first time eurotour - your input please!

[yamboy]

Hi folks

The girlfriend and i have started to arrange a little mini europe tour in august, both of us on my SV650.
since this is the first time either of us has done this, we thought we would consult the oracle - ie you guys!

we have this in mind - day 1 - eurotunnel to calais, then up to amsterdam.
day 2, amsterday to brussels,
day 3 brussels to paris,
day 4 paris back to calais. - our ferry is only returning on day 5, so have a day to spare

- so have i planned too much, too far, to little etc etc? also, do you guys have any suggestions on routes etc?

your help would be greatly appreciated!
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[Itchy]

Seems ok , except that the weather in northern France and the coastal route is often crap, middle of July I went to France, last year and the weather was awful anywhere North of Paris.

Also day 1 is 300km on the motorway don't over estimate distances you can do.
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[v4forlife]

300km in a day, overestimate?!? hell, i did 300 miles in 4 hours popping home from my cap one night. that aint nothin.

looks fine, just remember to pack everything.
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[Itchy]

True I did 1000km in one day (if you include accidentally going two junctions up the M11 ha) , if you include the cornish misadventure I did near 1500 MILES in one day.

BUT its tiring and he has a pillion,

Sure you can autoroute it all the way and do it in 4-5 hours easy , but its touring and thus such runs defeat the point of touring in the first place!.

Therefore you might go try 300km on backroads which are more interesting but take much more time,
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[McJamweasel]

That doesn't really give you much time in and of the places that you intend to visit, you will see the motorways, your hotel and a restaurant and thats about it. It would probably be worth dropping at least one of those cities, probably better to concentrate on just one so that you can spend a decent length of time there. Also don't forget that you have to get to/from the tunnel (not a problem if you live in the south east, but a real pain in the arse if you live in Carlisle).
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[barnhatter]

I aim for a max of 250 miles a day. Avoid motorways as they are tedious. Look for interesting roads on a map and plan your trip round them. I try to avoid cities as they are oftain congested and you can get lost wasting time and energy. I went round florence for an hour last year lookingfor the right road out, all in 85+ degrees.
I like to aim for an early start travel for 4 hours stop for lunch then 3 hours after, this is usually 2-300 miles, with stops for fuel/photos etc.
I oftain try too much and end up travelling too many miles/hours especially in the alps where a pass can add an hour onto the journey.

[barnhatter]

The best advice that I ever got is :-

Just go ahead and do it.

You will never know what you are missing until you try it.
Touring on a motorcycle is the ultimate in freedom, you do what you want,go where you want and please yourself. If it gets too much or too hard change your plans, its not difficult.

[phk6]

as for distance myself and dav1 have done a 500 mile ride in an 18 hour day, i was fooked the next day.

although our mate did crash and we was with him over an hour maybe two, and we stopped for tea for over an hour, and a few other places to we probly dint ride for a good 5 hours of the trip lol.

take it easy and go where u please would be my advice

p.s. it was all a and b road work as well, probly made it worse for tiredness
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/Phil

[Fawbish]

There'll be no advice from you philip, who backed out of out euro trip...*stare*
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[Toukakoukan]

Personally I'd get to Calais the same day as a ferry, it is a COMPLETE shit-hole, comparable to slough, bradford or hull :p

[Fawbish]

Oi, watch your mouth about 'ull.....tis pretty shit though
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"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[awj72]

Hi mate, sorry to hijack your thread, but it's got exactly the title I need Am giving some thoght to a bit of a biggie as my first trip. Newcastle-Salou. Family are goin to be on holiday and i realy fancy joining them for a few days. Same questions apply, routes to add to my quest, stops, stories, advice.
Cheers guys.


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[natv4]