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Late May Tour - where to go ...

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TCFA
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PostPosted: 17:52 - 07 May 2018    Post subject: Late May Tour - where to go ... Reply with quote

Time has come for annual tour. I'm asking the nice Gods That Be in the office for time off between 24 May and 4th June. (I'm in South London so if I need to get a ferry from Dover I might do that on Wednesday night).

In last minute style I haven't decided where to go and would love some input from BCF.

Options:

1) Wales and Ireland. This was the original plan, and some of you have already given me some good tips on this. I'd probably do the Southern parts of Ireland, coming at from Holyhead and back out from Dublin, then down through Snowdonia. I might sling a tent on the back but in reality I'd probably just B&B it. I like the idea of riding/tenting but not sure I've really got it down yet, plus I think I'd get pretty sore/tired for ten days straight.

2) Ardennes/Lux/Belgium/Austria/Switzerland ... ish. No route planned but I was in Bavaria to visit a pal a few weeks ago and it really took my fancy. I've also never made it into the Ardennes and the idea of seeing little places like Luxembourg and Lichtenstein sounds quite fun.

3) Norway - I accept that there will be some increased cost involved and that I'd need to do a bit of tenting probably but I reckon if I got over to Calais on Weds night I could get to the top of Denmark by Friday and ferry across to Norway. then I could spend 5/6 days and get back to blighty in time for reality. I saw a Norway thread where one of you drove a BMW around. Would love to hear more.

4) Bikeshuttle - I saw another thread on here about bikeshuttle and it made me think about that - I could go down to Toulouse and then hop across the Pyrenees and into Spain. I've spent a little bit of time around the Pyrenees (mostly little nadgery bits) but never ridden into Spain.

What are your fave bits? Any tips and tricks for destinations?

Cheers all

PS I hope everyone is enjoying the bank holiday
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ocatoro
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PostPosted: 19:44 - 07 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

2.

purely because that's the one I'd rather do myself.

you've obviously whet your appetite with your recent visit too, so follow your curiosity and go.
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waffles
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PostPosted: 20:09 - 07 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I went up to Norway a couple of years ago; Tunnel then ride through France and into Germany (2 days), overnight ferry from Kiel to Oslo (20 hours) then bam. Done. I rode down through Sweden and took the Oresund Bridge into Denmark from there you could ride back through Germany to get home again. I got chatting to a guy who parked up next to me and he gave me some tips of places to ride to and there are plenty of bike groups who will happily show you around if you need any advice. They were all really friendly.

Pros - stunning scenery, plentiful sites to camp, roads are reasonable, majestic fjords, get out of Oslo and its pretty much empty.

Cons - you've got money, right? You'll need more. I thought '£10 pints' were a joke. It really really isn't! Overnight ferry was expensive and passport control took forever.
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 20:17 - 07 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cheers folks

Waffles was the ferry reasonable / comfortable? I was thinking of Hirtshals to Langesund which is about 4 hrs
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Copycat73
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PostPosted: 21:23 - 07 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

anywhere but wales or Ireland .. spain i would do the Portsmouth Ferry with bike in the Van .. Picos most likely ..
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waffles
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PostPosted: 06:48 - 08 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

TCFA wrote:
Cheers folks

Waffles was the ferry reasonable / comfortable? I was thinking of Hirtshals to Langesund which is about 4 hrs


It was very comfortable, plenty of seating and bars and the cabins were small but clean. I had a double bed in mine! There was also a pool, arcade, cinema and a nightclub so more like a cruise ship rather than a ferry. This was the overnight one so the shorter trip ones have fewer facilities, I did Gedser to Rostock and it was exactly the same as the cross channel ones.
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 07:31 - 08 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Picos look amazing! But very little space on the ferry around those dates and pretty expensive. I guess the bikeshuttle to Toulouse would have been another way of getting there but they don't run until 31st May.
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 07:41 - 08 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Picos look amazing! But very little space on the ferry around those dates and pretty expensive. I guess the bikeshuttle to Toulouse would have been another way of getting there but they don't run until 31st May.
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Powderhead
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PostPosted: 11:11 - 08 May 2018    Post subject: Re: Late May Tour - where to go ... Reply with quote

TCFA wrote:
3) Norway - I accept that there will be some increased cost involved and that I'd need to do a bit of tenting probably but I reckon if I got over to Calais on Weds night I could get to the top of Denmark by Friday and ferry across to Norway. then I could spend 5/6 days and get back to blighty in time for reality.


I wouldn't go any further than Denmark! Copenhagen is beautiful, there are loads of bikers there, the road surfaces are amazing, and the roads around Greater Copenhagen are really pretty.
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A100man
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PostPosted: 22:37 - 08 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Copycat73 wrote:
anywhere but wales or Ireland .. spain i would do the Portsmouth Ferry with bike in the Van .. Picos most likely ..


Van? What for?
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chickenstrip
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PostPosted: 12:30 - 09 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:
Copycat73 wrote:
anywhere but wales or Ireland .. spain i would do the Portsmouth Ferry with bike in the Van .. Picos most likely ..


Van? What for?


Quite. A van is all well and good for getting the boring stretches to your destination done, but you've still got to drive it, and if you hit heavy traffic at any point, it'll take longer, and be at least as stressful. I don't see the advantage. I can hack a day crossing Belgium to get to the good stuff, and a day to get from home to ferry/Chunnel. Boring for a pillion perhaps, but on the way out, I'm looking forward to getting to the destination, so it doesn't seem such a chore as a solo rider. Coming back, I have a tendency to hammer it Laughing
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Copycat73
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PostPosted: 12:41 - 09 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:

Van? What for?


driving there : wit the bike in the back : square your tires off if you want on the motorways but i use the van .. she wont get on the back these days so its the only compromise available ..
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chickenstrip
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PostPosted: 13:49 - 09 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Copycat73 wrote:
A100man wrote:

Van? What for?


driving there : wit the bike in the back : square your tires off if you want on the motorways but i use the van


Didn't notice any squaring off from the motorway stretches on my tours. You'd have to be covering a couple of thousand miles of motorway on modern tyres to see that I think. I don't do anything like enough for it to have an effect.

Quote:
she wont get on the back these days so its the only compromise available ..


That bit I understand, fair enough. I still prefer touring alone though Smile
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Copycat73
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PostPosted: 17:40 - 09 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

chickenstrip wrote:

Didn't notice any squaring off from the motorway stretches on my tours. You'd have to be covering a couple of thousand miles of motorway on modern tyres to see that I think. I don't do anything like enough for it to have an effect.
Smile


Venice .. well Punta Sabbioni because that where the water bus goes from & any bike would be left all day and we would have been in bike gear @ 40 ℃ ... i would have taken the ZZR14 .. 2 up + luggage @ autobahn speeds .. cramped .. uncomfortable and there would be no fcukin back tire left .. and the cb1000 was a lot more fun on the alpine passes / Dolomites
took spares and tools for the bike .. missed two torrential downpours.. only rode when it suited took the van when it didn`t .. like the day we went to Cortina d'Ampezzo ... had lots of clothing available..
there are two ways to do things .. easy or hard .. this is a mixed mode style.. is easy.. but is not touring ..

ps. i never hit any traffic wit the van .. the sat-nav negotiated us round the only problem on the S16 in Austria .. sent us over fern pass and up the Autobahn 7 avoiding it all ...
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 23:56 - 10 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Think I'm slightly piecing it together. Calais to somewhere like Saint-Hubert in Ardennes. Then next day explore ardennes/Lux, head to Nurburg. Down to Baden-Baden the next day. Then B500 and into Austria. Then I guess start heading back, take in the romantic road. Or maybe come back the other way through France.
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Freddyfruitba...
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PostPosted: 16:58 - 14 May 2018    Post subject: Re: Late May Tour - where to go ... Reply with quote

TCFA wrote:
Ardennes

Just back from a few days touring around there and it was utterly fantastic. Brilliant roads - miles and miles of long sweeping curves; no potholes and no cars. Bizarre really!

TCFA wrote:
Norway

You also mentioned BikeShuttle... well, have you heard of EuroBikeTrans? Amongst other places, they will transport your bike to Oslo for you, and you fly over on EasyJet to pick it up and miss out on all those days of riding to get to Norway. Never done it myself but hope to one day - I know someone who used them and said it all worked perfectly.
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 00:14 - 20 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool thanks for the tips!

I've got night 1 booked in the Ardennes, and night 3 booked in Nuremberg. Night 2 will be a campsite along the way. Wetzlar maybe?

My booking dot com account is suggesting that in between those dates I might like to stay in Bruges ... well I suppose it's only a little bit out of my way.
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barrkel
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PostPosted: 01:11 - 20 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

TCFA wrote:
Cool thanks for the tips!

I've got night 1 booked in the Ardennes, and night 3 booked in Nuremberg. Night 2 will be a campsite along the way. Wetzlar maybe?

There's nothing wrong with planning, but I recommend booking accommodation on demand, and not so far in advance. It's easy to change plans as the weather changes, or your mood changes. Feels a lot more free too.
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 08:51 - 20 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah that's a good shout. last time I planned everything down to my routes but then changed those daily just keeping accommodation the same. another time I canned everything that I'd booked on day 1 and then just went day by day. It's good to have first night sorted though.
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TCFA
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PostPosted: 22:40 - 20 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

So I've booked a couple nights in hotels, and the rest of the time I'll camp

Thursday - London to Calais to Saint-Hubert
Friday - TBC but via Luxembourg and Nurburg
Saturday - Nuremberg
Sunday - TBC but via Romantic Road
Monday - TBC but likely in Liechtenstein
Tuesday - Strasbourg via the B500
Wednesday - TBC but possibly in the regional park land near Nancy
Thursday - Epernay or thereabouts
Friday - Dunkirk
Saturday - home
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