It's naturally quiet on a bike forum at this time of year so I thought I would share my trip of a few years ago with you in case it is of interest.
OK, it's not on a GTR (I didn't have one then) but it is still about touring on a 1400cc bike. So, as originally posted on the GSX owners forum......
Stourbridge [UK] – St Quentin [F] 349 miles
07:00 on Saturday morning and we are loaded up and heading out toward the Chanel Tunnel. My wife Carole is riding pillion and I am hoping I can get her a drier few days than we had had during our week around the Picos De Europa a couple of years ago
On previous trips I have used the ferry to Dunkirk but as we are heading in a more southerly direction I have decided to give the tunnel a try as it claims to be quicker. The journey down to Folkestone is uneventful until we get to the slip road off the M20, where everything grinds to a halt and we eventually crawl up to display signs advising of 90 minute delays for check in. Once we are finally on board one of the shuttles the trip under the channel is quick enough, although there is nothing to amuse or entertain you after you have read all of the safety notices. First experience of the tunnel; slightly more expensive, no quicker overall.
The hotel I have chosen for our first night is in Saint Quentin; I wanted something no more than a couple of hours from Calais. We pick up the A26 and head on down. It is my first time on a foreign toll road and I had this fear of holding up great queues of traffic whilst I took gloves off to get wallet / tickets and sticking the glove back on etc. at the toll booths. We worked it so that Carole took care of all of that so I could ride straight on, but the reality is that the traffic is so light on the motorways that we could probably have taken five minutes to do the deal without anyone pulling up behind us.
A few kilometres before Saint Quentin we pull in to one of the frequent lay-bys so that I can take a look at a map and try and memorise where I am going. A usual I have no Sat-Nav, just a (misplaced?) confidence in my own sense of direction and a few A4 pages printed from Google Maps.
At this point a couple of fellow Brits pull up on a Ducati Multistrada. We get chatting and it turns out that they are not only staying in the same town but in the same Hotel as us. We are invited to follow them in and so we arrive at our first lodgings of the trip (Thanks Andy and Wendy).
A quick change out of the bike gear and we wander into town in search of a beer for the evening. Saint Quentin is pleasant enough and has a good few Art Deco style buildings for which it is famed but we found it very quiet for a Saturday night, it did not have the "buzz" I was expecting. A last bottle of "Leffe" from the hotel bar sees us done for the night.
2.1 Waiting for "Le Shuttle"
2.2 Saint Quentin centre
2.3 Art Deco style in Saint Quentin
St Quentin [F] – Pont à Mousson [F] 175 miles
We have about three quarters of our journey to do on the motorways today but the last section into Pont à Mousson looks as if it could be an enjoyable bit of biking. Unfortunately the weather turns against us fairly quickly and much of the motorway run is through rain. By the time we are on the countryside roads my jacket has leaked through the sleeves again. We pass through villages with time and temperature displays on the high streets showing it is only 10c; surely it should be better than this at the end of May? Near Thiaucourt-Regnieville we pass some impressive gates with an old military vehicle outside. Although the rain has knocked-off for a bit we are still wet and it is tempting to just push on to our next hotel. However I decide to stop for a look round. We have already just run through several attractive villages and there seems no point in just passing everything by. It turns out to be the American forces cemetery and we take time to wander the pathways and reflect on our recent history. Over 4000 identical crosses certainly make you realise that being a bit damp is no tragedy.
We arrive safely outside our hotel (straight to the door without SatNav!). I blew my budget a bit on this one, the Hotel Abbeye des Premontres, as I liked its aspect and riverside location. The receptionist says we can park in the courtyard at the back but we are directed through a bit of a building site and the "road" is all potholes, sand and gravel so it gets a bit "Ewan and Charlie" for a moment. Our room is not a disappointment; modern, huge and better still it has controllable electric heating. We stick the wet gear in front of the convectors and turn everything up to 11 in Spinal Tap fashion. Off for a walk around town and beer whilst everything dries out ....
Pont a Mousson is a typical river bridge town situated between the cities of Metz and Nancy with a historic centre and industrial surroundings. Our walk takes us along the Moselle river bank and back into town past the giant Saint Gobain foundry and finishes in a Fritterie and a bar.
3.1 St Meheil Cemetary
3.2 Hotel Abbaye Des Premontres
3.3 Pont à Mousson
I'm enjoying your report and superb pictures :yes:
Great stuff!
Pont a Mousson [F] – Münstertal [D] 142 miles
The sun is out! We skip breakfast at the hotel as we do not eat much in the morning and it would not justify the €11 per head price tag. Not too long on toll motorways today, we just need to get down past Nancy and swing around out toward Colmar. This is quite a nice section of motorway as it goes, decent elevation changes, curves and views over the city.
Once free of the motorway there are some nice biking roads. The landscape is changing and the French architecture is giving way to the Germanic with large chalet style houses sitting among the wooded hillsides. Before long we are at the side of the Rhein and park up for a cigarette, map check and a look around. I spend some time reading tourist information boards describing the fortified town of Neuf Breisach. Damn, I would love take a look around there, but there's no time in this trip.
We cross the Rhein bridge, enter Germany and travel past the town of town of Bad Krozningen into the Black Forrest and the start of the Münster valley. I am feeling quite pleased with myself as we are straight to the door of our hotel (Alte Klostermühle) again. We have arrived in good time and have a good chunk of the afternoon left. Our hotel is opposite an active abbey (Kloster St. Trudpert) and as the church is open to visitors we take a look around the highly decorated interior.
After our "pilgrimage" we back-track down the valley to the town of Staufen that had earlier caught our eye as we passed it. We have a pleasant evening wandering around this typical Black Forest town, full of life with customers sat outside the wine cellars, drinking to the accompaniment of local music. Just a coffee for me though as I am riding, but I close the day with a cold one signed out of the hotel fridge.
4.1 Vosges Haut-Rhin
4.2 The Rhein at Breisach
4.3 Kloster St Trurdpert
4.4 Staufen, Black Forest
Münstertal [D] – Lavena Ponte Tresa 209 miles
Today I have to make a route choice. I have time to either head for the Swiss border through the Black forest or use the Saint Gotthard Pass over the Alps rather than the tunnel. In the end I decide to go for the Pass so head out of Münstertal for the A5 toward Basel. The sun is out again and not too hot and I am enjoying being in Germany again even if it is only for a few hours.
We stop off at the last service area on the Autobahn where I buy a vignette (tax disc) for the princely sum of €35 that will allow us access to the Swiss motorways. We follow the A2 motorway through Switzerland, enjoying the Alpine scenery and the fact that in their stretches of roadworks there seems to be one active workman per road cone, much better than the British ratio.
As we approach the Gotthard area we see the signs telling us the pass is shut, so it is going to be the tunnel after all. The tunnel is a bit of a monster, about 10 miles long and it just gets hotter and hotter as you cruise through. It gets a bit tedious after a bit though and you just have to concentrate on your distance separation.
What a difference the length of a tunnel makes! When we emerge on the other side the weather is very different; overcast but not actually wet. The architecture and language has changed again as well, although we are still in Switzerland everything has shifted from a German to an Italian feel. We stay with the A2 until we reach the Lugarno area where I exit to follow the shore of Lake Lugano into Lavena Ponte Tresa, straight to the door of the hotel again. My inbuilt navigation is holding up so far.
Although there has been a lot of motorway riding it has been a good day on the bike.
5.1 Hotel Alte Klosermühle
5.2 Through the mountains
5.3 Badge of Honour
5.4 Riding the A2 through Switzerland
5.5 After the Gotthard pass
Firstly well done for touring on that beautiful bike, one that wouldn't perhaps be chosen/associated with touring
Secondly, thanks for your report and excellent pictures the quality of which makes me feel better and look forward even more to some sunny summer weather :clap:
Great write up. Nice Pics.
Lavena Ponte Tresa – Florence 238 miles
I had paid the extra €10 for a room with a lake view at the Grotto Bagat but when I open the curtains this morning all I could see is rain. I was not particularly looking forward to this day when planning the trip as it was just a big motorway drag down to Florence, the addition of rain was not going to enhance the day in any way. After breakfast we reluctantly started loading the bike up and getting the rain covers onto the luggage. As I had a last cigarette under the hotel canopy the rain gradually eased and then stopped.
Although the roads were wet there was nothing more coming out of the sky so I decide to start the day with a run around the edge of the lake before picking up the A2 again. From there on it was a straightforward 130kph run down to Florence through the odd shower. The Autostrada did get a bit more interesting nearer to our destination with curves, viaducts and tunnels through the Tuscan hills.
Finally into Florence and now I did wish I had a SatNav. After picking my way through to the right district I really struggled to find a route through the one way streets to the Hotel Croccini. It is frustrating when you can see where you want to go, but can't get there. In the end I confess I intentionally gave it a quick squirt the wrong way down a small side street.
Parking was available in the hotel courtyard but at an additional cost so the bike was disc-locked and parked in the street outside. At least our room had a small terrace overlooking the rear garden which we were not expecting. A quick shower and change into dry clothes and we were off for what was left of the afternoon and evening sight-seeing in Florence
6.1 Hotel Grotto Bagat – raining again!
6.2 Lake Lugano
6.3 Hotel Croccini
6.4 Ponte Vecchio, Florence
6.5 Duomo, Florence
Quote from: O.C. on February 09, 2018, 07:34:51 PM
Firstly well done for touring on that beautiful bike, one that wouldn't perhaps be chosen/associated with touring
Secondly, thanks for your report and excellent pictures the quality of which makes me feel better and look forward even more to some sunny summer weather :clap:
Thanks OC.
The GSX is surprisingly capable and has served me well on its six trips into Europe. It lacks any form of protection from the weather and the chain takes a little looking after, but is comfortable, hauls well and is quick enough. Its advantage over the GTR is that when I reach my mid-point break and take any touring luggage off it is nimble enough to play on a bit or squeeze around a town centre.
Te GTR is my touring bike now but I am not ready to let the GSX go just yet.
no, thank you for providing a superb interesting report with lovely pictures :clap:
Florence – Rome 172 miles
Up and out of Florence for another Autostrada drag down to Rome. Not a particularly memorable run, just toll motorway from city to city. On entering Rome we hit the same problems that we had in Florence. Traffic is intense and signposting is poor. The signs for each district seem to be on the junction rather than before it and lane switching is downright dangerous with all of the scooters flying around with no lane discipline or regard for traffic lights. Eventually I stumble on the Vatican and once I have also found the River Tiber I have a couple of reference points to work with. Having found the road that contains our hotel I am forced into another dodgy manoeuvre before the one way system drags us away from it again.
We have booked a "studio" type apartment in "Residence Prati"for two nights. It has a living area, bathroom, sleeping area and a kitchenette should we chose to cook something for ourselves. The manager allows us to park the bike up in their service area so it is effectively garaged and secure for our stay in Rome.
Out of the bike gear again and we spend the afternoon and evening around the Vatican and the west side of the river. By this time the Vatican is closed to the public although I am not too fussed about seeing inside. After all, that Michelangelo who did the Sistine Chapel never bothered to come round and look at my lounge after the missus papered it.
The following day the bike gets a rest as we knock off the main tourist sights on foot. We are out walking from 09:00 – 21:00 and having had a really good day head for bed shattered. Still, it's time to move on and see somewhere else, I'm looking forward to being back on the bike again tomorrow......
7.1 Vatican at night
7.2 A bridge over the Tiber
7.3 The Coliseum
7.4 Trevi Fountain
7.5 The Forum
Rome – Follonica 139 miles
.......... I'm not looking forward to being on the bike today. It's raining. Really raining and to emphasise it, nature is chucking in the odd rumble of thunder. We have the usual problems getting the right road out of Rome, poor or non-existent sign posting, the puddles in the road are so deep the water is over the top of my foot. . Eventually we break free and head out West to pick up the SS1 toll road that will follow the coast northwards to our next stop. The closer we get to the sea the better the weather becomes and we end up with a decent days riding up to our next stop, Follonica.
Now, I have never been on a Mediterranean package holiday so I don't know what I am talking about. However Follonica is just how I imagine such a resort to be. Modern multi-storey hotels, an esplanade with palm trees, private beaches and not much soul. There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't feel any more inclined to go for such a holiday than I did before. I am happier in the middle of Europe on my bike.
The Hotel Ausouia is OK, a nice room at a reasonable price. The day is finished off at a bar near the hotel, where I recklessly ordered a "grande" beer (which turned out much bigger than a grande coffee).
8.1 Residence Prati
8.2 Follonica
8.3 Hotel Ausonia
8.4 Grande beer
Again....superb, and thanks for brightening up a snowy day here at home .....I especially like the architecture photos, the Coliseum is spectacular :clap:
Follonica – Rapallo 149 miles
Our route today continues north along the SS1, an easy toll dual carriageway run in full sunshine.
It had not escaped me that the road passes near Pisa, so it has to be done. More city-centre navigating frustrations, but we eventually find our way there for a walk around the tower and cathedral grounds, lots of photos and a coffee. Getting out of Pisa is worse than getting in. After 15 minutes of following (and losing) Autostrada signs we eventually end up back where the bike had been parked. It's time to do it the old fashioned way – look at the position of the sun, work out which way is West and ignore the signs – much easier.
The afternoon continues along the SS1, the Tuscan hills giving way to the Ligurian Mountains followed by tunnels and viaducts from which we catch our first glimpses of the Riviera. We arrive in Rapallo in time for a brief look round the sea front before heading up into the hills to find our accommodation.
For the next five nights we will be staying in an "apartment", actually the basement of a family house in the hills near San Massimo. Not exactly a prime location, no views and nothing immediately to hand, but all we are looking for is somewhere clean, comfortable and affordable. When searching the web before travelling I had taken care to choose somewhere with a washing machine so we could refresh our clothes – there is only so much two people can carry on a bike. We find that it is perfect for us and now have a home for a few days for some luggage-free riding
9.1 Pisa
9.2 &, 9.3 Approaching Liguria on the SS1
9.4 The location of our apartment near San Massimo
Four days on the Riviera – 500 miles?
Our first day in Rapallo is spent by a short ride into town, a walk round and then another few minutes on the bike into the adjacent resort of Santa Margarhita, two really nice towns with elegant buildings and expensive looking hotels.
The second day we head up into the Ligurain hills behind the resorts in search of an escape from the town traffic and endless buzzing scooters. Although it looks promising on my map it is something of a disappointment, the roads are far too steep and narrow and the bends are tight and blind – not what I was looking for at all. As the cloud drops on the hills we give it up as a bad job and ride back down to the coast road, back-tracking eastwards to look at Chiavari and Sestri Levante, this turns out to be more like the roads I was seeking.
Having spent the second say going east we decide to spend the third day riding west along the Riviera. I am in no mood for riding in another Italian city so we bypass Genoa by using the autostrada and start our ride proper at Voltri. There is no final destination in mind, just keep riding until we have had enough. We linger in Savona and spend a couple of hours around its old costal fort. It turns out to be a great day on the bike and we are happy to just keep going. Eventually we end up in Imperia, much further from "home" than we intended so the day is finished with a two hour Autostrada blast back to Rapallo as dusk turned to darkness.
For our final full day on the Riviera I decide to take the short run into Portofino. We have three big rides ahead of us and it makes sense not to spend too much time on the bike today. It was a photograph of Portofino that had first drawn my attention to this area and it looks even better in the flesh. Although its time as the Ultimate Destination for the wealthy and famous has probably now gone, this small former fishing port is still filled with the shops of all of the major designers and there is still a decent yacht or two in the harbour and the odd Ferrari on the road. We have a good day walking around the village and its surrounding hills and finish off with an evening in Rapallo.
10.1 Santa Margharita
10.2 The Ligurian Mountains
10.3 The fort at Savona
10.4 On the Road to Imperia
10.5 Your correspondent
10.6 Portofino
10.07 Portofino harbour
I'm still waxing lyrical about your report, it's one thing to plan and undertake the journey it's another to produce a report which is factual and interesting but you have included some beautiful photos too .....BTW what's Robson Greene doing nxt to your bike :mfr_lol:
Thanks for sharing with us :smiley:
Rapallo – Yvoire [F] 260 miles
Up early this morning to pack everything and clean up the apartment. It's always impossible to pack much the night before when you are on a bike; you need everything right up until you leave the door. We rejoin the Autostrada west toward Genoa and then North on the A26 past Alessandria and onward with the E25 toward Aosta. The '14 is doing really well still; smooth and reliable and taking no notice of what we are making it carry. The mountains are back in sight, there is snow on the tops but the sky remains blue and it is a great run even if only motorway riding.
Eventually we climb to the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel where there is a bit of a service area, so a good moment for another coffee and some photos before pushing on. Like the Gotthard tunnel that we did before it is long and separation and speed limits are strictly enforced but before too long we have emerged back into France near Chamonix.
Having failed to extract any cash from the ATM at the Mont Banc service area and being short on the folding stuff, I decide to take the rural roads from Chamonix down toward Clunes so as to avoid the Motorway Tolls. So far today we have got trough two tank fills of fuel (€60), €30 in Italian motorway tolls and €27 to get through the tunnel.
The wallet is refreshed in Clunes and a bit more coffee imbibed so we push onwards. Unfortunately my timing is not good and we have reached these roads in rush hour. There is an hour of stop-start riding and Carole is getting really uncomfortable on the back now – the one and only low point on the trip.
Eventually we break free and another half hour sees us arriving at Yvoire on the shores of the lake. This is a stunning little medieval village and our hotel for the night does not disappoint either. An evening walk around the village and shore is finished with a couple of beers in the hotel garden before bed.
11.1 Near Aosta
11.2 Near Aosta
11.3 Another tank of gas!
11.4 Mont Blanc
11.5 Yvoire
Yvoire [F] – Reims [F] 357 miles
There is another big motorway ride ahead today; fortunately the weather is looking promising to start. Although Yvoire is in France we are only a handful of miles from the Swiss border and the centre of Geneva. As we have about £40.00 in Swiss Francs left in the wallet we decide to ride in to Geneva to use them to fill the bike up rather than changing the currency back.
Our run into the city centre includes parking up on the shore of the lake and taking a coffee at a café opposite the iconic Jet d'Eau fountain.
Leaving Geneva we pick up the motorway network and have a solid an uneventful day's riding passing Bourg-en-Bresse, Dijon and Troyes. There are rain clouds around us now but mostly we are lucky and the motorway seems to swing away from the weather we can see ahead. Eventually we are in Reims and after a quick consultation with our street plan we are parked up outside the Hotel de Cathèdrale.
This hotel turns out to be the most basic of our trip. A really good location in the city centre and on the approach road to the cathedral but our tiny room is on the fourth floor and there are no lifts. It is not really a problem though as we have no intention of being in there except to sleep, so we head off on foot into the town.
Up at the cathedral there is a major road run taking place and there are good crowds being entertained by a band and DJ. We watch the race set off and then take a wander around the outside of the cathedral and then seek out the main city centre streets. Reims on this Saturday night is really alive with loads of bars and pavement cafes and there is a great feel to the place. I had never given it much thought, it was simply a point halfway between two places we needed to be but I would be happy to visit again one day. Over our "last night" beer we try to decide what the highlight of our trip was, but there are just too many to choose from and no conclusion is reached.
Feeling hungry we find a take-away and head back for the cathedral remembering that there were places around there that we could probably sit quietly to eat and assuming that the building would probably be lit up. When we arrive, the crowds are still there although the road run had long finished. As we were trying to work this out, the cathedral is plunged into darkness and then to the accompaniment of medieval music we are treated to an amazing and unexpected light show as huge projectors throw a display onto the front of the building showing it being scaffolded, animations of the masons at works and throwing coloured light over the frontage making it look as if the whole thing was of stained glass – a terrific and unexpected finale to our trip.
12.1 Jet d'Eau, Geneva
12.2 Reims Cathedral
12.3 Reims Cathedral
Quote from: O.C. on February 12, 2018, 07:37:53 PM
I'm still waxing lyrical about your report, it's one thing to plan and undertake the journey it's another to produce a report which is factual and interesting but you have included some beautiful photos too .....BTW what's Robson Greene doing nxt to your bike :mfr_lol:
Thanks for sharing with us :smiley:
Thanks; Usually I do it to order my own thoughts when returning from a trip and hopefully someone else will gain something from it - an idea for somewhere they had not considered to go (or avoid!) or to pick up on something I have done or not done that will make their own trips better.
Reims [F] – Stourbridge [UK} 409 miles
The bike is loaded up for the last time and we head back onto the A26 toward Calais, another toll motorway run and the reverse of what we had ridden just two weeks ago.
We arrive at the tunnel terminal early and are given the option of taking an earlier shuttle, which we are loaded onto reasonably quickly. After half an hour or so parked on the train with nothing happening a young lady comes round to advise us that there is a problem in the tunnel and nothing will be moving for a while. After another 45 minutes we are told the problem is clear but they now need to load more vehicles on the train so that it is at full capacity to clear the backlog. And there is my second experience of the tunnel - at least on the ferry you can get a coffee and have a smoke if you are stuck on it.
Eventually we are back driving on the left and have an uneventful run along the M20 / M25 / M40 back up to the midlands.
A reflection
We have had an amazing couple of weeks and seen some beautiful and historic places and have not regretted a moment of it. But would I do it again? No. As a bike trip there was too much on motorways and not enough chances to "play". Italy is an interesting place but I did not much care for Italians – don't get me started.
Perhaps this would work a little better if I had dropped Rome and Follonica. Rome was a great experience but does not need a motorcycle; a cheap flight and a long weekend city break would probably have covered it better and allowed a couple of extra days on the bike in Tuscany, the Riviera or maybe split down a couple of the long motorway hauls.
My previous trips to Spain and Germany were a lot more fun on the bike and I would go back there first. There is a still lot to explore in Europe and I already have my eye on something else. Two weeks on my bike on the continent I what I work for these days and I can't wait for next summer.
13.1 Route approximation
13.2 Gratuitous final shot of bike and palm tree
Brilliant and thank you...its been said before that too much time travelling can spoil the time that is available to do some sightseeing, however your report and pictures have been a joy to read. :clap: