Leaving for France in 2 weeks!

[Keen]

Hi,

so it's happening, I'm moving back down to the south of france (Antibes). So round about the 14th July my girlfriend is flying into Newcastle and we're riding the bike down there. Can't wait, but I'm a bit worried about not having alot organised yet.

Plan so far:

day 1- Set off late morning, ride down to dover (from Co. Durham), catch a ferry/eurotrain across to calais early evening and stay over near calais that night (probably a formula 1 or similar). Boring motorway slog, looked into leaving from Hull instead but ferry too expensive.

day 2- up early and ride down to Paris, get there around lunch time leaving an afternoon to walk around, visit some spots we like and have a night out. Find a cheap hotel in the city centre.

then it gets hazy.... for the mid section I don't know where to go. I was hoping to do the roads from Troyes to Dijon, Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambery then Grenoble down to Cannes (big thanks to maurice for posting those routes ).
I want to take it easy for the sake of my girlfriend, maybe just ride in the morning and have the afternoon to stop off somewhere and walk around. We have at least 5 days for the trip (loads of time) so maybe we'll do each of those 3 sections one day after another.

The one thing I'd regret is not seeing the Millau bridge, but its a canny detour so maybe it can wait for later in the year. We've decided to stay in dirt cheap motels rather than taking camping gear this time so we don't have the hassle of lots of luggage to worry about. My oxford panniers will be more than enough to hold the few items of clothing and bits we'll need for the trip leaving more room for my girlfriend to get comfy on the back.

So.... any tips for the journey, suggestions about must-see places to see and stop on that route or things that MUST be packed? do I need to do anything to the bike before riding it over there (insurance is getting sorted, but do I need to alter the headlight or something?)?

cheers,
james
____________________
"he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"- Dr. Johnson

[PsychoHippy]

Not really a 'must see' but rather a 'should use'.
If you are planning on making a late(ish) crossing, take a look at www.speedferries.co.uk - I noticed that thier late crossings for bikes can be had for just £9!
____________________
I spend all my money on bikes and beer, the rest I simply waste!

[instigator]

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Just thinking about the places you may be stopping at during the way down. Reims centre looked fairly nice as I rode through, but the F1 and cheap motels there are way out on the outskirts where it's completely dead, if you go there either ride in or get a taxi to the centre.

Troyes is pretty quiet, apparently known for cheap designer gear, but was dead in the evening.

Lyon is meant to be quite good, well known for its meat, Dijon as well although it is a uni city so going to be a little quieter in the summer.

From a brief ride through Grenoble it looked worth a stop if you had the time, although at the time I was having to concentrate on beating a lunatic-driven 205 through the traffic light systems. It seemed to have a different style than usual, they've held the Winter Olympics there before now so can't be a shit hole, hopefully.

Coming through the Alps, Gap has a nice square in the centre, F1 there as well and a few bars. Zanzibar is the place to be on Friday/Saturdays. Little quieter during the week. They do seem to have decent music shows fairly regularly in the park.

Digne-les-bains further South is a more touristy town, loads of restaurants etc and a bit more visually appealing than Gap, less of a 'real' town though.

[mistergixer]

[Keen]