Weekend in france

[TC3]

We were set to go to Wales but ended up jumping on the train to Calais instead in a last minute change of plan. Went over late Friday evening and came back Sunday afternoon. Stayed in Lille and rode down to Noeux-les-Mines where we stopped for a snack. From there you just head south towards Amiens and explore the roads. Only got stopped once by biker cops wanting to check our licence and the only mishap was me losing a bar end that got shook free at some point. Can not say the same for the poor guy with a Ducati that had half the front missing. He seemed ok though and managed to give us a wave as we passed him and some cops.

Great trip and not a bad place if you only have a bit of time and cant really go far into France to the better roads. Some of the roads had a bit of gravel and sand and the back wheel spun out a few times but it just added to the fun :)

This map was copied from a website that reviews rides by bikers and the yellow points indicate the better roads. We tried all the area and was a lot of fun but lacking in tight bends. Visibility was good though as it is mainly fields.

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583587904_CARwx-L.png

Stopped for a rest when we saw this huge donkey....in the photo though i can't tell who is the bigger ass....donkey or my bruv Frank :D

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583408446_SKGuJ-L.jpg

Frank on his R1

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583411973_CS3xk-L.jpg

Simon my mate on his R6

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583412792_pfMjH-L.jpg

The roads were very very quiet

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583410734_P3qwj-L.jpg

Me on my Suzy

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583416505_66kMr-L.jpg

Poor donkey looked sad to see us go

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583413097_i7bBu-L.jpg

I dont think any of us noticed the zebra crossing! We were so thirsty we just parked up and rushed to the bar with tongues hanging out.

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583415493_eDuJr-L.jpg

To top off a good ride what better than a game of footie

http://tc3.smugmug.com/photos/583416241_iLMUr-L.jpg

[etuna]

looks good - how many miles did you do?

[TC3]

looks good - how many miles did you do?

We only did 890 as it was a lot of smaller roads and not so much Motorway out in France.

[etuna]

did the SV cope ok? I've thought about it in the past but my bike seems a bit "small" :confused:

[Spiderman]

Aint French drivers considerate? Did you encounter any on your travels tho? It looks so quiet...or was that cos they knew you guys were comming, lol.

[Speedy Claire]

did the SV cope ok? I've thought about it in the past but my bike seems a bit "small" :confused:



I did 3,500 miles on my SV round Europe, Prague and Budapest.... bike didn`t let me down once and coped really well. Go for it :D

[TC3]

did the SV cope ok? I've thought about it in the past but my bike seems a bit "small" :confused:

Yep it does real well. Last time i went it was to the Alsace region near German border and SV did 650 miles in one day. brilliant bike if you look after it and has no problems sitting at high speeds for long periods.

[TC3]

Aint French drivers considerate? Did you encounter any on your travels tho? It looks so quiet...or was that cos they knew you guys were comming, lol.

Thats why i like riding out in France....most of the drivers are very good towards you in terms of attitude as many rode mopeds or have familly that ride/rode etc.

I guess it was afternoon siesta when we hit those roads :)

I think i made a few enemies though. We had to filter a massive queue for about 45 mins and revving the CCC can was making a few arms hanging out of cars quickly retreating ...and i mean very quickly. I was only trying to clear a path though. The R1 sounds a lot more racy but the SV unbaffled is what gets people to notice you from a distance!

[Spiderman]

Ah the Moses effect... its a good thing :lol:

[TC3]

Ah the Moses effect... its a good thing :lol:

:thumright:

[Daimo]

Get further down south. Lake Geneva area and below, esp into the Alps.

As long as you make sure to slow down for villages, alls cool in France :D

[custard]

Get further down south. Lake Geneva area and below, esp into the Alps.

As long as you make sure to slow down for villages, alls cool in France :D

+1. the further south you go the twistier the roads are.

we just got back from a two week trip, on the way south we squared off the tyres, the week around bergerac then re-profiled them. now they are just boogard

[Daimo]

These are literally a couple of shots from what I missed out on if you carry on south.

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs152.snc1/5654_106113021775_528531775_2699983_1288207_n.jpg

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs132.snc1/5654_106113041775_528531775_2699987_7160485_n.jpg

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs132.snc1/5654_106113036775_528531775_2699986_6335730_n.jpg

[TC3]

Yeah i have been told to go further south but next year we have decided to go to Alsace region again for a week as the roads there are pretty good with decent turns and mountain roads. We stay in a biker friendly hotel near Colmar and it is only a couple hours to the Alps which is definatly on the cards.

We only had less than 2 days in France and it was more a short get away from work etc break than a riding break.

[Jdubya]

Depends on where in the north you are though? Myself and Essex of Essex spent 4 days in the Normandy area and although the area is pretty flat, the roads were certainly not all straight and boring. If you use the Michelin maps and plot a route taking in all the scenic roads( the roads marked with the green lines next to them) you do find some real gems!

[TC3]

Daimo those pics have wet my appetite :)

[Wideboy]

quality, weather looks spot on, i cant wait to go back

[Tim in Belgium]

A nice write up of your french blast, I've added a link in the euro trip reports thread.