2022 European trip – A “tour de France”

[Rynglieder]

Excellent write up {as usual) and thanks for sharing

A group of us toured France in 2018 and visited the Nazi Submarine pens which I think were at St Nazair...was there a sun on the dockside that you could look around and a comprehensive museum which could be visited ? 

Thanks for your comments.

It sounds like the same place, I think there is an exhibition space and a musuem at dockside level and possibly a submarine to explore over on the other side. Time constraints left me with just a visit to the roof. There are of course additional photos on my Flickr photostream if they jog your memory.

[O.C.]

Yes I'm sure it is the same place, as you say the size of the concrete structures is staggering, and if I remember correctly the whole place was constructed in a very short time span...months not years
 

[Rynglieder]

Day 4 Tharon-Plage > La Rochelle (c. 150 miles)

The route for the day was far from a straight line between points A&B, like some interplanetary probe the GTR was planned to slingshot in a graceful arc picking up some points of interest along the way.

I left Tharon-Palge under a bit of light rain, nothing too significant and I could see blue sky in the distance that the nicely surfaced straight roads were taking me toward. The land it pretty flat and agricultural and whilst not unpleasant to ride through it got a bit repetitive so I took the opportunity to pull up in the small village of Geneston, grab a cold drink from the top case and take a break.

It was after pulling away all refreshed that I had my first major falling out with the Zumo – it was bound to happen. Having left the village in the direction indicated it then instructed me to take a left turn, down a slip road and round an island to join a dual carriageway. The problem was that none of this existed I passed by the phantom turning and continued for half a mile or so with the unit screaming at me to do a u-turn. This was done when safe to do so and I took a slow ride back to the village carefully looking out for anything that I might have missed – but still no sign of anything other than fields and industrial units. I did an about-turn in the village and followed the directions again asking myself what was more stupid; the Garmin with its imaginary junction or me for looking for it again. Sadly the construction workers had still not installed any new roads within the last five minutes so it was back into Geneston to see what options the signs offered. My ultimate destination for the day was to le La Rochelle and as there seemed to be a sign for that, it seemed the way to go.

I was now having one of those uncomfortable rides where you go along in the hope that the Zumo will come up with a Plan B to get me to the intermediate points I wanted to visit and not just leave me to follow signs for La Rochelle and miss out everything between. After another 10-15 minutes I started to see Clisson appearing on the signs, it seemed I was heading the right way.

When I arrived in Clisson I found it much busier than I had imagined it would be. The bike was parked up easily enough but after walking around the outside of the castle and into the old town I found all the bars and cafes heaving with the young and middle aged sporting rock and metal band tee shirts, after about five minutes of absorbing the signs and posters I fathomed out that Clisson is the home to Hellfest rock and metal music festival. If I had foreseen this I may have incorporated it into the trip, there were a couple of bands I wouldn't have minded seeing. I did manage to find a quiet table and imbibe a coffee before rolling on.

It was still under mostly blue sky and uncomfortably hot when I left to take on more flat, straight roads. It was to be one of the longer stints between my intended stops so there was a bit of a beak in a wooded picnic area but it was not too long before I reached the walled hilltop town of Vouvant. Again my parking intentions were thwarted by a Route Barree and Deviation sign but I pulled up the GTR by the church as there were already a couple of bikes there. It was time for a decent walk as it felt I had been a while on the seat of the bike, so the helmet was secured to the bike with the cable lock and I went off to explore. My walk took me through the town, out of an archway in the ramparts and down to the lake at the foot of the hill. I spent half an hour at the lakeside before returning up the hill for a drink and to saddle up again.

Next up was Fontenay le Comte and the Zumo delivered me directly to the spot I remembered picking from Google Street View. I'd been a bit careless though and forgotten to note exactly what I had intended to visit it the town. I walked into the town centre in search of yet more fluid but with hindsight I think I should have been walking up to the medieval gardens. I did manage to get a drink, but the town was not that attractive so I didn't linger except to have a conversation of sorts with a chap on a mobility scooter who had pulled up by the bike and seemed full of admiration for it. I was sorry to hear that he too was once a biker but an accident on it had left him reliant on his little electric scooter.

There were 40 miles to do to reach La Rochelle, the sky was becoming a bit more overcast, it was still hot and the roads remained easy but uninspiring. Other than a quick fuel stop I was happy to push on into the city centre. The Zumo took me straight to the Kyriad hotel and I chanced a brief stop outside to unload the bags and sort out access to their underground car park.

Once the GTR was roosting in the basement there was the chance for a shower and a change of clothes so that I could go out to see what the city was made of. My hotel was in Les Mimes the cheaper area near the newer port but I wanted to see the Vieux Port (Old Port) area, my walk took me past a branch of McDonalds so I decided to dine in style before continuing tp the water's edge. The is a small passenger ferry (Passeur) that will take you from Les Mimes to the old port for the princely sum of €1 and it seemed the way to go as the little electric boat takes you between the two historic towers from which a chain was once suspended to protect the harbour from people like me (British).

Typically of a French city the Vieux Port area is a lively, friendly place with plenty of bars and cafes fronting the harbour. I took in my fill of the sights and a couple of beers before boarding the Passeur again and taking the short walk back to the hotel.

[pross]

Hi Pete. I've really enjoyed your trip and pictures what a fantastic holiday you had.awaiting the next instalment's.
👌👏👏

[Rynglieder]

Day 5 La Rochelle > Rocamadour (225 miles)

Having seen off breakfast at the Kyriad Les Mimes, I extracted the GTR from the underground garage and set off. To be honest it was a bit of a shaky start, I found the traffic flow and signage in this area difficult to follow, disappointing as I'm usually pretty good. The bike had to be swiftly extracted from a bus carriageway at one point and there was a bit of hesitation here and there whilst I tried to work out who had priority at some unmarked junctions but after five minutes I was clear of it all. Today was scheduled to be one of the longer runs of the trip but I was sure I had time in hand to cram in a couple of visits.

It all started off on the dull flat straight roads I had become accustomed to, a mixture of cloud and blue sky but already getting hot again. Eventually I arrived in the town of Saintes and with a bit of shuffling round the back streets found my way to the remains of the Roman amphitheatre. Despite two years of planning I still hadn't got this detail right, it turned out to be closed on Mondays. I contented myself with a short walk around the perimeter and took what photos I could.


Moving on, there was a subtle change to the roads as I travelled east, nothing much but at least there was the odd slight curve on the horizon now and again, the GTR was easting it up and had to be constantly held in check to keep within the speed limits. Eventually I reached Barbezieux where a chateau held my attention for a short while before I walked the town in search of a coffee which turned up at one of the "tabac" stores.

I really enjoyed the next section of the day's route. Admittedly they were not really challenging but were interesting enough to make for a good ride, gently curving between villages. I took the opportunity for an unscheduled stop at La Rochbeaucourt-en-Argentine as there was a convenient layby opposite a partly ruined chateau as I was about ready to grab another drink from the case. I didn't stay long, just enough to re-energise for the run to the next proper stop.

The next section of the ride clipped the bottom of the Perigord-Limosin nature park and after a few more miles of fast-flowing roads I turned on to a series of country lanes through farmland and woodland where I eventually arrived at the ruins of Boschaud Abbey. Now, many of you will know I like a ruined abbey; I probably spent a good hour walking around there waking up the basking lizards and picking out the English bits from the information panels. It was a properly remote and tranquil spot but the schedule dictated it was time to move on.

It was only a short distance further south that I came upon Brantome-en-Perigord. Once again I managed to hit the target car park on the banks of the river opposite the abbey. Yes, another abbey, but as this one was intact it still qualifies as variety. I took a few minutes on each river bank and onto the curious angled bridge that links to the abbey's gardens. The gardens looked as if they could be worth going deeper into but the heat more than time dissuaded me from going on, I could probably have secured the touring jacket to the bike by I was minded not to drop my trousers.

The task now was to push on to my night's accommodation, still some distance away. It was a proper mixed bag of road types that lead me onward but all very entertaining and surprisingly free of Frenchmen or any other type of traffic, I wish the road around home were this uncluttered. There was now hardly a straight bit in sight, roads were of good width but not important enough to be awarded a white line down the middle of them. The big drawback was a lot seemed to have been resurfaced in the French style; basically dumping a lot of loose chippings "Gravellons" in the hope that passing traffic pounds them into the road and making sure that there is plenty of loose stuff on the bends...

There was another brief stop at Condat-sur-Vezere to buy another cold drink and straighten myself out. I would regard the GTR as a comfortable bike over distance but as the day wears on I find the need for stops becoming more frequent, I don't think clothes sticking to me in the heat helps much either.

After passing through Soulliac I found myself briefly running along the banks of the Dordogne with rocky cliff faces to my left, this was the first hint of how the next few days of my trip were planned to be, largely exploring river valleys and gorges. I crossed the Dordogne just south of Pinsac and it was almost with disappointment that I arrived at Rocamadour – I'd really enjoyed the day on the bike, but at the same time I was ready for the break.

I'd booked two nights at the Belvedere hotel and I'd made a good choice; there was a decent car park, bar and restaurant and its elevated position gave good views over to the historic town of Rocamadour. My bedroom was one level down from the reception but still gave good views, I was looking forward to seeing some sun on the valley in the morning. A handy door at the end of the bedroom corridor gave easy access to the bike so that I could pull all of the luggage off and I was soon showered changed and headed upstairs for an evening meal and a drink or two.

[O.C.]

Once again an excellent and interesting report, your narration and pictures demonstrate what a beautiful part of the world this is    

[pross]

I agree with O.C. 👍 was you a tourist guide in another life excellent write ups once more 👏👏👏

[Boomer]

Rocamadour is very scenic. The highlight for me when we visited in 2018 was seeing Condors flying over the valley. There is a bird sanctuary at the top of the cliff (Rocher des Aigles). It's the best bird sanctuary/conservation centre I have ever visited.
Thanks for your write ups and pics. 👍😁

[Rynglieder]

Rocamadour is very scenic. The highlight for me when we visited in 2018 was seeing Condors flying over the valley. There is a bird sanctuary at the top of the cliff (Rocher des Aigles). It's the best bird sanctuary/conservation centre I have ever visited.
Thanks for your write ups and pics. 👍😁

Yes, I saw a few birds of prey in the area but I was not clever enough to know what they were - thanks for enlightening.

[Rynglieder]

I agree with O.C. 👍 was you a tourist guide in another life excellent write ups once more 👏👏👏

Thank you gents but if I was that good a guide I would not be allowing that bloody Garmin Zumo to lead me astray so much.

[Rynglieder]

Day 6 Around the Lot and Dordogne (c.150 miles)

As I'd hoped the day started with Rocamadour in bright sunshine and I grabbed the camera to take a shot as there was a hot air balloon in front of the cliff-side buildings. As I was having a two night stay a lot of the GTR's load was eased by leaving bags in my room and I was able to make use of the Kevlar lined jeans as it was still hot and there looked no prospect of me getting wet.

The idea today was to head south and join the Lot valley at Carjac. It was to be largely minor roads and I was overdue a kicking from the Zumo. A short distance from Rocamadour I was directed to a left turn and as I entered it I knew I was being stitched up again. It looked more like an access road or driveway and sure enough I eventually emerged in front of a very large country home with a chap on a sit-on mower going about his business in the company of a chocolate Labrador. The was plainly no way through, the Lab seemed pleased to see me, man on the mower perhaps slightly less so. I could only apologise and point to the satnav directing me up his garden path, at least he was decent enough to give me shove to turn the GTR around on the gravel drive. Onward I went, in the direction that struck me as being southward.

I reached the River Lot at Carjac and then followed the river westward. This was the best road of the trip so far, a section of it between St Martin-Labouval and St Gery is a Balcony Road, cut into the cliff face with a few tight spots and tunnels to contend with. There are more spectacular balcony roads in France, but this was certainly worth riding if you are in the area. There was an odd stop for a couple of photos but I was hoping the Innovv camera was catching the rest.

In due course I arrived at Cahors, a small town sitting in a loop in the river. The road I had plotted into the Zumo was closed so I left it to come up with an alternative – It's a good job I was not in a car or a van, I was taken under the railway line by a tunnel with 1.5m headroom, even on the bike I felt the need to duck.  Eventually I made my way to the medieval "Pont Valente", a fortified bridge of three towers and numerous arches. Inevitably the scaffolding crew had got there first to spoil my photo, but that's pretty routine now.

After leaving Cahors a very satisfactory series of country roads lead me northward for around 30 miles to the hilltop town of Domme. Climbing the hill and passing through the archway of the town wall I was struck how much the architecture and the colour of the stone reminded me of an English Cotswold village. The GTR ended up with a good tour of the town as the car park I was headed for was full and I had to complete a couple of circuits before settling on a spot where I was happy to leave it. I spent a good hour walking around Domme, a balustraded area on the edge of town gives good views over the Dordogne river below and is a nice place to take 10 minutes with a drink. With the bike being relatively unladen today it was possible to stuff the jacket in an empty pannier which made for a more comfortable walk. It probably deserved a little more time but I had another two stops in mind of this day's ride.

I wasted a frustrating 5 minutes trying to find my way out from the environs of Domme. Zumo lead me straight to a dead end car park and kept trying to take me back, but by my own means I found my way down to the banks of the Dordogne at Beynac-et-Cazenac. I'd intended stopping here, but there was no chance of parking - even for a motorcycle, instead I rode a like further east along the river to La Roque-Gageac where I was able to pull up for a short while. This is yet another beautiful town that begs exploring further, there are dwellings or fortifications cut into the cliff face that runs above the string of riverside houses and shops, the place was heaving from day trippers taking river excursions from a number of operators, I sure a full day could be made of it.

My ride concluded with a cross country trip on minor roads, sometimes in farmland, often in woods, regularly through ancient quiet villages and finally becoming more rugged as I reached Rocamadour again.

There was yet another shower and change of clothing before walking to a convenience store in the village for something to eat. I'd used the hotel restaurant the night before but didn't fancy it again. Having eaten I found myself looking down on the town and regretting that although I was booked here for two nights I had not found time to visit it – it looked a long way from the hotel as you can see from the photos. After feeling sorry for myself for about the length of a cigarette I caught sight of the pedestrian sign suggesting it was 10 minutes walk from the path running alongside my hotel, I was not entirely convinced but decided that having travelled all this way I should give it a go. To be fair it was an easy 10 minutes, going downhill is always less challenging at my age and I found myself passing through one of the arches in the wall and onto what was pretty much a single street that runs through. It was early evening and the hordes has gone so the place was nice and quiet even though a lot of the businesses and attractions were closed for the day. I found a hotel where I could sit outside with a drink or two as the shadows descended on across the valley and all that remained to be done was climb that hill back up to my bed.

[Rynglieder]

A few more photos...

[O.C.]

fantastic   

[Rynglieder]

Day 7 Rocamadour > Mayrueis (c. 151 miles)

After discharging my obligations at the breakfast buffet I resolved to carry out an urgent, thorough and in-depth review of my trousering. Given the past few days and the forecast ahead I concluded that the Kevlar lined jeans were the way of the future.

Only just of a 150 miles to cover on this day, but of course there were stops planned and I knew I would be wanting to absorb the scenery I was to ride through. The whole idea of this trip was to effectively string together 16 days of "Sunday Rides" and the previous day had been spot-on. Some of the day's ride would take me back over roads that I had travelled to the southwest of France and the Pyrenees some years ago, I held fond memories of that section of the run and was looking forward to doing it again. It was time to release the GTR into the wild...

To start with the route lead through Causses du Quercy Natural Regional Park, sometimes it was possible to get a bit of speed up but more often than not it was 30-40mph riding on minor country roads. Eventually I once again reached the River Lot and had the pleasure of following its course on to Entraygues-sur-Truyère. At this point the Zumo wanted me to turn right and cross over the historic bridge, but I was immediately confronted by a set of bollards; it looked as if this had been closed to vehicles for a while. Being as I was stationary and the nose of the bike was able to go no further it seemed a good time to hop off and take a photo.

After buying another couple of drinks from a fridge in town (one for now, one for later) I pushed on to Estaing. I loved this road, it was just as I remembered, a steady 50-60 mph following the valley in gentle curves. I pulled up at the viewpoint on the edge of town which now had a proper surface and had generally been tarted up since my visit of eight years ago. I was also delighted to see that they had finally got round to scaffolding the chateau tower, it had to happen sooner or later.

I left the Lot Valley at Espallion and headed south on a series of fast trunk roads, not so picturesque but I was covering a bit of ground to get me to would I hoped would be another decent lump of scenery later in the day. I had planned very carefully to avoid motorways on this trip, it had been set as an "avoidance" in my route planning on Garmin Basecamp so I found myself wondering a little time later what combination of circumstances had lead me to end up on the A75 motorway and heading steadily toward the Millau viaduct. At least it was not a "payage" so I was able to keep my hand out of my pockets. After about 15 minutes the bike was ejected at Aguessac and I began to see signs for the Tarn Gorge, I was heading the right way and was looking forward to this bit.

During the planning stage I was a bit dis-chuffed that I couldn't find a hotel in the Tarn Gorge that I liked the look of and was within a tolerable budget so I'd had to settle for accommodation a few miles away. I would follow the Tarn Gorge to Le Rozier and then continue west to Meyruies for the night, the idea being that I would then back-track to Le Rozier the following day to continue the ride up the gorge.

The ride to Le Rozier was everything I'd hoped, a nice flowing road with the walls of the canyon closing in and increasing in height the further I went. I couldn't resist a stop at Le Rozier to pick up another drink and then set about tackling the "dead leg" of the journey to my hotel.

It turned out the road to Meyrueis was an unexpected delight, I was now following the D996 along La Jonte river, set in its own gorge, the road here was perhaps a little bit more twisty and it was a pleasure to be astride one of Kawasaki's finest. There are a couple of tight spots, whereas in Britain we drive on the left and in continental Europe they usually drive on the right, I have learned on this trip that a Frenchman in a white van or motorhome usually drives plumb down the middle – you have to watch out.

I hit the little town of Meyrueis deep in the Cévennes National Park at a respectable hour and managed to berth the GTR in a motorcycle bay just outside Le Grand Hotel de France – at check-in I was offered garaging, which is something to remember for the future, but the bike was already fully locked up and I was disinclined to shift it. There was enough time of the evening left to go for a short walk and find something to eat and drink before bed. Although it had seemed an inconvenience at one point, the ride to and stay in Meyrueis had turned out a bit of a bonus.

[O.C.]

Great report (as usual) thanks for sharing