French trip in September.....

[Dan Gleebitz]

....What to have handy in the event of a run-in with the Gendarmerie?
The motoring organisations are a bit vague as to what to carry on the bike in the event of an emergency stop on the roadside. Do I need a triangle, Hi-viz vest, spare specs etc? Any tips would be helpful.
I'm ferrying from Plymouth to Santander, taking in Andorra before stopping off in the Millau region before heading up through France visiting anywhere that sounds or looks interesting. A three week trip ending at the Eurostar terminal. So in theory, as soon as we drive off the ferry in Spain we'll be on our way home.
Did anyone who has used the Plymouth- Santander ferry have any problems with the tying down of their bike? I have a GL 1800 (plastic barge) and the thought of it toppling during the voyage just doesn't bear thinking about. I've used ferries previously and never had a problem though.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

I was thinking how you were intending be carrying emergency triangles (cars need 2 for Spain iirc), until I got to the GL1800 bit

It may be handy to store a small pit-bike in a pannier for emergency use when fuel is low.

Seriously, you want to take spare bulbs, possibly some insulation tape on headlight if they dip sideways a lot. (bike headlights don't tend to be as bad as car ones for this, so a lot of bikers don't bother).

Vest/specs/triangle not necessary on bikes iirc. There may be something about carrying a first aid kit though, look into that. A few plasters would probably suffice legally but it's not a bad idea to have one. Saying that you'll never be far away from a pharmacy in France!

For when you leave Santander, San Sebastien is a nice place to stop over, lots of good tapas bars.

GB sticker, legally you need it but Police don't seem to care. If you pop into Switzerland you'll probably need to buy road-tax. Even if you're only there for a few hours the police tend to guard the tourist choke points.