of the facilities and other 10 minutes will drift by. During this 10 minutes the other six or so bods in the party will then take their helmets and gloves off and settle down to bikermate banter. Two of them will also start to fiddle with things on their bikes. Matey will return from his call of nature and then start to chat to one of the blokes who is fiddling with is bike. Eventually, they will all give up on their bikermate banter, the two fiddlers will stop fiddling, everyone will put their helmets and gloves on and it will be time to leave. Except you won’t as one bod will have turned his sat nav off and will then spend the rest of the day panicking that he’ll get lost. So he’ll spend five minutes prodding at it. Then and only then can you depart.

One thing I did notice when running Wapping’s Wanders, the group of six or so bikes did get more efficient as the tour went one. By the last couple of days, they were like a well oiled machine…. Or at least most of them were.

I can’t think who you are referring to ………
 
Thank you for the full reply.

In no particular order.

Six bikes (and maybe more) is quite a big group. One fuel stop alone might, if you are not disciplined take half an hour. That, on French D roads is about 15 to 20 miles. Lunch stops, coffee stops, photograph stops, will all take a while, too.

If you boat docks at 11:30, I’d guess you’d be out of the ferry gates at around 12:15 and, by the time you have chatted at your rendezvous point, it may well be 12:30 which (conveniently or not) is time for lunch in France. Cherbourg is at the top of the Conentin peninsular. To be blunt, it’s quite a long way from nowhere really. To give you an idea, it is roughly three hours on the main roads to, say Laval. You say do not want to be finishing late in the afternoon. If you say you are on your way by 12:30, that would be 15:30. Add in 30 minutes for a tea break / fuel, will give a 16:00 time at the hotel. I’d maybe aim for somewhere around Laval.

Now comes the tough part. You, as so many do, want to avoid motorways. I’ll bet that with a group of six (or more) you’ll not be off, wheels rolling, much before 09:30 most mornings. Why you’d want to go cross country to Switzerland from Laval’ish, avoiding motorways, with your group of six plus riders of varying / unknown qualities is beyond me. But hey, it’s your holiday and your posse. It can be done, of course but you know you, better than we know you.

My suggestions would be:

1. You want war stuff. The ‘best’ war stuff is on the north Normandy coast, with all its D Day stuff / a bit on the Atlantic coast for the U-boat pens. You maybe don’t want to head to Laval if you want to do the Normandy coast but it can work. Look at a map and imagine where you want and need to go the next day and the day after that and the next day.

2. If you don’t want war stuff you could have quite a good holiday, down the western half side of France, right down to say, Bergerac; country roads all the way there and all the way back.

3. You might maybe suggest that your Swiss chums meet you in, say Clemont-Ferrand or Limoges (or anywhere along that axis) and have quite a good time there or there abouts.

Then back to Cherbourg, via different roads that you rode down on. In view of your departure time, I’d stay about two to two and half hours’ ride from the port and have a leisurely ride up on the day of departure. That side of France has plenty of the French ‘Tourist’ Bison routes, get the Michelin blue 726 map, which is designed specifically for holidays like yours.

Over to you.

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Something like this would make a pretty good week away:

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It does though show how big France is,

1. That is five individual (unevenly spaced, note) stops between leaving Cherbourg and returning to Cherbourg.

2. It avoids motorways and goat tracks.

3. It is 1,100 miles, give or take a yard or two.

You now do the maths on how many full days riding you have, not forgetting that your first and last days are only really half days; bods often forget this. Then work out how many miles / hours in the saddle you want to do. Consider if you want a day (or a full afternoon) off somewhere. What stops during the day you might want….. and do remember, when you are stopped, even for a pee break, you are not moving forwards, bods often forget this, too.


PS Now wonder how you were going to do Cherbourg > Switzerland > Germany > Cherbourg, avoiding motorways and taking time to see ‘stuff’, all whilst not doing too many miles a day and finishing in time for afternoon tea on the lawn….. and camping, into the bargain!

Add in the possibility of a rainy day or two riding on French 'D' roads with a group of riders of differing abilities and tight plans can collapse like a house of cards. :D
 
You have to fill up in line with the shortest bikes range - and you need to make sure EVERYONE fills up at same time, or else 25 miles after everyone else has fueled up some Muppet will pull alongside you pointing at his tank.

.

In my small world that's called "doing a Donny"....... he only did it the once :D
 
Steptoe christened me ‘Tour Dad’ on the Moroccan Dashes. I was honoured.

Someone has to look after the "whip" money, and who better than an insurance salesman :D

Every tour needs a tour dad.
Saves wasting time at every restaurant stop and in bars while riders scrabble around working out their bills and the exchange rate in case they're getting ripped off by Johnnie Foreigner, then paying one at a time while painfully counting out their shekels, and the distress of deciding should they leave a tip, and how much, mustn't be too generous.
 
why not stay in Cherbourg...? saves all that hassle of riding about too much, you can stop when ever you like and do simple day trips out...?
 
why not stay in Cherbourg...? saves all that hassle of riding about too much, you can stop when ever you like and do simple day trips out...?

Be careful which way you ride. Some directions get very wet, very quickly. Salty, too.
 
I can’t think who you are referring to ………

That was a shortened version.

On our last jaunt, a fuel stop for three bikes somehow took well over half an hour. I rode out of the fuel station’s immediate forecourt and sat on the Armco barrier to watch. It was like seeing a silent film of the extraordinary things going on. Happy days.
 
On our last jaunt, a fuel stop for three bikes somehow took well over half an hour. I rode out of the fuel station’s immediate forecourt and sat on the Armco barrier to watch. It was like seeing a silent film of the extraordinary things going on. Happy days.

Did it surpass the empty biro incident, which resulted in a geyser of unleaded in the face or the great glove fiasco?
 
Did it surpass the empty biro incident, which resulted in a geyser of unleaded in the face or the great glove fiasco?

Almost. I just sat there, wondering what he would find to do next, as cars came and went.

But not on a par with the one time he did make a swift start and so nearly smacked into the payage barrier.

Happy days and love him dearly.
 
Had a "quick fuel stop" on one trip and a guy goes and orders some hot food not realising they cook it fresh, after a long wait for it to be cooked and almost eaten another guy decides he is a bit peckish and goes off for a fucking ice cream, as he is finishing the one smoker must have a pre-departure fag, by this time everyone else needs a piss, followed by gearing up and actually moving off, reckon it must of been a 1 hour fuel stop.

Have a mate who always takes off helmet / jacket / gloves to fill up, even on card only pumps reducing efficiency of herding everyone into those.

Also had to teach some people how to fill up their bike as they ram the nozzle all the way down and stop 6 inches from the top of the tank - and most bikes hold most their fuel in that last 6 inches, all of a sudden their bikes can go twice as far!
 
Had a "quick fuel stop" on one trip and a guy goes and orders some hot food not realising they cook it fresh, after a long wait for it to be cooked and almost eaten another guy decides he is a bit peckish and goes off for a fucking ice cream, as he is finishing the one smoker must have a pre-departure fag, by this time everyone else needs a piss, followed by gearing up and actually moving off, reckon it must of been a 1 hour fuel stop.

Herding cats is easier!
 
Herding cats is easier!

My method is less stressful for group tours. Simply advise people of the booked hotels and let them chose how they get there. I usually take the least direct route of all riders, on scenic roads, but often arrive first as I don't take 2 hours for lunch etc etc. It's rare for someone to remain with me after the first coffee/comfort stop.

After arriving and having a shower, I stick a message in the private Facebook group saying where I have settled for a few pre-prandial beverages.
 
The things you miss though Wessie. Those little joys, without which no jaunt is complete.
 


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