2022 European trip – A “tour de France”

[Rynglieder]

Think of this post as a "coming soon" trailer...

My last excursion into Europe was the 2018 circuit of Spain and Portugal. During 2019 no arrangements were made as my mother-in-law was terminally ill, and then Covid scuppered any plans for 2020 and 2021.

I had planned and booked a trip around France in 2021 and having shelved it managed to rearrange it for this year, I should be heading for the ferry terminal in Portsmouth on the 23rd June. It's going to be a solo ride for me this time – my wife who has accompanied me over the last 10 years on these excursions is just not up for it, but she knows how much I want to go so I've been given a pass...

There will be a bit of coast, some time exploring the river valleys and gorges, a break on the Mediterranean, a couple of days in amongst the Alps and a return through the centre of the country picking up on a few historic towns and sights. 19 nights away from home in all, about 2900 miles but I'm allowing another 200 as the Garmin Zumo is bound the get me lost once or twice.

A rough map is attached but this has included motorways which I will be studiously avoiding, so the routes linking the stops will be straightened out to a degree.

The planning is all done now, a service has been arranged for the GTR just before I leave and I'm looking forward to getting on with it. Once I'm back I'll post up a bit of a report with photos – probably over several instalments.

[Lonewolf]

Pete that sounds like a brilliant trip and you're so lucky to have been granted a pass for almost three weeks, I'm so jealous! 

I think a trip like that (which I have never done) has to be on my bucket list before I hang up my keys for the last time. (Hopefully a long way off). Be sure to document the journey, as I'm sure you will. 

[Boomer]

Looks fun.
Between F & G take the DN8 from Aubagne to Le Beausset, stop at the Circuit Paul Ricard cafe, and visit Le Castellet to get something Lavender for the Mrs. (scenic but very touristy) 
Les Lecques also has a nice beach if you fancy a dip in the Med.
Then you can drop onto the A50/A57 which goes right through Toulon.

[O.C.]

I'm already looking forward to your report and pictures

Good luck have fun and ride safe      

[pross]

That looks a stunning trip Pete 👌.
3 weeks away on the bike what a trip and a dip in the med 👌. Can't wait for the reports and photos 👏👏

[Rynglieder]

Well, I'm back and I've had a thoroughly enjoyable two and a half weeks. The bike has been on its side once and for a short time I was stuck without phone, wallet, passport and all my other essentials but despite all that it's going down on record as a good trip. Details to come, but here's a couple of spoilers...

[O.C.]

I'm looking forward to the latest instalment   

[Lonewolf]

Pete, glad you enjoyed your adventure. Great photos and I'm looking forward to reading all about it.

[pross]

I am intrigued to find out what happened.
Looking forward to reading and seeing the pictures of it very soon I hope glad your ok  👍

[Rusty]

Nicely done Pete.. the "taster" photos are just a snippit of what's to come I'm sure 
Have a good rest and cool yourself down before you start ... in epsodes I imagine !
What a great adventure you must have had.  

[Rynglieder]

Nicely done Pete.. the "taster" photos are just a snippit of what's to come I'm sure 
Have a good rest and cool yourself down before you start ... in epsodes I imagine !
What a great adventure you must have had.  

Yes, after that trip I needed a short holiday to get over it so I've spent a few days at my place in Devon.

Let's get on with it now...

[Rynglieder]

Day 1 Home > Portsmouth (163 miles)

The pannier bags had been packed the night before so it was a matter of minutes to load the bike up after it had been pulled from the garage.  The ferry was not due to sail from Portsmouth until 20:15 and although I kicked around the house for an hour or two after getting up I just wanted to get on with my adventure so set off around 11:30 with the intention of making something of the day.

There were a couple of coffee stops on the way down to break the trip into manageable chunks and by 14:00 the GTR had settled on the car park at Porchester Castle – it seemed sensible to use up my surplus time with a couple of hours around this English Heritage ruin and my camera started accumulating the holiday snaps before I had even crossed the water.

Another quick stop at a nearby supermarket enabled me to refuel the bike and indulge in a quick snack. I arrived at the terminal in plenty of time; Portsmouth's terminal is very easy to navigate ad after the traditional waiting around in a queue I managed to move on through the border checks. Two other bikes and myself were pulled in for a quick customs examination, but having opened up one of the panniers the dude from Border Force seemed fairly satisfied that there were no illegal emigrants concealed in there trying to flee Britain. There's one upward ramp to negotiate on the "Bretagne" and a couple of tight U-turns to get the bike pointing back in the right direction, but the ferry staff take care of strapping down the bike so it's all quite painless compared to some ferries I have boarded.

Motorcycles are first onto the ship so I was quickly upstairs finding my way to my cabin and the bar before the hordes arrived. I'd got the alarm set and my head down at a sensible hour – bring on St-Malo...

[Rynglieder]

Day 2 Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo (80 miles)

Usual story, first on last off - but at least whilst I was waiting to disembark I could get the Zumo programmed and the Innovv camera set up for the day. It was always intended to be an easy first day, I wanted to visit Mont Saint-Michel and new that it would deserve more than the half hour that most other places on my itenery would get, so once I had broken free of Saint-Malo it was a case of travelling some quick but unexciting trunk roads to my destination. It was about 09:00 when I reached the large motorcycle park and although it was early-ish I was surprised to find only one other bike there – even more surprised to find it was another British registered GTR1400; what were the chances of that??

The car park charge includes a free shuttle bus from the mainland, over the causeway to the island. I haven't used public transport much in recent years but as my health and fitness is not great these days I decided to put up with mingling with the proletariat to dodge the walk and leave myself with some energy for the monument.
Having been disgorged by the bus at the town walls I set about exploring some of the island. I can't say that I saw it all and didn't go inside the abbey, but I still had an enjoyable wander round which included a late breakfast and a coffee. It's a place that is certainly worth visiting if you are near and I may well be back.
After eventually extracting my bike from the car park (after about five minutes I discovered that the car park barrier does not accept ferry cabin key cards and insists that you put the proper parking ticket in), I picked up the coast road in order to work my way back to Saint-Malo.  Let's bung in a bit of landscape – many compare Brittany to the south west of England and if you imagine Cornwall wearing a stripy jersey and a beret you are pretty much on the money. I passed a few seaside towns, sandy beaches and some rugged headlands; all very pleasant. There was a brief stop at Saint-Benoît-des-Ondes to take a picture of and from an old windmill tower that had been converted to a belvedere and then it was on to Cancale for my second proper stop.

Cancale is a small seaside harbour town that was pretty busy with tourists, fortunately there was a motorcycle bay provided and there was a bit of space I think those arriving by car were less lucky. It was OK to walk round for half an hour but largely consists of seafood restaurants – if you are the sort of chap who likes to get himself wrapped outside of mussels and whelks this will do you nicely but it was not for me. Half an hour, a quick cold drink and I was ready to see what was further along the road.

What turned out to be further down the road was the Pointe du Grouin, this was entirely expected as I had planned it. The bike was parked on one of a number of free car parks and I took a 15 minute stroll along the headland to take in the costal views and purchase yet another cold drink. Although the day had flicked between slightly overcast (with a handful of raindrops for one moment) and bright sunshine it had been hot throughout and it turned into a bit of a mission to keep hydrated.

Next up was supposed to have been some sculptured rocks just a little further along the coast, but the reviews had not been overwhelming so I decided that in view of the heat I would scratch that fixture, check into my hotel in Saint-Malo get out of the bike gear and have a shower.

Having executed plan B I set about prowling the streets of this beautiful old walled city. The hotel I had chosen was Intra Muros (within the walls), you pay a little extra for hotels in the historic centre but it was nice to feel part of it even if the bike was berthed on a motorcycle park just outside the gates. There was time to get something to eat, take a walk around the streets, city walls and beaches and finish by sending a couple of messages home from a small street café with a beer at the side of me.
 

[Rynglieder]

Day 3 Saint-Malo > Tharon Plage (c. 155 miles)

After indulging in the hotel breakfast and hauling my bags through the city back to the bike I held the prospect of a proper full day's riding ahead of me. My ride would take me more or less directly south now, chopping across the peninsular containing Brest, so a sort of mastectomy route I suppose.

Out of Saint-Malo, across the Rance tidal power barrage and then just a short ride on more quick and easy roads expect for the time I missed a turning and the Zumo invited me to check the progress of the harvest from a few farm tracks and then to my first stop of the day at Dinan.

The delay to this year's trip had enabled me in planning to drill down to the detail of where would be best to park in each of my stops, this makes it all the more annoying when you find that the target car park has been requisitioned for the local fireman's ball and if your vehicle is not painted red you ain't getting in. No matter, there was space across the street where I could park up and take a look around the outside of the castle and find a café for the morning's coffee.

Although it was another hot and humid day a few spots of rain started to fall just as I remounted the bike. I contemplated holding on for a while to see if it would pass but decided to be a hero and get on with it. After about five minutes out of Dinan it was a complete deluge, another five minutes and it had broken through the gloves, jacket and trousers, only the boots were holding out, I resigned myself to an uncomfortable day, but after about 45 minutes I was back under a blue sky and within a further half hour I had blown completely dry. At least with a dry road surface I could enjoy the riding again, largely single carriageway roads, a lot of straights but the odd curve, bend and village to keep it enjoyable.

Eventually I reached my target car park below Josselin Chateau on the banks of L'Ouest. I made some time to take a few pictures from the river bank before heading over the bridge to an attractive looking hotel that seemed a good prospect for my next coffee. At the point of crossing the bridge I was accosted by an elderly couple who seemed to be making some request of me in French. I explained as best as I could that I was English and didn't understand, this forced a confession from them that they were also English, and would I mind taking a picture of them standing outside the hotel where they had spent their honeymoon 40 years ago?

Onward toward Saint-Nazaire... more of the same agreeable but unspectacular roads and countryside, a brief stop for fuel then a couple of dual carriageway stints – although the Zumo was programmed to avoid motorways some of the cross country roads in France were still threatening to square off the rear tyre. Eventually I reached and cut through the outskirts of the city. The bike was pulled up as planned on the dockside opposite the old Nazi U-Boat pens and after taking a couple of pictures I decided to relocate it, the dockside did not look that busy but I didn't like the thought of the bike getting a swipe from a forklift. The bike was re-parked at the end of a cycle stand in a side street, I nipped into a supermarket to pick up some bits for lunch then made my way up to the roof of the old submarine base. The word "brutalist" is often used is describing concrete arcitecture, it certainly fits here, the sheer mass of the concrete structure is a sight to behold. On the roof a small forest of trees has been planted to grow through the concrete beams to soften the thing, but it is still one mean building. At least the roof gives a couple of benches to sit down with your DIY sandwich and look across the port. I don't know why it has stuck in my memory, but I seem to remember a teacher back in my school days saying that the natives of Saint-Nazaire are less than friendly toward the British. Unlike other parts of northern France which saw themselves liberated, Saint-Nazaire was almost wiped off the map by allied bombing trying to get at that submarine base – it's certainly true that I saw very little in the way of older buildings during my brief visit.

From my perch on the roof I could see the Pont de Saint-Nazaire suspension bridge and that was the next thing the front wheel of the GTR was to be pointed at. Garmin's Base Camp seemed to have made several attempts to dissuade me from using this, I seem to recall having to add in several way-points to avoid it sending me on a major detour into Nantes to cross the Loire, as I approached the bridge I kept a sharp look out for any signs that motorcycles were prohibited but nothing came to my attention. True, the wind was doing its best to chuck the bike around a bit, but I was over it quickly and safely enough.

A little run down the coast from Saint-Nazaire bought me to Tharon-Plage, a coastal resort that gives the impression of being solely composed of holiday homes and the odd small hotel, it's alright but there is not a lot of charm to it – a sort of French Prestatyn. The hotel for the night had no car park so the bike was laid up in a motorcycle bay 100 metres down the road and fitted with the disc lock. After a shower and a change of clothes I took a walk in the opposite direction to the bike, up to the little harbour and from there back to the hotel for a couple of drinks.

Day 3 all accomplished as planned.

[O.C.]

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 ?