My France trip - long (Rufus T Firefly)

Here I am back from another great France trip. Bikes: zx9r, ZZR1100,
XJR1300, Sv1000S, GSXR750, CBR600.

Short version: I went to France - it was great.

Long Version:

Sunday: Home to Portsmouth.
6 of us were booked on the overnight Ferry from Portsmouth to Caen so
I met up with the 4 midlands guys at the Air Balloon on Birdlip Hill
and we got on with the dull slog down to Portsmouth. We met our London
guy at the Ship and Castle for a drink and some pub grub then got
ready to board the ferry at 22.30. Set clocks forward one hour. Got on
board and sorted the bikes strapping down and luggage off and into the
cabin. Then to the bar for a beer to help with sleep. I was sharing
with Phill who I had not seen for a few months so we chatted away and
it was 3.30 by the time we got to sleep.

Monday: Caen to Angouleme.
Awoken by opera at 6.10, showered got the gear together and went for a
bite to eat. Disembarked at 7.15 and set off out of Caen. We lost
Steve within 5 minutes after an enthusiastic peel off by Neil who was
leading. We stopped and texted Steve to meet us in Livarot which was
the next ville on our route. Waited in a cafe in Livarot, drinking
small but strong coffee. The French folk in the bar were starting
their day with a beer or a shot of something or other. Steve arrived
only 30 mins after us which was good considering he had no tank bag
and his map was in his rucksack bungeed to the seat. After another
coffee we set off. Lunch in Amboise by the river when it started to
rain. It came to nothing but as we left Amboise on the way to Loches
we were chasing a huge dark sky with really impressive fork lightning.
We got a bit wet when the skies opened but didnt bother stopping for
waterproofs or clear visors. It only lasted a few minutes and by
Loches the roads were bone dry. That was the only rain we were to see
on the trip until Friday night in Honfleur. Later on we saw 38 degrees
on the Chemist signs. As it was getting late we went via Poitiers and
the boring N10 down to Angouleme. We found the hotel just as the
Madame on reception was unlocking the garage for a French BMW GS
adventure so we followed in and parked up. Melting in the car park and
reception we got our keys and got showered and changed to go up to
Angouleme centre for dinner. Nice meal again. The AC was not up to
much in the room so slept with the window wide open but it was still
hot.

Tuesday: Angouleme to Montpelier via Millau.
The street cleaners and bin emptiers started at 5 so I woke up
sweating and could not get back to sleep. Typical Etap continental
breakfast was had and we headed out.
Through Brantome and Perigeux then the highlight of the day was to be
the Race Track Road,
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&h...=44.97179,1.039145&spn=0.184835,0.436707&z=12
D45 and D47 to Les Eyzies de Tayac Sireuil and Sarlat la Caneda. I
mentioned this last time I went and it was as good as before,
fantastic road surface, sweeping corners with great visibility. Lunch
in Sarlat was good as usual. Via Figeac, near Rodez and then off to
Millau where we stopped for fuel and headed down the E11 autoroute to
Montpelier. There were some wonderful corners and tunnels on the route
so it was not all bad, KSBs in every tunnell and messing about tucking
in and overtaking each other passed the time till we got into
Montpelier. It was very hot so we filtered a bit and there were more
tunnels in town. We were directed to the underground parking but we
got lost walking out with all our gear, sweating profusely. Took about
an hour to find the hotel so it was about 22.30 when we were ready to
eat. Ate a good meal in the hotel with lots of fluids. AC was again
rubbish so the window was wide open but made no real difference.

Wednesday: Montpelier to Millau and back.
Had a bit of a lie in until 9 then breakfast and headed out by 10 to
Millau with some great roads and scenery via Ganges and Le Vigan.Lots
of switchbacks and a tunnel at the top. Lost Phill, Steve and Giles
when they went off ahead while Neil, Greg and I were admiring the
scenery. Headed into Millau and found a bar and ordered food and
fluids. Texted the guys where we were and ate lunch. They arrived 1
hour later with tales of single track mountain roads and gravel
tracks. After a long lunch we went up to one of the visitor centres
under the Millau viaduct and took some photos. Then we headed back
down the E11 to Montpelier enjoying the tunnels and sweepers. Out in
Montpelier watching the beautiful people admiring themselves in the
massive square surrounded by wonderfull old buildings. Another hot
night.

Thursday: Montpelier to Limoges.
Awoken by lots of noise at 5 and could not get back to sleep so I got
up just before 6 and had a cold shower. Jumped on the 9R and headed to
Le Grande Motte to see the Med. It was 21 degrees and the sun was
rising, it was wonderful to be standing on the beach at 6.15. Headed
back to the hotel for breakfast and to load up. Back up the E11 to
Millau to go over the viaduct and into the top visitor centre. Greg
stopped before the viaduct to switch on his video camera and get some
on bridge footage we did not notice and pulled into the visitor centre
while he sailed by. I ran up the hill to get some photos along the
viaduct and out over Millau town. We started off on our way to Rodez
where we hoped to meet Greg for lunch. Arrived in Rodez at a massive
church in the centre and texted Greg to meet us. He replied that he
was by the church already but we could not find him. He finally
arrived with us and agreed that this was a big church, he had entered
Rodez via a different route and had not realised there was another
church. Great lunch in the square. Then off to Limoges via Figeac and
Tulle. Another nice meal in Limoges and a walk in the park where some
lovely young people were dancing, slowly and classically. I had the
biggest profiteroles I have ever seen.

Friday: Limoges to Caen via Honfleur.
We were woken a 3.30 by the noisiest delivery driver ever. Phill
leaned out of the window and there was a free and frank discussion
about the merits of making deliveries early in the morning. The driver
may have learned some new swear words but if he had been doing this
job long then I suspect it was not the first time he has heard them.
Breakfast and all of us looked as bad as the others felt. Grrr. Thank
goodness for coffee and croissants. Via Bellac, Montmorillon and by
the time we stopped in Le Blanc everyone was feeling great. It was a
bit cooler then the previous few days but still wonderfully sunny,
some fluid replacement in Le Blanc and we were ready for the off.
Loches and lunch in Amboise, I had enormous, delicious prawns. Yum.
Then we decided to have dinner in Honfleur via La Ferte Bernard and
Lisieux. Great meal in Honfleur and then a bit of rain came down as we
were leaving. Swapped to clear visors and off to Caen via coastal
roads not on the autoroute. A lovely wind down to the ferry but we all
had a little moment on some road markings across the width of the road
that looked just like Shellgrip but were in fact not. On the ferry,
final beer before bed and sailed away.

Saturday: Portsmouth to home.
Awoken by Neil as we had not shut our door last night, off the ferry
said our goodbyes and I got lost straight away. Went straight home.

What a fantastic trip we all had, great fun, can't wait for the next
trip.

__
Rufus T Firefly - zx9r - ex circus stunt bike.

 

Get to the point.

Completely lacking in crocodiles.

 

Yes, it is but I definately saw 2 eagles and plenty of beaver.

 

And naked women.

I did like the write up though.

 

I shall have to try there next time, I will be over in August for a
family holiday.

Hope you enjoy it. Have you done a mini review of this new R1 yet?

Still very strong, we did 1600 miles and the temperature in some of
the towns was nearly 40 degrees. No issues at all. It has over 32K on
its clocks now.

 

Thank you.
No naked women but lots of fine ones, especially in the south. They do
love themselves though.

 

http://www.ventura-bike.co.uk/order_now/more.asp?fitment_id=663

 

Oh yes, superb!

Here is a link to some photos of the trip.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48071&l=56913&id=545154923

 

I'm not sure if you already realise this, but if you're carrying one
Ventura bag and no pillion, you can mount the rack the "wrong way", so
the weight is above the (possibly non-existent) pillion seat rather than
above the tail light.

 

Looks most excellent. Don't think I've done that particular bit,
but...

Aren't there just? The trip we did after Howard's 50th will always
remain my best ever road trip. Fucking superb.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

"The Mens Health cover model search strikes gold!"

 

Me too ;-)

 

It's the same as it left the factory with, just has an aftermarket
undertray fitted in place of the mudguard.

R1 tailpieces are all that flimsy.

 

www.puntern.......

 

Whilst in the Naples area:

Paestum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paestum
Amalfi Coast
Ride up Vesuvius (you'll have to walk the last bit)

If you want cheap but good accommodation then stay here:
http://www.mamicamilla.com/ - they have a cookery school on site and you
can eat a 3 course meal for 15 Euros. Add 5 euros for a litre of local
wine.

It's only a few minutes walk from the Circumvesuviana rail station. Very
handy, and cheap, for trips to Pompeii, Naples & Herculaneum.

When you visit Pompeii etc you will see lots of notices saying "this room
featured an artefact that can be viewed in the Naples museum". The museum
is worth a visit.

 

**** that, of course you will. I probably did more serious off-piste
this season than, err, well, some. Certainly did quite a bit. Still
not fit, but I managed to up my grading to Gold on-piste when I did
the skiclub reps' refresher in April. off-piste was unchanged at
purple/gold, which (I checked) was only because of my lack of fitness.
Next year I'll probably do it again (Jude missed it this year due to a
snapped ACL, and it;s a good laugh) and I really want to get double
Gold.

That's the price, I guess. I made my choice while I was lying in
intensive care, and I'm happy with that choice.

Really? Oh, get over it, you'll just go on to better appreciate the
good things you still get to do.

Ha! ha. ha.ha. Ouch.


--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

I'll ask Ratty about his Ohlins shock, it's not that old.

Forks?..I haven't a clue.

--

 

Agreed

 

Sure you will. Stop making with the negative waves, moriarty!

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Hey, not too bad, how about you? I have moved on and work in
Gloucester now, I did not want to relocate and the morale had hit the
floor with customers and us support folk. It was getting me down. Its
all good now though. I had a tour round your big new building before I
left, wow the views from the top floor were great. Will you be moving
in there?