I stored a few bits in the cars, but wanted to be self sufficient. Used the cars mostly to keep my boots, leathers and lid in when not using them
Glad you are back safe and well, pics look great as well. i have yet to venture out of the UK on a bike, still waiting for Bat Fastard to arrange a trip over to see his in laws in Spain
Excellent stuff! and proper laughing at the bee-in-helmet incident as both the gf and myself had exactly the same happen to us on our Euro trip the other week, on separate occasions!
was funny. after not during though. Loved it and anyone who has not done a euro tour it's a must. But I would suggest hotels/B&B then camping. not as check but much better at the end of the day
Agree with the sentiment that everyone should do a trip in Europe, even if it's just a day trip across to northern France just to see what it's like. A hop down the coastal road from Calais to Le Touquet will get you hooked but that's nothing compared to the stuff south of Grenoble, then Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany... Brilliant roads, breathtaking scenery, notable absence of traffic, sublime food/beer/wine (except the food in Germany!), superb weather - what's not to like! It makes you realise how bad we've got it in this country for riding, that's for sure. Also second your advice on hotels over camping. Couldn't have done some of the hot days' riding in 36°c without a nice cold shower and comfy bed at the end of it! You can get rooms from €20 or so if you're ok with staying in Formulie 1 motels and Accor have a dozen or so types of hotel to suit your price range. Local B&Bs are also usually of an excellent standard too. What were your experiences with the ferry? Recommend it? Thought about doing it a few times but the journey time was a bit off-putting. It does cut out a lot of mileage though.
I'm a big fan of Euro trips. I've been on 2 Motorcycle Tours Germany - Nurburgring Mosel Rhine motorcycling holidays tours in Germany & will be going back for my 3rd next July. Massive bonus is you're based at 1 hotel, so you can off load your luggage & have a 'local', so you don't need to hunt for the best roads. Food is 'OK', but your there to ride, not explore the culinary delights of Germany. EuroTunnel all day long for me.
the ferry from Santander was great. No probs and a smooth crossing. yet my mate did it a few year before and said it was ruff. lots to go and drink on the ferry. I will be doing it again
Hmm, just checked again and the crossings are 24 hours each way. When I looked a year or so back one of them was a 2-nighter, so that's worth considering now they're only a single night. The other option was motorail but the choice is really limited now as the French one has been stopped and the Dutch one only does Italy now as the French govt want a stupid amount of dosh for using Avignon. If going via northern France then agree with vino - Eurotunnel every time. Got an amazing hotdog van situated right at the last set of barriers before boarding too!
Wanted to ask, did the ferry company provide the strapping and help tying the bike down? also, how was it riding onto the ferry with a sportsbike?
They have all the strapping. easy onto the ferry no issues they are used to it. I had more problems with my kit car due to the 2" clearance. Just parked the bike where they want it. keep it in gear and put steering lock on and no probs at all
Remal, i have booked a week off for the TT next year, However, i'm thinking of sacking it and heading over to Italy. Can you give me some pointers on cost (around about)?? I was thinking that although the TT was ace and i really enjoyed it, i want more bike time, and better weather. plus a week at the TT is going to cost me around £1k, and to be fair, i can't think of anything better than blasting down through the alps etc.... Cheers mate!
right ferry. did Portsmouth to Saint Malo then back to portsmouth via Santander "cost was £263 for the bike. sharing with 2 mates in a 4 birth cabin on the 24 hour return. the 11 hour going over we just used camping mats and used the cinema floor. no one in their tank of fuel. doing over france speed limits I managed 148 miles before the light some on. even at 90+ I managed 50MPG in 6th france was around 20 euros a tank and Andorra 10 euros. we stayed in a 4 star nice hotel the first night. cost me 105 euro's. but was very nice. other hotels cost me between 50-70 Euro's. But these where proper hotels and not formula 1'S which you can get for 20-30 euros a room. Camping was 20 euros first night and 33 the next. this was for 2 cars and a bike large pitch. prob cost me around £1000 for the week. thats ferry, food, fuel and hotels and camping. We could have made it cheaper but nice hotels made the day at the end of a long day. France = expensive, but clean and less third world than middle of Spain. No idea on Italy on the above. Was that what you needed? I also bought via mountain warehouse Outdoor Clothing, Camping Equipment, Ski Wear - Mountain Warehouse a cheap sleeping bag and tent. total cost Around £30 for both. I left them in Spain on the last day Hoping to do Alps and Switzerland in a year or 2 int he summer now. Just got to convince the wife
Great, thanks mate! I don't want to camp, hotel or hostel for me. I've done France 10 times now, and Spain (in the car) all over Normandy and Brittany, but want to go further afield on the bike. Yes, France is very expensive, especially in there North, and the food is shit, unless you like gambon et frites lol! (or omelettes) Wine is cheap though...laaaaverly! Hmmm...i'm going to cost up the Euro tunnel for the bike, but it looks a goer for me... i'll get in touch with the lads if they fancy it too instead of the IOM.
wine was around 30 euros in most of the places in france I stayed. So not that check. Biarritz was 7 euros a pint!!!! Main reason I don't do the chunnel is its 200 miles away from me and if i'm going south no good for me. doing the Alps then thats the right direction
Stop guys .. Your making me want to load up the bike , Tell work i got the dreaded Man Flu and p**s off for a few days
Bikes need to be driven not taking in a van. unless you were going 2000 miles before you even got to the place you want to tour
