Riding in France

Peter and Rusty Broad run a B&B and campsite near Gorron in France, they have put together these Riding in France notes which are simple but imformative. I've never stayed with them but met another biker on a ferry who spoke very highly of their place. Their website www.bikergite.2ya.com/

"RIDING IN FRANCE" Read this carefully, it can save you time , money, & aggro. IT’S ALL ABOUT DOING A BIT OF PLANNING.

THE FRENCH WEEK-END IS SUNDAY & MONDAY, NOT LIKE BRITAIN. Almost everything closes then, even many filling stations. Make sure you have enough fuel for your journey, & food if you are staying somewhere other than a hotel.(even some hotels don't do food on Sundays) British cards don't usually work in French automated petrol pumps when closed. Newer types may.

SUNDAYS One or two small supermarkets open Sunday mornings, usually 9 till 12.30. Same applies to smaller Butchers & Bakers. If you are arriving here on a Saturday evening , the supermarkets will shut around 7pm. PLAN FOR IT.

MONDAYS Most shops shut, but the larger Supermarkets stay open, & often sell fuel & oil. Some shut for lunch though.

LUNCHTIME Lunch is sacred to the French. Unlike Britain, it's their main meal of the day. It can last 2 hours. Bars are busy from 12 till 2, but if you are hungry, ask for Sandwich American. It's full of Ham, Eggs, Lettuce, and cheese. They are normally huge, & very filling. But only supplied during the day.

LOST ?? Satelitte dishes usually face South, or buy a Compass. They cost peanuts, & can save you going miles out of your way.

DIPPED HEADLIGHTS Must be used in daylight in France on a motorcycle.

FRENCH DRIVERS BLOODY AWFUL, but OK towards Bikers. They Tailgate, forget to indicate, overtake in stupid places, but pull over to let Bikers pass.(we stick our right leg out to thank them) Like all French, they love Bikers. Their attitude is totally different to the Brit car drivers. If they flash their headlights at you, it means Police or Accident ahead, or they are Bikers at heart. Old ladies & children often wave to you.

VERY IMPORTANT WARNING VILLAGES, TOWNS, & COUNTRY ROADS. SIDE TURNINGS OFTEN HAVE RIGHT OF WAY. BEWARE. If a side turning has no white line across it, they have right of way. Stupid idea, but that's the way it is in France. This also can apply to country roads.which can be muddy at certain times of the year.

ROUNDABOUTS Same as Britain, but in reverse. Those on them have right of way, but give way to traffic coming from your left as you enter.

TYRE PRESSURES They use BARS. One Bar is approx 15lbs. 2 Bars 30lbs.

HOTELS Much cheaper than Brit hotels. If it's on a main road, ask for a room at the back. Lorries may keep you awake at night.

SHOPS Most open 9 till 7.00, but most close for lunch 12 till 2.

NIGHT RIDING IN FRANCE Not recommended. Not much street lighting, & you will miss direction signs. Plan your journey to avoid it. Even old hands like us don’t like it.

TRAVEL INSURANCE Read the small print. Some aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Check it out.

CHECK YOUR BIKE Before leaving home. We have had people arrive on two bald tyres, badly adjusted chains, & no oil in their brake master cylinders.

FRENCH If you don't speak it, buy a phrase book, & READ IT.

MOBILE PHONES Check yours works in France before leaving, Many don't.

FRENCH SIGNPOSTING Bloody awful, & often in stupid places. Ones at 45 degrees often mean straight on.

PLASTIC OK in shops/hotels, but not always. CHECK IT. Usually OK in ATMs, but depends on the card.

BEWARE Of White lines & Black road joints. OK in the dry, lethal when wet. The iside edge of roundabouts are often cobbles. BEWARE in the wet.

ROUTE SHEETS & ADDRESS Give everyone a copy. If they get separated, at least they can find their own way.

MOTORWAYS They sometimes check your times between junctions, & have you for speeding.


RIDING IN FRANCE 2

MAPS When choosing one with Motorways on it, make sure the junctions are numbered. Some aren't.

KILOMETRES One kilometre is approx 2/3 of a mile. Multiply the total kilometres by .625 to convert to miles.

DRIVE ON THE RIGHT Obvious, we know. But most mistakes happen coming out of filling stations or side turnings.

FERRY PRICES Things they are a changing. One way is to check the Internet, or E-Mail us.

CRASH HELMETS They don't like them taken into supermarkets & shops. Leave them at the desk or on your bike. TRIKERS must use helmets in France.

E111(or the new equivalent) Without it, you could pay for any medical treatment you may need. One couple were charged £800 in hospital bills when they didn't carry theirs.

DIAL 15(ambulance) in an emergency. Just like 999.

YOUR ROUTE DON’T GUESS , MAKE A LIST OF TOWNS YOU SHOULD BE GOING THROUGH OR PASSING BY.

FUEL All fill up together. You don't need someone needing fuel 10 minutes after you got yours.

STEAKS They come a bit rare in France. Ask for Bien Cuit(sounds like Bien Kwee)(well done) It will probably be like medium then. Hungry for lunch, Bars often do sandwiches. Ask for a sandwich American. Cheese, Tomato, egg , lettuce & more. Very filling.

HEADLIGHT DEFLECTORS Compulsory even if you don't intend riding at night. Should be fitted between 7o/c and 9o/c on the glass. Not on the right as some fit them. Modern lights may be different, ask where you bought the bike.

CASTLES & other tourist places often close for lunch.

FRENCH BIKES Don't have MOTs, or road tax.. Yours should.

AVERAGE SPEEDS With stops for breaks, lunch, fuel, you will be lucky to average more than 45mph, unless you use motorways. We have heard of riders doing 700 miles in one day, but you can't get averages without exaggeration, & your concentration could go.

SPARE GLOVES We carry 3 pairs. Nothing worse than than wet gloves.

FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH THE ROUTE Several times before leaving the UK. It's better than getting lost.

DON'T SPEED THROUGH VILLAGES They don't like it. Heavy fines or they could confiscate your bike.

KEEP A DIARY Of distances, hotel names, & anything of interest. We couldn't find a great hotel a year later. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR PASSPORT, you may not change money if you haven’t got it.

THINGS TO CARRY A toilet roll, compass, first aid kit, your name & address, E111 or equivalent,
phrase book, credit card, Euros, & a map. Some have ridden here without one. Crazy. Many don’t realize how big a country France is. Calais is a 6 -7 hour ride from us.

TRY TO AVOID Riding at night in France. Very little street lighting, badly positioned sign posts, & no Cats Eyes. We have 30 odd years of experience, & still don’t like it.







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Normski wrote:

THINGS TO CARRY A toilet roll, your name on a badge, E111 or equivalent,
phrase book

Sound advice indeed which Jelster and his southern crew should take heed of before they head north in to real bike hooning country! The first item in particular as some of our roads are REAL fun one's! Plus the phrase book will no doubt allow a degree of conversation to take place with the northern crew instead of lots of arm waving and merely raising of the voice!

Actually I recommend carrying some wet wipes rather than toilet paper - they can then double up as hand wipes, or for visor cleaning etc and since they're already wet they don't disintegrate if they get damp!

Just got back from 2500 miles in France and made some notes of what to be aware of
Bends especially hills and mountains
Don't take liberties as they will catch you out sometime. You get round the first thinking this is good but the next one goes on and on and on and you're trying to scrub off speed and hit rippled tar where it had melted and solidified again or there is gravel or even no surface at all. You can be entering a left hand bend but the blue chevrons are warning you of the riht hander after that. confusing at first.
There are often than not ditches at the side of the road and remember your bike is loaded and is most likely top heavy so will easily be unsettled and will take an awful lot strength and luck to save it getting out of shape.
There is nearly all ways gravel at the side of N and D roads so be very carefull if turning round after after missing a turn. Feet can slip away from under as can the front wheel when using the front brake. Think all the time.
I found some roads that looked as if some farmer had tried to plow them. Long grooves that can set the bike weaving, not fun on a top heavy bike.
I had a couple of slides in the dry on the French over banding, KEEP OFF.
Always zero your trip so you have a good indication when a refill is due, don't wait for the warning light.
A sign post ahead at 45 degrees mean straight on.
Take note of your exit on the big sign when approaching a rounabout and keep going round until you see your sign.
France used to be very good at giving the road number but now seem to rely on a destination which is not so good if yours is not on it. Every reflective post on the side of an N road used to have the road number on it, not now. So travelling by road numbers can be difficult.
The wellow diamond sign means you have right of way but with a black line means priority from the right which happens more in built up areas.
I hope this is of help.

Also watch out for beat up old hatchbacks, Renault 5s, Peugeout 205s, Citroen AXs etc. These will invariably have one of two types of drivers (not wanting to stereotype here..);

1. Old french guy, returning from the marche with his baguettes and onions, doing about 60 km/h trying to use the whole of the road, signalling randomly and generally oblivious to everyone else. Overtake with caution

2. Young french guy/girl pushing their skinny tyres as hard as possible, doing crazy overtakes and going way too fast for their cars peformance, especially down hill and all the while smoking some filthy french cigarette. Only overtake if you are sure youi can get away from them otherwise they will be bang on your tail.

On the whole I find drivers on the continent will pull over to give you more space to pass, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the route ahead is clear. The done thing is then to stick your right leg/foot out in thanks, great in theory but always seems to set cramp off in mine on a long ride!

Ditto the road conditions as the above posts, so if you find a good road don't be afraid of repeating it.

Good advice, thanks for this.

Handy phrase:
"ou est la station-service la plus proche?"
(where is the nearest petrol station)

Adam.

Hi

I can also advice not to pay attention to the "flashing boxes" policemen had put everywhere on the highways ! Because you're a foreigner, you don't have to pay the bills !

[Kylie]

One thing about France that took me ages to work out, there are not usually speed limit signs coming in and out of villages, but the white signs with red borders announcing the village name means that 30mph (or whatever it is in km/h) applies, while the same one with a line through it on the exit means 60mph limit again.

UK credit card seems to work ok in the "Carte Blue" automatic booths on the auto-route, but never managed to get one to work at an unmanned petrol station like most supermarkets have at night.

Their speed cameras are like large grey filing cabinets on the ground with yellow/black striping round the front edges. Occassionally they are at the top of a tall grey structure. But then again, chances of them being able to fine you on foreign plates is slim. And on a similar note, they could use the time on the autoroute tickets to work out what speed you have done but they don't seem to....