Euro Accommodation ideas

Originally Posted by Lissa

Hi Nigel

We'd probably do Portsmouth to Caen and ride down...............we come for the roads, not sitting for hours on a ferry

What is the weather like there in early September? We aren't beach sitters, but with your proximity to Andorra and the fabulous roads in that part of the world there is certainly a pull to travel back out your way again.

Hi weather here mid september is usually mid to high 20's so a bit more comfortable if you are the type who always rides in leathers. The only downside is although the tourists go home at the end of august , camping car man comes out of the woodwork. However they drive so slowly that they only really upset the car drivers who cant overtake as easily as we can on the twisty roads.
As other visitors will attest we produce a number of routes for day trips out from here. We normally discuss what people envisage they want to do over dinner and then the following morning we produce maps and descriptions of which roads to use and what to see and where to eat at midday. We also help with planning the routes to and from here because we have had so much feedback from our guests as to what are the best routes to use.
FYI we know of a very nice b+b near montlucon which is mid distance between the channel and us giving 2 days of about 350 miles to get here. and also some lovely roads from there to here via the millau bridge and gorges of the tarn, the following exert was sent to me from another member of this forum after they visited this year when they got home.
"Nigel - when we mentioned the Millau trip you mentioned that there
were some good roads after or before the bridge (depending on which
way you travelled) I think you understated somewhat, we rode through
the Gorges du Tarne, up to Millau and then went back through the Parc
National de Cervenné and it was amazing!!

Thank you so much for your hospitality, you really made us feel as if
we had known you for ages! We are already planning to come back to
Carcasonne and the Gorges du Tarne as we know that we missed out on
so much so hopefully we'll see you again!

Kindest regards
Sam & James "

I hope this helps.

Originally Posted by ejohnh

HI Nigel,
Can you pm me a price for b&b for 6 singles on June 3rd please?
John

Hi John,
one person will have the ensuite room, 4 will have rooms with 2 beds the sixth will have a single room, so you will have to flip a coin for who sleeps where or perhaps that will already be decided by the loudest snorers !!
However room costs work out at 30euros per head per night b+b but if you stay for 3 nights or more we will knock off another 10% as a special offer let me know if this is ok .
nigel

Originally Posted by nigelporter

Hi John,
one person will have the ensuite room, 4 will have rooms with 2 beds the sixth will have a single room, so you will have to flip a coin for who sleeps where or perhaps that will already be decided by the loudest snorers !!
However room costs work out at 30euros per head per night b+b but if you stay for 3 nights or more we will knock off another 10% as a special offer let me know if this is ok .
nigel

Sounds excellent Nigel. I'll know the numbers for sure a bit later on.

This is my proposed route:

Originally Posted by ejohnh

Sounds excellent Nigel. I'll know the numbers for sure a bit later on.

This is my proposed route:

ok I take it the trip is for 7 days? most people who have left us for Santander/Bilbao use our route and stay the last night at another b+b that we know near Biaritz this allows you to have a long but amazing day from us to them and then you have a short ride to the ferry on the last day we can give you far far better roads to follow in Spain once you leave us that I promise.
How many days are you planning to take before getting to the Perpignan area? we can certainly modify your route across france to make it better as well if you are on a 1 stopper before getting here it gives you 2 days of 350 miles or a bit less. If you stay near La chatre we can then give you a great route from there to clermont ferand (2.5 hrs) and then autoroute to cross the millau bridge then the valleys and gorges of the Tarn, they will be 2 long days but extremely fullfilling, once you get here you can have a rest day)

Credits for this one go to Cam_73 who posted this link in the SV Ecosse section and I thought it would be useful for here

http://www.bike-stay.net/

Originally Posted by nigelporter

ok I take it the trip is for 7 days? most people who have left us for Santander/Bilbao use our route and stay the last night at another b+b that we know near Biaritz this allows you to have a long but amazing day from us to them and then you have a short ride to the ferry on the last day we can give you far far better roads to follow in Spain once you leave us that I promise.
How many days are you planning to take before getting to the Perpignan area? we can certainly modify your route across france to make it better as well if you are on a 1 stopper before getting here it gives you 2 days of 350 miles or a bit less. If you stay near La chatre we can then give you a great route from there to clermont ferand (2.5 hrs) and then autoroute to cross the millau bridge then the valleys and gorges of the Tarn, they will be 2 long days but extremely fullfilling, once you get here you can have a rest day)

We dock in Caen at 8am on Saturday, May24 and catch the ferry from Santander to Plymouth at 4pm on Monday, June2. It gives us more or less 10 days. I am planning on taking 2 stops before getting to Perpignon because we want to explore the Gorges Du Tarn and Millau and not just go thru it.

I have posted the provisional segments of our route on another thread in this forum.

For the two interim stops we aren't too concerned about luxury and I was wondering if anybody on here has had stops at one of the budget line hotels like Formule1. Any?

What is a reasonable daily mileage for no Joey Rockets to do along the Spanish national roads? Bikes are SV650K1, FJR1300, 'Busa, and Triumph Legend. You can see the relevant bits of our route at:

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=102884


I have a feeling that I should be splitting the Spanish side into more segments, Any comments/suggestions about that as well as the French side? Are the Picos going to be too much to do in the time?

Nothing except the ferries is carved in stone yet. I was thinking that from your base we could do a day tour down the costa to Tossa and then leg it back up the autopista to Perp.

Cheers

John

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by ejohnh

For the two interim stops we aren't too concerned about luxury and I was wondering if anybody on here has had stops at one of the budget line hotels like Formule1. Any?...
John

Have used Formule1 for years, think they are great value, especially if you get three in a room. The rooms have a single and double bed in them, so ideal for an overnight stop. Usually in the 30-35 Euro range. You will need to book in advance on busy weekends, especially on arterial routes. Downside is they are often located on industrial estates or dodgy areas and can be hard to find. Don't expect to find food nearby and the breakfasts are pretty grim (but only 3 Euro)

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Have used Formule1 for years, think they are great value, especially if you get three in a room. The rooms have a single and double bed in them, so ideal for an overnight stop. Usually in the 30-35 Euro range. You will need to book in advance on busy weekends, especially on arterial routes. Downside is they are often located on industrial estates or dodgy areas and can be hard to find. Don't expect to find food nearby and the breakfasts are pretty grim (but only 3 Euro)

Yeah great value for money, but if you're leaving the bikes outside, I'd def make sure they are all bolted together! Some Formules are in dodgy areas rather than the service areas.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by trickywoos

Yeah great value for money, but if you're leaving the bikes outside, I'd def make sure they are all bolted together! Some Formules are in dodgy areas rather than the service areas.

Yep, stayed at the one in Dunkirk last year. I was busy chaining the bike to the big sign and the manager came out and told me to chain it up to the Armco by the gate cos it had CCTV!

I prefer the ETAP, same group, only a few Euros more but you get your own en-suite bathroom, rather than sharing a toilet and shower with some wart ridden gypsy.