Trip to the Cote D'Azur

[Keen]

I've been meaning to write a post on this for a long while now (did the trip in mid July!), but I've been busy with moving, starting a new job and general stuff, so now that I'm finally settled in at work and find myself with a bit a free time, I figured it might be a nice way for me to muse on the trip.

Background

So, I just graduated from uni this june and my first move was to get myself a cheap easyjet flight and visit the girlfriend. She's spanish but living and working down in the south of france (Nice). I worked there for a year on internship as part of my degree and thats how we met. A week or 2 of holidays ensued, me dossing around and her working, visiting her family in Barcelona and generally recovering from uni and deciding where to go from here.

The hope was to move closer together after my graduation, won't bore you with the details but in the end it seemed the best thing would be for me to move back down to france for a while, especially as it would be easy for me to get a job at my old (and her current) company. I didn't want to sell my bike... so thats how the road trip idea started. We flew back to the UK together, spent some time with friends in manchester (and saw the RHCP's), got ourselves organised at my parents house in Co. Durham then hit the road... knowing at the journeys end lay our new home

The Plan
So, the basic Idea: set off from Bishop Auckland (near middlesbrough), nail it down the A1 to dover on the first day, make the ferry early that evening and stay at a formula 1 shithole in calais. The next day head for Paris bright and early, spend the afternoon and night there so we can have a decent meal in france's fair capital. After that.... well we had a map and a pocket full of dreams. The vague idea was to head across to Troyes, down to Dijon, past Lyon (using roads recommended by maurice in one of his posts, merci) then ride the infamous route napoleon down to Antibes where our new flat was waiting.

A Bad Start?
When I was france on holiday, I called home and was informed by my old man that the tax on my bike (sitting comfortably in his garage) had just expired. Shit. With uni, exams and all other stuff, it had completely slipped my mind, and I'd had no renewal notice for some reason. I also had to get some new tyres fitted to the bike. Ok no problem, I'll sort it all when I get home, I have 2 days or so... cut to the morning after we arrive at my house. The only appointment I could get for tyre fitting was 9am. My little brother said he'd bring the tyres to the shop in his car and meet me there. I had no choice but to ride the bike there, get the tyres on then head straight to the post office, we leave tomorrow! But its ok, its literally 3 miles to the shop from our house. But I forgot about sods law. I go round a corner to find a copper stepping out into the road and waving me into a layby- what do we have? random DVLA checks, looking for pink diesel, no insurance and no tax. You have to be fucking kidding. I own up, I'm polite and the coppers are sound, they even act like they believe me when I tell them I was on the way to the post office, as if they havent heard it 20 times that morning. Still, 200 quid fine. 120 quid is refundable if I go to the DVLA place in gateshead. FUCK. Theres my relaxed afternoon of planning and packing ruined.

The Trip
Still, the next morning when we sling the oxford 'first time' panniers over the bike in the drive, all the hassles are forgotten. My girlfriend looks cute in her new matt blue shark lid, featuring a butterflies paint scheme, and we're both excited about the days ahead. My dad, his fiance and my little brother and sister are there to wave us off.
The reality of whats ahead sets in. I head for the petrol station near my house and know that once we fill up, we're riding the A1 to the end. The nice old guy at the station asks "where you off to son" and looks a little taken aback when I smile and tell him "the south of france"
The A1 passes underneath us without incident. The Hornet is a surprisingly comfy tourer, although by the time we near dover I regret my financially-influenced decision not to get a fly screen for the trip. We make the ferry with time to spare, then after nearly getting on the wrong one, board and watch the cliffs of dover disappear. By the time we arrive in calais exhaustion has set in. We break for the formula 1 motel and get an early night in preperation for day 2.

Paris
We chose highways to get to paris, the idea being to have as much time there as possible. We made straight for the tour eiffel and had a little petrol-station-food picnic on the grass there. We've been before and sprung the tourist traps, so we just walked the seine and had a great yet over priced meal. Although it was beautiful, we decided that the place has more character in the autumn/winter. Its not a summer city, the gothic architecture suits a moody grey sky.

The road to Dijon
After all the highway riding, I was desperate to get on some more scenic routes. We took A roads towards Troyes, where we explored the nearby lakes before pushing on and checking into a cheap hotel on the edge of Dijon. After a day of riding in near 40 degree conditions, the hotel was like an oasis. We dumped the panniers and gear in the room, changed into swimming stuff and had beers by the pool & floated around as the sun was going down. It sounds silly but it was one of the nicest parts of the trip, there was a glow of satisfaction as the relaxation time was really earned.

The Twisty Stuff
After our oasis rest stop and well earned kip, the next day we were ready to press on. We headed south to Bourg-en-Bresse and took the road from there to Chambery. This was probably the nicest stretch of the trip, a scenic pass with nice sweeping curves and little traffic. It was obviously a biker favourite.... we rounded one bend to find 2 guys perched on a rocky outcrop over the road, they waved for me to slow down in a panic, which I did, just in time to see their mate come hurtling round the next corner over the white line with the pegs and sliders scraping.
After spending the night in Chambery, eating and relaxing by the lake, we started our final day- tackling the route napoleon. Probably the most amazing piece of tarmac I've ever seen. We nievely thought this would be the shortest riding day, given that it looks short on the map. We couldn't of been more wrong. Hairpin after hairpin, sheer drops everywhere and dawdling traffic mean't that it was early evening before we got home. Maria was exhausted, but I was hyperactive and buzzing from the concentration. The new tyres I got fitted before the trip finally had the chicken strips scrubbed off.

So, to put an end to this...
Overall, it was a great way to make a holiday out of what could of been a painful motorway slog to get the bike down. Best of all.... my company had agreed to pay for my travel expenses down... so the petrol was free! The fact that it was a functional trip primarily and we were on a budget limited what we could see and how long we could stay places, but just riding the roads and passing through the country was a fantastic experience.
So, time to do it properly..... we've started planning and saving for whats next- down to the south of italy and across to greece.

Sorry if this was a ramble (if I was you I couldn't be arsed to read it) but it was more for my benefit than anyone elses hopefully someone might be able to pass some time reading it we didn't take many pictures.... but here's a couple of the nicer ones:
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"he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"- Dr. Johnson

[Mister James]

A nice area round there. My parents have a place somewhere near Frejus, and I've spent a couple of summers there perving at the french ladies. I meant to get down there this year on the Fazer, but sadly embedding it in the side of a blind polish woman's car knocked that plan back slightly - not sure the KLE has what it takes to get over there!

I'll try and avoid making the obvious comments about your frankly charming-looking girlfriend!
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>Soultrader Mister James, I bet you are a copper
>Bazza Wow. Eyes like a shithouse rat, you...

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Glad you enjoyed the road down to Chambery . I had a last minute tax panic last year, lost my MOT as well so had to get a reprint from the dealers and go down to the post office the morning I left - hassle you don't need! Very unlucky getting had like that.

How was the bike handling 2-up with luggage? The Hornet looks good in white, haven't seen many of them about.

Nice read btw

[Whosthedaddy]

Nice write up, I can sense the excitement in the style thats its been written. Going from the UK through France sounded like a laugh, but going from there acorss Europe, now theres a mission

[Keen]

thanks for all the nice comments

Handling wise the bike was surprisingly good.... as I'd said I literally had new tyres put on the day before we left (conti road attacks) and I instantly liked them alot more than the bridgestones I had before (although to be fair they were past their best by the end).

Also, Maria likes going pillion and shes been on this bike and my old bike (GS500) alot, we did a tour of corsica on the GS when I was down here before, so I'm comfortable with 2-up riding...
The panniers were stuffed but they were actually fairly light and I hardly noticed them to be honest (even Maria said the same, they didn't bother her at all once we got them settled in a good position). But the trip was knackering. The route napoleon, especially because of the heat and since it came after 4 days of riding, was a challenge. By the time we were nearing Grasse we had to take frequent breaks as Maria said she didn't have enough energy left to hold on through the bends... both of us had sore arms for a couple of days after

Still, if I was to do the trip again with more time I'd plan to stay somewhere on the route napoleon and get out for a bit of riding solo. I'd be tempted to do another trip up to Grenoble, but when there are so many places to see, it seems a shame to do the same route twice.
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"he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"- Dr. Johnson

[Nath]

[Keen]

[Nath]

To be honest Athens isn't really a nice city, and the Akropolis is totally spoilt by the hoards of tourists. But the ride down south through Italy is really great - If you were to head down to Naples then an absolute must on a biking trip is to ride the roads of the Amalfi coast which are probably the best coastal riding I've come across in the whole of Europe. That said, the adriatic highway in Croatia is really splendid as well, and it's a good holiday destination as there are tons of camping grounds and everything is pretty cheap.
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[cmit37]

How did your girlfriend like the Shark butterfly lid? Was it quiet enough? Did she wear ear plugs? My wife is after a new helmet but she doesn't want a noisy one and like most women she has singled-out "the one with the butterflies".

[Keen]