France by motorcycle , anyone done it?

stumac

stumac

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Thinking of taking the motorbike to France (from belfast). I go to the highlands of Scotland at least 6 times a year on the bike but fancy a change.
I have sorted how im getting there with regards to ferrys etc but no idea about France itsself or where to go.
Im after nice roads and scenery,good food and people and dont mind racking up big miles. I was considering maybe heading towards the Pyrenees but open to all options.
Due to having a wife and 3 kids I cany be away too long so was maybe thinking 6-7 nights.
 
Ive been twice in the last 2 years but both on a Lambretta and both to one place and then doing rideouts to explore, ie world war 2 touring and then the second time round the area of the somme so more ww1 orientated. So a bit different to your plans ie a motorbike will get you a heck of a lot quicker round the country.

Also, first year we took the ferry but second one took the chunnel, that was brilliant, 35minutes vs 8 hours!
 
Channel Tunnel definitely the best way to go. Been to France by car many times, never took the bike but I'd steer clear of motorways unless you want to bored silly. Main roads are good, town/village roads are bumpy. Generally very light traffic unless you choose the weekend Paris empties to go South then it can be murder. Loved all of France for the driving, very bike aware and friendly from what I could observe from the car.
Matt
 
Scenery? Gotta be the Alps surely? Driving to them itself is awesome once you’ve left the route to the sun.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Scenery? Gotta be the Alps surely? Driving to them itself is awesome once you’ve left the route to the sun.
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I was thinking the Alps but also considered the Pyrenees. I've heard they are both very different with the Pyrenees being much more rugged which excited me but no idea how much truth is in that statement
 
Do Brittany Ferries still allow you to do Cork-Roscoff then Santander-Cork (or t'other way round)? If so, you could plan a mountain section with a mile eating one.
 
stumac said:
I was thinking the Alps but also considered the Pyrenees. I've heard they are both very different with the Pyrenees being much more rugged which excited me but no idea how much truth is in that statement
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Having driven in both a lot I’d say the Alps are more “wow”. A couple of times I’ve driven through the Mont Blanc Tunnel from Chamonix, and into Italy. Swung a right in the Aosta Valley, back into France over the Col du Petit San Bernard down towards Seez. Also the routes from the Alps to the Cote d’Azure are great to drive.
 
If your purpose is "biking" and the pleasure you get from riding a bike The Picos in Northern Spain have the best "biking" roads - check out a few vids on Utube ..... lots of UK guys go there
Spring weather is usually good and there are inexpensive places to stay ....... if you want to go "off road" or green lane-ing there are established routes
Traffic is usually light
Take the ferry to Santander and ride back up the western "side" of France .......Northern Spain up to Bordeaux and back to say Caen or Le Havre up the west coast

you are wasting your time on a Bike in the Alps or anywhere else in France - in summer the traffic is just very bad and the rest of the year it's too cold

It's always better to take (long) trips like these in twos or threes + .. i.e never on your own
 
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Thanks everyone . Things to think about :-) I plan to go May
 
Do you want to be doing distance every day or blat down some nice roads and then hit the beach/restaurants etc? If you're happy to ride every day then I'd be inclined to try a big loop, starting from the western side of France and using the routes national (RN) roads, drive down through Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux to Biarritz (that last section is tedious though, all flat/straight). I'd then drive across the Pyrenhees from Biarritz via St Jean Pied de Port & Toulouse before dropping down to the med, possibly as far as Marseilles. From there I'd drive up via Grenoble, Lyon and into the Vosges national parc before heading back for a different ferry or tunnel to the mainland.

Alternatively you might want consider the ferry to Santander like Bill suggested, & ride around northern Spain before heading up.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Do you want to be doing distance every day or blat down some nice roads and then hit the beach/restaurants etc? If you're happy to ride every day then I'd be inclined to try a big loop, starting from the western side of France and using the routes national (RN) roads, drive down through Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux to Biarritz (that last section is tedious though, all flat/straight). I'd then drive across the Pyrenhees from Biarritz via St Jean Pied de Port & Toulouse before dropping down to the med, possibly as far as Marseilles. From there I'd drive up via Grenoble, Lyon and into the Vosges national parc before heading back for a different ferry or tunnel to the mainland.

Alternatively you might want consider the ferry to Santander like Bill suggested, & ride around northern Spain before heading up.
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I wouldn't want to be riding day in day out but don't mind a few big days . Thanks for the route suggestion
 
stumac said:
Thanks everyone . Things to think about :) I plan to go May
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if you go in May you will probably meet other riders in the Picos there for the same reasons

there are also "route maps" available showing the roads other riders have taken and searched out

quite a lot of guys put there Bikes in a Transit - drive down to Santander park the van and ride around each days - riding down the length of France is a bit of a slog, (I have done it quite a few times), and even if you make one stop is still very boring, whereas the Picos are lovely roads which are a joy to ride each day rather than an effort.

As I said have a look on Utube - I'll try to find a recent 5 day trip three guys from my Bike forum did in the Picos, (one on a new Africa Twin) last Spring
 
I know a group of riders that put their bikes in a 20 foot shipping container , sent it down to southern Spain had 2 weeks on the bikes then shipped them home , not sure if they still do it now , lost touch with them now
 
stumac said:
I was thinking the Alps but also considered the Pyrenees. I've heard they are both very different with the Pyrenees being much more rugged which excited me but no idea how much truth is in that statement
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Both the Alps and Pyrenees are well worth exploring. There are some differences but also plenty of similarities, etc. I would avoid such broad generalisations... Just pick a few location and go where the weather looks good. You simply can't go wrong. I've done some crazy mileage over the last 3 years in my Passats and I can only say it was great. Needless to say I go in a very large car or preferably camper van so you can obviously camp on the go and take lots of stuff in case of absolutely anything.
Mountain roads are generally great for driving, except in parts of France - mostly Pyrenees! - where there are crazy potholes every few cm, and Switzerland with snail speed limits and scared drivers who can't see beyond their speedo (so you'll be doing 35mph on average and take forever to get anywhere).
 
Whilst I agree that the Alps are a little more spectacular, they're also considerably busier whilst there's plenty of freedom on Pryenean roads....far less traffic and more time to take in the views.
As far as "potholes every few cm"......I live in SW France and driving and cycling around, I've never been concious of them!

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
Whilst I agree that the Alps are a little more spectacular, they're also considerably busier whilst there's plenty of freedom on Pryenean roads....far less traffic and more time to take in the views.
As far as "potholes every few cm"......I live in SW France and driving and cycling around, I've never been concious of them!

Bob
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D918, D934?!

Car has to have new suspension after every outing that way.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Do you want to be doing distance every day or blat down some nice roads and then hit the beach/restaurants etc? If you're happy to ride every day then I'd be inclined to try a big loop, starting from the western side of France and using the routes national (RN) roads, drive down through Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux to Biarritz (that last section is tedious though, all flat/straight). I'd then drive across the Pyrenhees from Biarritz via St Jean Pied de Port & Toulouse before dropping down to the med, possibly as far as Marseilles. From there I'd drive up via Grenoble, Lyon and into the Vosges national parc before heading back for a different ferry or tunnel to the mainland.

Alternatively you might want consider the ferry to Santander like Bill suggested, & ride around northern Spain before heading up.
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Yup, I've done it in the past, although not from Ireland.
Brittany is fantastic to explore, so Cork Roscoff would be nice. You've got all the coast roads to ride down, Quimper, carnac, quiberon etc. Lots of Eurocamp type places for easy stopovers with good facilities. You will probably want a dip in a pool or the sea to cool off. Roads are great but to be honest, there's lots of things to see and do other than ride

On the way back, St Malo town is worth an explore, there's Mont St Michelle of course
 
Nod said:
Do Brittany Ferries still allow you to do Cork-Roscoff then Santander-Cork (or t'other way round)? If so, you could plan a mountain section with a mile eating one.
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AFAIK only Roscoff to Cork runs and then it is only a single Brittany Ferries weekly return.

The other routes are Roscoff - Rosslare and Cherbourg -Rosslare (Irish Ferries & Stena). A new Ferry js coming into Service (W B Yeats) with Irish Ferries which will release Epsilon for the reinstated Dublin Cherbourg route (21 hours crossing time).
 
Byker28i said:
Yup, I've done it in the past, although not from Ireland.
Brittany is fantastic to explore, so Cork Roscoff would be nice. You've got all the coast roads to ride down, Quimper, carnac, quiberon etc. Lots of Eurocamp type places for easy stopovers with good facilities. You will probably want a dip in a pool or the sea to cool off. Roads are great but to be honest, there's lots of things to see and do other than ride

On the way back, St Malo town is worth an explore, there's Mont St Michelle of course
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Thanks is for reply . So would you suggest to pretty much hug the west coast and head south ?
 
Didn't know about the Dublin one so thanks for that . Much better as I'm from Belfast
 
stumac said:
Thanks is for reply . So would you suggest to pretty much hug the west coast and head south ?
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The coast road is fun, pretty, you want to treat it as a cruise and enjoy the sites or stop and take photos, eat etc rather than just grind mileage out. I'd say plan no more than 150-200 miles a day and research whats on route.
Stick to the smaller roads.


If it was me, Carnac stones St Malo town, Mont St Michel, Fougeres

This tour gives you an idea of 6 days, 600 miles.
https://www.ride-in-tours.com/motor.../regional-tours/brittany-motorcycle-tour.html

You need half a day for Mont St Michel, same with St Malo town, Fougeres
Good website:
http://www.brittanytourism.com/disc...s-historic-gateways/unmissable-sites/fougeres

So much to see and photograph. Don't just do mileage
 
Dublin Cherbourg is 21 hours? On the Epsilon?? I did the Epsilon coming back last month Dublin to Holyhead and I would never take that particular ship again, it's tiny as ferries go, horrible spending 3.5 hours on never mind 21!!
 
Byker28i said:
Irish ferries
Cherbourg to Rosslare / Rosslare to Cherbourg
  • 2 Sailings Weekly
  • 18 hr 30 min
Cherbourg to Dublin / Dublin to Cherbourg
4 Sailings Weekly
18 hr

Or Stena Line
Cherbourg to Rosslare / Rosslare to Cherbourg
  • 3 Sailings Weekly
  • 17 hr
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The main thing is that the Dublin-Cherbourg or Roscoe route by Irish Ferries does get cancelled in favour of the Rosslare route.

From Belfast it is now possible to travel to Cork without a traffic light but there is one roundabout on the NI side of the border! So M1/M7/M8 route getting off for the drop towards Wexford and Europort.

The Stena ships to Cherbourg are the better choice. Irish Ferries Oscar Wilde is the better ship but Epsilon is low on cabin availability as it was built for short routes.

As said the new WB Years superferry is coming in to partner the Ulysses on the Holyhead-Dublin route which releases Epsilon to the French route. It is not one I would use for ghat time.

On doing those journeys, I have never travelled to timetable.
 
Donnie said:
Dublin Cherbourg is 21 hours? On the Epsilon?? I did the Epsilon coming back last month Dublin to Holyhead and I would never take that particular ship again, it's tiny as ferries go, horrible spending 3.5 hours on never mind 21!!
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Sad but true. The 21 hours is the average I have experienced ln those crossings over the years. 2 of my cousins live in Dublin and both married women from Rennes and Laval so until 3 years ago we would have family gatherings in Ireland and Brittany. Both weddings were in France - nightmare journeys but brilliant weddings.

I do not like using Epsilon so no longer book the fast Dublin Swift Ferry as any rough seas and ig gets cancelled - inevitably Epsilon is next out.

View: https://youtu.be/c3VzWWrWQ9I


Having a house in Kinsale means I mainly use Rosslare.

I have used the Stena ships into Holyhead, Pembroke and Cairnryan but never to Cherbourg.
 
Ok so the other route is to go into Holyhead or Pembroke dock and catch a ferry across the channel? Shorter ferry crossings but longer rides to get there?

You could jump via peoples houses? I'm about 90 mins from Portsmouth etc on the route down. Only trouble with that is you lose a day each end on the travelling.

So that gives you 4-5 days, so I would just stick to either northern Brittany or do the Normandy side if you're into WW2 and cider
 
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France is a huge country, and although the Alps and Pyrenees are very popular, I think the Alsace between Strasbourg and Colmar has some great scenery.
 
andy700 said:
France is a huge country, and although the Alps and Pyrenees are very popular, I think the Alsace between Strasbourg and Colmar has some great scenery.
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It is indeed, but he is in Belfast, has 6-7 days. Strasbourg is 2 days of traveling to get there (and back)
 
Can't go that far wrong with any of France. Wife and I did a bit of a circuit of the whole country in a Lotus Elise a few years back. Avoided Autoroutes in the main and took to the backroads. Even the flatter areas of Northern France are glorious in places with lovely tree lined avenues. Broadly speaking, we went down the midlle/west ish stopping on Mulsanne Straight at LeMans for a photo op. Down through Limoges and onto Carcassonne. Only problem with that is you miss out on the West Coast and Dordogne both of which would be fully justifiable detours. We then had a very meanadering trip west via Milau (viaduct is well worth seeing), Provence and then dropped down to coast and ultimately Nice and Monaco. Then back up through the Alps, then over to Lyon, Dijon and a stop at the old pit straight in Reims (loved it there). All told it was about 2500-3000 in 10 days but was fantastic and never seemed to be too taxing in the way that spending all that time on a motorway would be. I guess it would be tougher on a bike.

One tip though, stick to the speed limit. France has got very tough on speeding everywhere in recent years and hide both fixed speed traps and mobile ones. It's very easy to pick up a fine or two.
 
Byker28i said:
Ok so the other route is to go into Holyhead or Pembroke dock and catch a ferry across the channel? Shorter ferry crossings but longer rides to get there?

You could jump via peoples houses? I'm about 90 mins from Portsmouth etc on the route down. Only trouble with that is you lose a day each end on the travelling.

So that gives you 4-5 days, so I would just stick to either northern Brittany or do the Normandy side if you're into WW2 and cider
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Quite a lot of Europeans visiting Ireland that I spoke to over the last 2 Spring/Summer periods (2016/17) when I took my motorhome along the Wild Atlantic Way, travelled via the UK ports thence to Ireland but they had different reasons for their routes, The North East Europeans (Scandinavia/German/Belgium and even Italians, it was quicker and cheaper to use the near channel ports and use the shorter main routes to Ireland. At the height of the season, motorhomes/caravans are very expensive ticket items on ferry services.

I would say that the late spring/summer of this year numbers were down but more motorbikes/sidecars were evident.

Both the RoI/NI tourist authorities are pushing the coastal features and ancient history of the whole of Ireland. The Wild Atlantic Way is just that - the Atlantic Coast of the RoI and now the Ancient East coast is bring driven, along with the NI Causeway coast which extends the value of the Giants Causeway through the length of the NI Atlantic Coast. I saw a significant increase in motorbike tourists this past summer, which is being fed bu the relative ease of the Dover connection. Cheaper to use a campsite or Travelodge than the long West France - Ireland route. The roads are not bad if you are going say Dublin - Holyhead - Norther Europe - A55/M6/M1/M25/M2 or Pembroke/Fishguard - to Northern Europe / A48/A40/M4/M25/M2

I think the ease of travel cross country, fewer tolls etc makes it easier and cheaper for Europeans to travel via England to Ireland.

It’s the North West of France where it is a cost/time/availability issue.

There is also the Portsmouth-Cherbourg and Poole/Weymouth - St Malo routes to take a lool at too.

Al part of life’s great adventure really.

Steve
 
Byker28i said:
It is indeed, but he is in Belfast, has 6-7 days. Strasbourg is 2 days of traveling to get there (and back)
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The Alsace is actually closer than the Alps and Pyrenees. The roads are superb for motorcycling, and the Black Forest is just over the Rhine.
 
andy700 said:
The Alsace is actually closer than the Alps and Pyrenees. The roads are superb for motorcycling, and the Black Forest is just over the Rhine.
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It is, but it's still a long way down from the coast. I guess it depends on if you just want to ride a lot but you need to stop for a stretch every couple of hours. Personally I like to travel a little, explore and get a taste, then move on.
 
I’ve been to France many times on my bike(s), as well as loads of other places around Europe. I can offer the following advice:

Going just for a few days, my recommendation is to go to the Alps. Spectacular, amazing roads and scenery. You’ll love it. In May there are still likely to be some passes in the Alps that are closed (snow) unless you are going at the end of May. That’s still early enough to miss the mass tourist season. To get down there most rapidly, just hit the autoroute and take the pain, and you’ll be past Lyon in a day easily. Then turn east and you’re in the Alps and its playtime. The north of France is dead boring so it’s best to get through it as fast as possible IMHO.

Another alternative is to go to the Picos. Ferry from Portsmouth to Santander and you’re in there without having to schlog along any autoroute. The Picos are AMAZING and likely to be quieter than the Alps. Stay in Potes. The roads all around there are gorgeous and varied. You lose a day on the ferry (its a 24 hour sail) but its a lot more relaxing than spending a day on an autoroute.

Avoid riding down the west coast of France to the Pyrenees. It just goes on and on and on and on and on. It seemingly takes forever and you’ll be bored stupid.

Here’s an amusing video that we did that will give you an idea what the Picos are like:

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rrNfhubcDUw
 
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In May a lot of alp passes will still be closed.
I also think it’s to far in the time I would head for the Vosges and Black Forest.
 
Tobers said:
I’ve been to France many times on my bike(s), as well as loads of other places around Europe. I can offer the following advice:

Going just for a few days, my recommendation is to go to the Alps. Spectacular, amazing roads and scenery. You’ll love it. In May there are still likely to be some passes in the Alps that are closed (snow) unless you are going at the end of May. That’s still early enough to miss the mass tourist season. To get down there most rapidly, just hit the autoroute and take the pain, and you’ll be past Lyon in a day easily. Then turn east and you’re in the Alps and its playtime. The north of France is dead boring so it’s best to get through it as fast as possible IMHO.
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Exactly this.
 
futurelegend said:
No it’s not you speed down the motorway and miss loads.
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Missing loads of slow, boring, straight roads that have villages every few km that slow you down even more, across unexciting terrain, is not the worst thing. I've done the non-autoroute routes a number of times and just ended up frustrated with northern France. Get through it as quick as pos to get to the fun curvy stuff is my approach.
 
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