View Full Version : Le Mans GP May 2013
I am throwing this out there as an idea for a long weekend.
Leaving on Thursday and returning on the Monday (Dates TBC).
Rough costs of when i went this year was:
Ferry (Portsmouth-Le Havre)-£120 (there is a cheaper option of Newhave-Dieppe)
Moto GP tickets- £50 (this covered entrance for fri, sat, sun plus privelage praking)
Camping (3 people, 3 bikes, 3 nights, one tent)-£30
food/drink-£20 a day (depends where you go)
fuel cost-£80 (we only did about 600 miles in total)
Rough total-£380 (that's a generous budget too)
Discuss, chat, ask, show your interest. Plenty of time to decide & save up
Thunderace
15-07-12, 08:36 PM
Might be up for this mate, Dover- Calais is lots cheaper but will mean a lot more riding, possibly leave a day or 2 earlier and stop en-route?
The way i balance it out is the time/mileage. What you have potentially saved on the ferry, you spend in petrol riding that route. Plus the added time and miles
There is a Portsmouth-Cherbourg route, only a 4 hour crossing and about £75 (approx, i did a rough quote online)
On the Friday you can go around all of the D Day sites and WW areas. One place i want to go back to is the American Cemetery, amazing place
Spank86
15-07-12, 09:31 PM
I might be up for it but wouldn't know till nearer the time.
There is a Portsmouth-Cherbourg route, only a 4 hour crossing and about £75 (approx, i did a rough quote online)
On the Friday you can go around all of the D Day sites and WW areas. One place i want to go back to is the American Cemetery, amazing place
Portsmouth - Cherborg in 4 hours is the fast-craft which can only take a dozen bikes and with the moto-gp on it will be full. There is a normal ferry which takes a couple of hours extra but can take about 9000 bikes and is quite a bit cheaper.
Also you have space to wonder about and decent restaurant/sleeping area (apart from the front salon, all the other reclining chair rooms are free of charge). Fast craft gets cancelled if a seagull farts as it's a tad sensitive to wind and a right old vomit inducer if it's not millpond calm.
Ferry company swaps between Cherborg and Caen all the time. Doesn't really matter as it is pretty close and both drop you right into the middle of the WWII beaches and museums.
There's also a night ferry so you can travel over night and save a hotel fee.
100% right about taking the more expensive ferry rather than riding down from Calais. Calais -> Normandy is dull, costs a fortune in Fuel and tyres etc. AND from these parts you have to ride 2 hours in the wrong direction first to get to Dover!
Plymouth -> Roskoff is another option.
granty92
16-07-12, 08:43 AM
would be so up for this :)
granty92
16-07-12, 09:28 AM
any idea what sort of price's the pit tickets are?
no idea, i don't know how far in advanced they release ticket prices. Best to keep checking the site to see the prices. I know that the further in advanced you buy them, the cheaper they are.
Portsmouth - Cherborg in 4 hours is the fast-craft which can only take a dozen bikes and with the moto-gp on it will be full. There is a normal ferry which takes a couple of hours extra but can take about 9000 bikes and is quite a bit cheaper.
Also you have space to wonder about and decent restaurant/sleeping area (apart from the front salon, all the other reclining chair rooms are free of charge). Fast craft gets cancelled if a seagull farts as it's a tad sensitive to wind and a right old vomit inducer if it's not millpond calm.
Ferry company swaps between Cherborg and Caen all the time. Doesn't really matter as it is pretty close and both drop you right into the middle of the WWII beaches and museums.
There's also a night ferry so you can travel over night and save a hotel fee.
100% right about taking the more expensive ferry rather than riding down from Calais. Calais -> Normandy is dull, costs a fortune in Fuel and tyres etc. AND from these parts you have to ride 2 hours in the wrong direction first to get to Dover!
Plymouth -> Roskoff is another option.
when i went out this year we took the 12 hour ferry, it was all right and not as bad as i thought. We got it on Thursday night and landed Friday morning. The sound of hundreds of bikes echoing in a Ferry hull and the smell of petrol is how you should wake up every morning :cool:
Then left early on the Monday morning to catch it back.
Very well organised on the ferry, plenty of people to strap the bikes down, and they are strapped down well.
granty92
17-07-12, 08:20 AM
yep i have checked with a friend and he's going to come to :) i would prefer a night ferry so we can sleep on the boat then get there at a decent time on the friday or saturday :)
Nick_69
17-07-12, 02:47 PM
I am up for this if the dates are right
yep i have checked with a friend and he's going to come to :) i would prefer a night ferry so we can sleep on the boat then get there at a decent time on the friday or saturday :)
Night ferry are better but you wont be having a decent sleep last feery i got was portsmouth to le harve and think i had 2/3 hours sleep on it
granty92
17-07-12, 02:59 PM
im not fussed really, just want this to happen, reckon it could be a good giggle
Spank86
17-07-12, 03:59 PM
I got the portsmouth lehavre ferry once and had an awesome sleep on it... at a table, face down in a sandwich.
Perhaps staying awake for 36 hours beforehand helped.
Depends on the boat. The one i got going over night was old, decrepid, noisy and ****e. The one coming back was great, new, comfy and able to sleep on it. We had seats right at the front too.
There should be one that leaves Thursday evening, circa 10pm and and lands Friday morning about 7ish
Brittany run two modern ferries. I think it's only about £20 for a cabin so you get a bed and somewhere to stash your kit. I think you can organise a cabin when you get there.
Front salon recliners are about £5 each way but side rooms are free. Get to a side room early, spread biker kit out and then lay on the floor to go to sleep. You'll find you have the cabin with about 50 reclining seats to yourself :)
We went over this year on the same ferries that the Le Mans folk would use and they were pretty much deserted.
Morning crossing is faster dumping you in France about 16:00 local time. Night crossing takes longer to give you a chance to sleep and gets there for Breakfast.
Make sure you pack some comfy clothes in an accessible bag as it's far more comfy in some joggers and sandles than in bike kit for the crossing.
Oh and as mentioned earlier the sound of a couple of hundred bikes starting up inside a metal car deck is a pretty amazing sound!
I would be up for this, plenty of warning to get time off work :)
Brittany run two modern ferries. I think it's only about £20 for a cabin so you get a bed and somewhere to stash your kit. I think you can organise a cabin when you get there.
Front salon recliners are about £5 each way but side rooms are free. Get to a side room early, spread biker kit out and then lay on the floor to go to sleep. You'll find you have the cabin with about 50 reclining seats to yourself :)
We went over this year on the same ferries that the Le Mans folk would use and they were pretty much deserted.
Morning crossing is faster dumping you in France about 16:00 local time. Night crossing takes longer to give you a chance to sleep and gets there for Breakfast.
Make sure you pack some comfy clothes in an accessible bag as it's far more comfy in some joggers and sandles than in bike kit for the crossing.
Oh and as mentioned earlier the sound of a couple of hundred bikes starting up inside a metal car deck is a pretty amazing sound!
The might do now, in May we got the crappy old one going out and the lush new one coming back :cool:
We got the reclining seats, they were £5 each way. They are also in rooms away from the louder areas of teh boat. Much better to sleep on them on the nicer ferry. Don't fancy sleeping on the floor, the amount of idiots who walk in late night/early morning having not bothered to find their seats when first getting on the ferry trod on many people, Inconsiderate fools :smt075
The Idle Biker
17-07-12, 06:38 PM
I got the portsmouth lehavre ferry once and had an awesome sleep on it... at a table, face down in a sandwich.
Perhaps staying awake for 36 hours beforehand helped.
perhaps having 36 jager bombs beforehand hand helped too?
Spank86
18-07-12, 06:56 AM
lol, wasn't drinking unfortunately, just solid riding.
granty92
18-07-12, 08:07 AM
will anyone be putting on travel box things on or just a big bag on your back?
Spank86
18-07-12, 12:22 PM
Panniers and tankbag myself,
Job will have his perpetual topbox fitted and I'd imagine most others will try to avoid the backpack just in case.
granty92
18-07-12, 12:36 PM
i'll buy panniers, do they effect riding much apart from obvious weight increase?
Nick_69
18-07-12, 12:50 PM
i'll buy panniers, do they effect riding much apart from obvious weight increase?
They tend to effect weight transfer over the back wheel. so when you are cornering you might have an extra 5-10kg which you are not use, but once you have done a few miles in them panniers are ok to ride with if they are fited properly
granty92
18-07-12, 12:57 PM
what make rack and panniers would be best? also where to get them from
Spank86
18-07-12, 02:10 PM
i'll buy panniers, do they effect riding much apart from obvious weight increase?
Not a lot, most are narrower than your wingmirrors but they do affect confidence while filtering.
The weights obviously the same as a backpack if you have the same stuff in, its just a bit further back almost like having a very light pillion.
Theres nothing really wrong with a backpack except its more tiring haveing the weight on you instead of just the bike and if you have an off the bag could make things worse.
granty92
18-07-12, 02:16 PM
yeah ill stick with panniers then :)
Panniers and tankbag myself,
Job will have his perpetual topbox fitted and I'd imagine most others will try to avoid the backpack just in case.
Yup top box for me! I can get everything in there :D
granty92
19-07-12, 08:08 AM
what is a top box? is that the one that does where a pillion would?
Just strap on a pair of panniers, strap your tent and bedding across the top of the panniers over the pillion seat; job done. Oh and a tank bag for passport, wallet and stuff you need on the Ferry.
Oxford sport or lifetime panniers pop up on ebay all the time.
Topboxes are great just so long as all your kit fits in a topbox shaped space. As soon as you get into tents, sleeping bags, fishing rods, tennis rackets, space hoppers etc you start getting into difficulties. Also for the 51 other weeks of the year when you don't need it you've got scaffolding bolted to the back of your bike and a couple of hundred quid tied up in topbox infrastructure.
There is the mid-ground of bolting a topbox plate to a spare pillion seat. I do this for weekends away if not carrying too much as it keeps stuff dry and almost secure and provides a nice backrest when needed.
For more significant carrying situations I've got a set of Oxford sport panniers, they spent several hours at daft speeds through France (obviously we only travelled via runways and private roads etc) they didn't fall off, they are no wider than my handlebars and even when pushing on fairly hard didn't seem to affect handling. Your legs pretty much deflect the wind around them and the weight difference is probably not a great deal more than the difference you probably already don't notice whether riding with a full or empty tank.
If you are going to make a habit of it invest in hard luggage but for the occasional weekend away I'd thoroughly recommend the soft panniers and tank bag option. If you are indeed going to make a habit of it then you'll probably want a more touring biased bike anyway (Sprint ST, VFR, 1198 etc) and chances are that will come with a HUGE amount of luggage carrying infrastructure apart from the 1198 which struggles to find somewhere to wedge a passport and credit card but still makes a great tourer!
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