Dodger's European Tour June 2008

[dodger]

This is going to be a rather long and rambling post as a personal record of my first trip abroad on my bike so I apologise in advance if it becomes boring but I hope it is of interest/ help to some…

I decided to take this trip in between finishing my final year of uni and waiting for my results, which gave me most of June free to go around Europe. Preparation for the trip was minimal, checked the usual chain tyres sprockets etc but bought a sat-nav [which I purposely didn’t wire in so I couldn’t become dependent on it] and used Slime in my tyres rather than get a proper puncture repair kit. I vowed to myself not to use the motorway at all

Day 1 – Liverpool – Le Havre
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Set off on my trip just after 4am [living up North makes crossing the channel a pain!] at which point it started to piss down. Had a quick breakfast before hitting the M25 then attempted some intense filtering chasing down a SRAD.

Met two guys on the Eurotunnel [£23 return! As the Bilbao and Santander ferries were fully booked], one was on a Versys who was travelling to Belgium, the other bloke was Italian on a Duke Monster who gave me some good roads south of Rome. Wished each other a safe journey before setting off on the right hand side for the first time. It wasn’t as bad as I expected and was very easy getting used to driving on the right. Tried my sat-nav out for the first time which led me to the D and the N roads which were perfect to begin on, very fast, very smooth, empty with lots or roundabouts to practice. Stopped in Dieppe for a late lunch and met two guys on a Harley and Goldwing who were on their way back from Spain. Had a quick look around Dieppe [still in the rain!] before heading to Le Havre for the ubiquitous F1 Hotel. The Le Havre F1 costs 35 euro and for similar price much better accommodation can be found, this was my first and last stay in one.

In retrospect it was too long a day. The furthest I had previously ridden was to Birmingham and back and probably should have stopped somewhere close to Calais.

Didn’t take any pictures today due to the shocking weather!



Day 2 – Le Havre - Saint Lo
Early start again as my intention was to visit the Normandy beaches. Was cloudy when I set off then the heaviest storm I have ever ridden in. My Alpinestars boots never let water in and after a few minutes my feet were soaked.

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Quite miserable due to the weather so stopped in Neams for brunch then headed down the D52 for the coast and rode all the way to Grand-Champ Macy. I wanted to see the U.S war cemetery and was shocked by the size of it.
https://lh6.ggpht.com/Graeme.Gibbs/SFkvQ3jpxNI/AAAAAAAAAFI/Z2GduadZ__c/uscemetary.jpg?imgmax=640

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It really helps to put the war into perspective and although it was an enjoyable experience [being a history buff] it was also quite sombre. The rain finally started to ease and I had lunch in Grand-Champ Macy in a nice seaside café [moules et frites my new favourite lunchtime snack!]

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I intended to head for Le Mans but wanted a shorter day so opted for Saint Lo and found a pleasant B&B for 25 euro who allowed me to use their garage [which is a bonus as I almost paid 85euro a few minutes earlier]. Decided at that point to repack all my luggage as previous system was too cumbersome. Anyone interested in history it is well worth the visit and you could literally spend days looking around all the museums and exhibits in the area

Day 3 – Saint Lo - Jard-sur-Mer

Woke up to my first morning of glorious sunshine, so packed away my waterproofs and was eager to get going. Took the D999 south and was surprised at how good it was with definite knee down potential. Got around 35km checked my mirrors and something didn’t look right so I pulled over to find this

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A few chords of my cargo net had snapped and my tent had rolled onto my exhausts. I was surprisingly calm considering this was my first ever time camping and had planned to camp somewhere that night. So discarding my smouldering remains at the side of the road pressed on. After leaving the D999 the roads became quite boring so decided I really needed to sort my accommodation for later so raced to Remmes for a shopping centre. Had no luck so raced again to Jard [130 miles in just over an hour- no motorways either!]. I tried to rent a tent for a night but the site wouldn’t allow me to take one of the tour operators ones. Went to the Tourist Information office who pointed me to the next town to an Intersport who supposedly had tents. On the ride there I became seriously depressed with the whole situation. However, it turned out Intersport had tent and with the lack of a spare cargo net decided to get a backpack [which I didn’t really want to carry on this trip] and took both to the till. I placed the tent in the backpack as my hands were full with my lid etc. and the cashier at the till on scanned the bag. The bag was half price so I got a 150euro and a backpack for the princely sum of 15euro. Now I know this wasn’t morally right but after my bad luck earlier in the day I felt it was karma balancing out and I hurriedly scuttled out of the shop.

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Day 4 – Jard-sur-Mer - Pau

Absolutely nothing to report road wise today apart from the fact that they are shocking. Most of the roads around Jard are Passé Barre which leads to you getting hopelessly lost [even with sat-nav] going in ever-increasing squares attempting to get around the roadblocks. After eventually escaping the road-works and getting onto the D roads proved no better- with 30km/h speed limits, cars sticking religiously to them and lots and lots and lots of turning village roads! After persevering for around 120 miles and over 3 hours and vowing not to use the motorways my will eventually gave in and I headed to Pau via the motorway as I was aiming for the Pyrenees and Andorra tomorrow and had to get a quite expensive hotel as for some inexplicable reason all the hotels except one were full and I couldn’t be bothered driving to a camp site. Was going to get a few pictures of the surrounding hills but as ever the weather closed in so you will have to make do with a picture of the castle

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Day 5 – Pau – Andorra

After spending the remainder of the night in possibly the only Irish bar in the world not to have an Irish person working there or to serve Guinness [heracy!] I woke up later than expected in my swank hotel. I was meeting with friends in Barcelona on the weekend so decided to head in the general vicinity. Took the C35 out of Pau and headed into the Pyrenees

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It became noticeably colder and the road was great. Lots of twists and hairpins but not the greatest of surfaces. Crossed the boarder into Spain before hitting a few miles long backlog and filtered to the front to find this:

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It was a team time trial of a Spanish race with lots of people gathered to watch it, after being allowed to carry on reached the summit at 2300m and got talking to two guys on a GS and a Goldwing. The descent however was completely different and conditions were awful! A new route up the mountain is being constructed and the whole descent is literally covered in very fine, loose gravel the whole way. Grip was bad enough but navigating hairpins on a fully laden bike was not fun. Looking up I saw a big cloud of dust and think the chap on the Goldwing dropped it but he was with his friend and I was too far along to help. The descent spoiled the road as it is just too dangerous and I nearly lost it a few times.

Finally the surface retuned and I hit the N260. All I can say is what a road!

https://lh4.ggpht.com/Graeme.Gibbs/SFkvD0ZjShI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/3lKyE3Sm6X8/n260.jpg?imgmax=640

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It is literally knee down corner after knee down corner. It was by far the best road I have ever ridden on and it was so much fun I only stopped once to have a drink and take a quick picture. It really is a stunning route and made my trudge down the west coast of France the day before worth it. Headed to Andorra to make camp and two Spanish students also came to make camp who shared their case of San Miguel with me and I had a very broken conversation with, thanks guys!

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Day 6 – Andorra - Barcelona
After being pleasantly surprised by Andorra and its nightlife and the ridiculous amount of [tax free!] bike shops I headed to Barcelona to meet up with my friends. Hit the C26 and it was another amazing road [albeit quite short] that cut through the mountain rather than over it like the N260. It was quite scary at times with sheer mountain wall being inches from your head but breathtaking scenery. Felt really tired after the C26 but that may have been after muscling the bike around the N260 the day before or 6 days of riding catching up with me?

Passed loads and loads of bikes heading for the MotoGP. Hit the city and even with sat-nav impossible to navigate. Everyone drives really quickly and you need to be confident or just get swallowed up by the traffic. Met up with friends in Le Ramble, had a pint and got hopelessly lost trying to find their apartment. After finally finding it I was treated to a local tapas bar. It was quite an experience with gorgeous food and beer but quite an intimidating experience without a local- it most definitely was not a place for tourists but a very good experience none the less. The pace of eating, service and drinking is relentless!

Day 7 – Barcelona
Rest day. Watched the MotoGP in a bar and done the usual touristy stuff with lots and lots of pictures

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Day 8 – Barcelona – Montpellier
Quite a strange day today. After a rather late night with my friends I headed out of Barcelona. After fighting my way through the crazy traffic I noticed a lot of police en route to the motorway but as I wasn’t aiming for it paid no attention. Found a glorious road the GL555 which cuts through a wood and is seriously entertaining

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Hit the main roads again and police were stopping anyone trying to get out of their vehicles [fuel protests] Noticed that at every lay-by there were usually black women sitting in chairs and it took me an embarrassingly long time to work out what they were! Nothing of further interest until the boarder in which the police made everyone there cross in small convoys and warned everyone not to stop or else! I assume the protestors had attempted to close the boarder for a time? And there was lots of road graffiti on the D900 protesting at the high taxes. Stopped for a quick lunch in Perpignan and aimed for Beziers to stay for the night. When I got there something didn’t feel right about the place and I didn’t feel comfortable staying there. Checking my map Montpellier was the nearest big city so stayed for the night and watched the France vs. Romania match

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Day 9 – Montpellier – Nice
After setting off quite early I managed to get slightly lost west of Marseilles. So turning my sat-nav on it took me down a tiny country lane before hitting the D907, which took me upwards towards Gap.

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If it hadn’t of been for the N260, which I had ridden a few days earlier it would have been the best road I had been on. However, this then led onto the N85 for around 50 miles, which seems to be a BCF favourite and for good reason. I was heading for Italy so headed for Nice and took the D6, which is by far the most technical road I have ridden, and I was shattered by the end of it. Individually I don’t think the roads were as good as the N260, but combined they give it a run for its money. A truly memorable biking day! Spent the remainder of the day chilling out on the beach, eating lots of moules et frites and watching some crazy rollerbladers followed by the Sweden vs. Greece match

https://lh6.ggpht.com/Graeme.Gibbs/SFkuv9XdYeI/AAAAAAAAADM/fyKjb1tXIBE/blader.jpg?imgmax=576

Day 10 – Nice – Livorno
After waking up I was seriously contemplating staying in Nice but decided to press on. Rode the 10 miles or so into Monaco and done a few laps of the Formula 1 circuit before getting entirely too hot and tired of the traffic and headed east…

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Nothing of interest road-wise although lots of stunning views and persevered until Livorno. Found a campsite and hit the beach

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Got a call from one of my friends who was in Barcelona with me telling me I got a 2.1 in my uni course! Had a celebratory beer and cheer much to the bemusement of the people on the beach/bar. Had a delicious traditional calzone and then walked along the beach to the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen

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Day 11 – Livorno – Lake Iseo
What to say about today!? Decided as I was in Italy to head for the Stelvio Pass- it was too far to do in one day so I decided to head for either Parma or Verona through Modenna/Maranello. Looked on my Michelin map and noticed the SS12 went all the way to Verona so aimed for that. After setting off I really thought I was going to crash, Italians were to me the worst drivers in the countries I went to and there was lots and lots of traffic [I saw 4 massive crashes in 2 days in Italy but none elsewhere]. Saw signs for a mountain pass [SP76} so decided to leave the traffic behind and hit that. Road condition wasn’t great and there were a few signs warning of a poor surface [but even the famous Stelvio isn’t perfect] so thought nothing of it. Checked sat-nav and noticed that the road eventually linked back up with the SS12. As I got higher and higher the conditions kept getting gradually worse. The road eventually deteriorated to gravel and I thought about turning back but thought I could manage it and pressed on.

https://lh5.ggpht.com/Graeme.Gibbs/SFkvIT1CTSI/AAAAAAAAAEk/fUJoZXx2GHk/offroad1.jpg?imgmax=576


However it kept getting worse and worse and when it became near impossible to ride on it was far too late to turn back. The pictures don’t do it justice as I simply couldn’t stop in the extreme places but this was proper off-road/ 4x4 terrain on my Fazer! Nearing the top I didn’t think it could get worse but worse it indeed became. I was literally driving over huge rocks and all thoughts of speed disappeared. There was one particular section about a mile long at around 10%. It was a tree-lined section and its leaves had fallen and began to decompose to form a foot deep sludge. I kept getting stuck in the mud and remembered Ray Mears suggesting rocking gently back and forth to gain some purchase. Eventually I cleared the muddy section in over an hour to travel a mile! It was at this point that I seriously considered walking down and leaving the bike. I grew ever more concerned for my safety especially being on my own if I dropped the bike the rocks would either hurt me or damage the bike and I had no way to raise the alarm and my euro breakdown would almost certainly not cover me. I was absolutely baking in the heat but had to keep all my gear on due to the danger and the hope that it would protect me to an extent. After nearly dropping more times than I could count I finally reached the summit.

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However, I knew going down would be equally as tough and it was- the rocks were even bigger, thankfully there was no more mud. As the proper road finally came into view a little stone bridge had to be crossed but due to the road collapsing I bottomed my bike out on its edge and heard the downpipes crunch against the stone. Stopped to check for damage and thankfully there was none after surviving the pass. I was thoroughly shattered and stripped off, lay on the road and poured water all over me and contemplated blasting home. Thankfully the road I hit was the SS12 and what a road! As good as the N260 and little crests to get manageable airtime. After the hell of the last few hours this was nirvana- although a gridlocked M25 would have been welcomed at that point. To get to Modena just under 100 miles away took nearly 6 hours, the mountain pass taking the majority of the time. Headed for Parma and the only available hotel was the Astoria for 180 Euros. Entered Stelvio on sat-nav and aimed for nearest campsite n route. Ended up with this:

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Looking back it all added to the adventure but it was seriously stupid. In 6 hours I didn’t see 1 other person and if I hurt myself I had no way of getting help. With little off-road experience and inappropriate bike it was not in the least bit fun. If anyone ever finds themselves in the vicinity I urge you not to go the route I went!

Day 12 – Lake Iseo – Lake Como [via Stelvio Pass]
After my somewhat hellish day I ended up much closer to the Stelvio Pass than I had intended to, around 80 miles away. Hit the SP??

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That had recently been used as a Giro d’italia stage as the roads were absolutely covered in graffiti and was pleasingly technical, then…

https://lh5.ggpht.com/Graeme.Gibbs/SFkvMDDTEiI/AAAAAAAAAE0/PoPzFkEgH0o/stelviotop.jpg?imgmax=640

Only 1 word to describe it… overrated! I had recently ridden much better roads, the N260, SS12, D6 and N85. It has great views but is too cold [people were still skiing in the resort at the top of the pass!] and tight and the other roads are also impressive. Went over to the far side of the pass before I realised I wanted to go to Lake Como so turned around and done it again as I didn’t want to enter Switzerland.

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On the way down I locked the rear wheel up for a good 50 metres and assumed I had hit a patch of ice so thought nothing more of it. [Note in Italy everything shuts from 12:30 till around 3:30 so I rode for ages to find an open bar to get something to eat]. Found a campsite for the night and setup camp nice and early [for a change!]

[img]
With the extra time I decided to check my bike over, as maintenance had been somewhat non-existent. I was checking the tyre pressures when I noticed this

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There had been plenty of tread left when I had started the trip but obviously blasting around the Continent eats tyres far quicker than commuting. After a painless search for a bike tyre fitter I was booked in for the follow morning. Total cost was 155euro including fitting which wasn’t bad considering my circumstances for a new BT021.

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I had planned on going the Assen TT and meeting up with some more friends but new tyre had used up my ‘luxury’ budget and meant that I wouldn’t be going ☹

Day 13 – Lake Como – Milan
I had planned on spending the weekend in Como but after a crap night with everything shutting at 8;30 and nothing else to do decided to got to Milan. I was really disappointed, as since leaving Barcelona I had been looking forward to it. Drove the 40-odd miles to Milan and had an early lunch. Was enjoying a beer by the Cathedral

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When an old friend from school walked past. After spending the afternoon together I found a hotel and hurriedly left to have dinner with her. After an enjoyable night I headed back to my hotel but after walking around for an hour I finally decided I was lost and such was my rush to go out for dinner I couldn’t remember the name of my hotel! After much deliberation with a passing taxi driver I somehow managed to point him in the right direction back to my hotel in my slightly drunken state.

Day 14 – Milan – Gap [Savines le Lac]
My friend was leaving Milan today so I saw no point in hanging around so headed back into France. Aimed for Gap as I knew it was close to the mountain passes. Took the SS24, which was a perfectly good road but in comparison to previous was pretty average [it’s going to be hard adjusting to UK roads again!] as it’s amazing how quickly you become accustomed to great roads. Road past a glorious lake

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Before coming to Gap only to find everything was shut [being Sunday] so went back to the lake to camp. After pitching my tent went to the snack bar only to be told that that there was no food only drinks. So had 2 Desperado’s before deciding to go to a supermarket to get supplies. Checked sat-nav and nearest one was 7.9 miles away so decided to go on the bike. Nearly arrived when the opposing traffic starts flashing like mad at me [really helpful on the Continent informing you of upcoming hazards etc] before the next thing I’m ushered to stop by a Guardermere. I start bricking myself as 3.9 units of alcohol on an empty stomach and riding is quite a lot and something I would never do in the U.K plus I didn’t know what the limit was on French roads so I kept my lid firmly in place and did my best ‘Yes sir, no sir’ routine. Initially I thought I only had my driving licence with me in my wallet [with everything else back in the campsite] and 1 of the Guardemere’s started getting really arsey before I remembered that I had my original documents in the bottom of my tailpack. Finally allowed to drive off after a detailed inspection of my bike and documents [no mention of lack of G.B sticker or headlight deflectors] to find that even the supermarkets were shut!

Day 15 – Gap – Liverpool!
After being thoroughly pissed off at everything and I mean everything being shut [what happened to my peaceful weekend in Como!?] I gave my very rough itinerary a looking at. I had padded out the following week to allow me to visit the Nurburgring and the Assen MotoGp but with my tyre needing replacing the GP was out of the question. Took the N85 to Grenoble and found a net café to see when the N’Ring was open only to find that there were no tourist days until the following weekend. I didn’t want to wait around for 6 days just to go to the ring so decided to head for home. Put Paris in my sat-nav and aimed to stop somewhere along the way so I could get to Calais the next day. After leaving Grenoble an almighty storm broke out and I got thoroughly drenched. Stopped for lunch and to get some money out only to find my card wouldn’t let me [using petrol stations puts a 99euro hold on your card!]. Had to phone my mum to put £100 into my account, as the card also wouldn’t work in a hotel I tried. After getting some money I went on mission and aimed for Calais after driving through Paris. After leaving Paris the sun finally came out for the last few hours of driving on the Continent and I blasted my way to the Eurotunnel.

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Ended up in Folkestone about 11pm and took the m motorway all the way back to Liverpool resulting in me riding over 900 miles in 1 day! Found myself getting very tired near to home and stopped often in the service stations just to have a little rest and refresh to make sure I didn’t fall asleep on my bike.

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Thoughts
Absolutely loved my trip. It was something different to what I had done before and being on my own didn't bother me at all [I spoke to people every day either out and about or sitting in a bar]. I think my riding has improved far beyond what any course could teach me. Riding on the Continent is an absolute joy, there are just so many great roads and cagers give you respect and move out of your way. The best road I encountered was probably the N260, I could literally ride it every day although the SS12 holds a place in my heart as it was the first road I hit after crossing the mountain. Altogether I rode 4261 miles in 15 days and I am definately considering doing it again next year but including the N'ring next time.

Thanks for reading...

[Quickly typed this out so will check for errors later ]
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My Bikes: Piaggio NRG| Aprilia RS 125| Suzuki GSX-R 600|Yamaha Fazer Ducati 848
Europe 2008

[Itchy]

very good! , makes me look forward to my soon to come up trip,

BUT motorways ARE worth it , I thought the same last time (I had to go on the motorway last time around Oneyeux as I was severely lost no GPS for me) , just to blast out of Northern France which isn't v good.
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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.

[Flip]

https://lh6.ggpht.com/Graeme.Gibbs/SFkvLUGH5rI/AAAAAAAAAEw/w4Mii6HSRLw/race.jpg?imgmax=576

That pic made me chuckle.

[Shay HTFC]

Excellent write up!

And with that mountain pass... I bet at the time you thought it was the worst thing, but now its over, what a thing to talk about, ey! It's always the things that seems the worst, or the most stupid at the time that end up being some of the 'highlights' and most interesting parts.

I've heard the same about Stelvio too - It looks the part, but when it comes down to the actual ride, it's not all that compared to some other great roads.
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Full Motorbike License - GS500E '95

[dodger]

[Kris]

Great write-up!

I toured France/Italy last year and can definately recommend using the motorways at the start to leap-frog Northern France. On the return leg we usually do Dijon-home in one leg.

I can definately sympathise with the Italian roads and drivers! Was weird being tailgated and urged to speed by a police car around the Bologna ring-road.


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NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[ram_doom]

Absolutely great little tale, I'll do Spain and Andorra someday... the tent drama would have utterly bummed me out though!
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TL1000s, KDX200

[DidierD]

Pretty cool read. Seemed like you were about to commit suicide a few times but glad you pulled through and enjoyed it!

Now get planning your next trip
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Bike - '98 Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat Pics

31st March 2008 - Fully converted from four wheels to 2 sets of two wheels

[Mjolnir]

Absolutely brilliant post. I had autoroute open and was tracking your route around. You certainly covered a lot of distance and the roads look great (even the mountain pass... but perhaps with a different bike )

I'm hoping to ride around scotland in my next holiday but nothing on your sort of scale just yet anyway although i'd love to try it. Did you just plan each day as you woke up and what would you say you spent in total?

Thanks for posting it. I really enjoyed reading it. Inspiring stuff!

[dodger]

[kitty kat]

Brilliant write-up

I am considering a European tour next year on my own, which is why I read this in the first place. You have definitely got me thinking.

Glad you got home ok and it sounds like you had an incredible time.

Thanks for posting your experiences.
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Enjoy everyday, tell those you love everyday you love them
Life is too short to fall out with people

[king kong]

Oh bollocks you've made me want to get and go now! Great write up. End of may I did 4 days doing the Normandy beaches, we camped in Arromanche 3.5 euros a night!
Like you I found the visit to Colleville and the US cemetry and moving experience. Also Omaha beach was worth a visit.



If I'm not mistaken you also visited Point du Hoc, judging by the photo of the gun enplacement.

[Mjolnir]

[dodger]

[Faldo]

Excellent write up. After my trip I think I'm going to make this a yearly thing for the forseeable future!

You managed to get better pics than me too!

If you're still up for it next year I'd consider going tp the Ring if ya want someone tagging along. I'd also love to go to the Italian MotoGP. The atmos at the Catalunya was awesome, and I'd imagine it'll be the same at the Italian one.

Out of interest what tyres did you use? And were they brand new before you went?

I'm normally quite hard on tyres, and I get through a BT014 in the UK in about 2k miles, but the Pirellis I used on my trip have done at least 3500 miles now and still have loads left in them.
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[fortknoq]

Excellente!!!
I cannot wait to start biking. Another brilliant write-up. Thoroughly enjoyed reading that

It seems many people go by themselves. Quite surprised by that. But I guess that's the sort of freedom you feel and get on a bike

[bob a]

Excellent, i was over a couple of weeks before you and Stelvio was closed, can see why now. Hard to understand though when you are on dry warm roads at the bottom.

[dodger]

[king kong]

[Stiffler]

Nice trip, I really want to do a Europe trip like this.

It sounds like we were both in Bormio around the same time... Although I did Stelvio on this:

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/img_0488.jpg
Taken from opposite side as your photo
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Current Bikes - Kawasaki ZX-6R (636) | BMW G650GS

[N.C]

Amazing write up

i enjoyed reading that

cannot wait till i have a good enough bike to tour

i might do a similair route..you have persuaded me!

Regards and Respect
nick.

[chemo]

Nice write up! I finished something similar a week and a bit ago - kinda blogged it as I went round which you can read if you like here:

https://eurobiketour08.blogspot.com

Not sure if I'd do such a long trip solo again but I didn't find going solo too bad apart from in the evening occasionally, but often got chatting to randoms and of course the footy was on in the evenings too which was handy!

[PeterNSR]

wish i had the guts to do something like that.great write up
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Current: Honda NSR 125

My bike

[Benj]

this looked like an incredible trip!



something i would love to do in years to come.....


...or maybe next yr!
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