Is it wise to just follow my nose on my France trip ?
 

Like a lot of folk I'd like to visit France on the bike this summer. Only I don't particularly want to be restricted to a set route. I recently had a trip to the Isle of Mull and even though the island is very small I loved the feeling of freedom from the fact I could go anywhere I wanted. I will have two weeks off work, I'm not sure if I will be able to take more, I haven't asked yet.
But basically I'd like to roughly do a clockwise round-tour of France. I've read countless recommendations of what regions to visit and what roads to go for but these are just people's opinions (which differ a lot from one person to the next) and at the end of the day I just want to go wherever I like the look of.
Does this seem unwise? Will I end up missing out on all the best views and stuck on the rubbish roads?

Re: Is it wise to just follow my nose on my France trip ?
 

Actually that is possible. Plan the best roads to try and get to, don't beat yourself up if you cant find them, but dont be too strict in timing. Choose places you would ideally like to do/see but dont set too much of a rigid timeframe.

OR really just follow your nose and ACCEPT that you will see some great places and miss a few as well.

If your tarvelling alone you'll have all the time in the world to plan day to day rather than beforehand.

Have a great time :drink:

Re: Is it wise to just follow my nose on my France trip ?
 

There's no reson why you can't do it that way, but I would suggest, that unless you had a particular "target" you're likely to spend a lot of time going "nowhere".

Personally, I'd decide to aim for a town or region, look at a map and say, for instance, "To get to Colmar I need to go down there and follow the signs for x and then y".

I look at a map and decide what roads I want to try, some are good, some aren't. A couple of years ago we went along the D430 out of Pontarlier. It was completely random, we just looked at the map and decided it looked good. It was bloody fantastic..

So, stick a pin in the map and go for it !! :smt003

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Re: Is it wise to just follow my nose on my France trip ?
 

Yeah that sounds like a good idea guys. Like I could just say - "OK I want to get to Reims today, what roads do I feel like taking....". And the next day I could say - "Head towards Dijon today........that road there looks nice and twisty:D"
That way I'm not too restricted but still have somewhere to aim for, and I can always change my mind if I don't like the look of it.

Cheers guys:)

Re: Is it wise to just follow my nose on my France trip ?
 

When Pete and I go touring we usually have some idea of where we want to end up, but we never make set plans of having to be in 'this' place by 'this' day. We very rarely pre-book accommodation because in June/early July you can always find somewhere to stay.

Quite often we've sort of thought we would go 'here', but having seen some roads that look too good to miss, ended up 'there' instead.:D It's all part of the fun.

Re: Is it wise to just follow my nose on my France trip ?
 

Just get out there! But I think there are a few areas of France that might have less interesting roads, better to find those out and avoid them, leaving you with the other 70% of France! I tend to half follow my nose, I have a few ideas of where I want to go and head off in that general direction, changing my plans as my mood and weather (and navigating skills) dictate.

Just make sure your're withing 600 miles of the ferry port 24 hrs before your crossing :)