Hi guys, I am planning to ride from Dartford to Mallorca via Dijon in the summer. Any tips / advise? Cheers
Im off the france in may to go and watch the gp. Make sure you read up on the laws of france. Like its against the law to filter through traffic and you also need reflector stickers on your helmet etc
In France the rules don't apply. Slow down five miles before a peage as that's where they site their speed traps. Buy fuel off the motorway, it's cheaper. Enjoy waving to passing bikes with your left hand. Try not to spend all your time wondering why beer is 4p in the supermarket and £10 a half in a bar. France is great. Watch out for migrant activity near ports. Everyone is helpful.
No advice but have a fab time over there. Take loads of pics for us and are you planning to make a France trip thread at all for us over here?!
Cheers guys. I will keep you updated. Today I will work out the costs, tolls charges are about €100 for one way!!!
Get off the toll roads most of there A roads run along side the toll roads and on a bike you can make good time. There's loads of silly little laws but we have never been stopped in 10 yrs on our annual euro trip all I take is a high viz vest. Watch your speeds they can be a bit sneaky and hide in silly places. Go and enjoy
When I was a lad we quite often used to go down to spain and stay at one of my dads work mates villas. To save the aggro of the motorways we used to get the ferry to calais, quick drive to paris and get the moto rail down to I think it was Perpignon in the Pyrenese – basically board the train at about 8 in the evening, stick your car/bike on the back of said train, have some scran, go to sleep and wake up at 7 in the morning down in the south of france. If I was travelling as far as Mallorca I’d definitely consider that (unless you have loads of time on your hands) as its probably a) cheaper than paying for tolls and fuel, b) saves your aching bones for the better roads and c) you arrive well rested for a day in the saddle (and no worries about obscure French road laws). Having said that if I headed to the south of france on my bike id probably end up in Denmark so you probably get a little of my thinking there. Enjoy and have a safe trip.
Everyone that doesn't want to pay goes on the back roads, I've done so in 2011 (Zeebrugge to Dijon) and ended up a bit frustrated... It wasn't bad but I was sometimes frustrated by being stuck behind a lorry , not the pleasant riding I was expecting... I can't remember how much we've paid on the return leg (Montpelier to Paris), we took the motorway. I can't remember what we've paid...(30-40 euros? bikes weren't paying the full price) wasn't too bad... One word of warning, if you get caught going too fast, you might (will) get banned on the spot, check the French limits. And yes, they do like to hide in hedges with speed guns as one of us found out. If the train Red says still exist, I'd seriously consider that. Correct, the French don't filter, they mount the pavement and carry on till they pass the traffic
https://www.b-europe.com/Travel/Destinations/Perpignan http://www.seat61.com/France-trains.htm#.Vqs6dbKLSUk
Agree with autorail, it's great. Misses out 'flat' France and puts you straight into the hills. Cheap once you consider tolls, petrol, accommodation, squared tyres, wear and tear... Goes to about 8 places in south France, we used Narbonne on the way down, Biarritz on the way home. Did it last year for our euro tour. Dead impressed. Otherwise, hmmmm. Tolls are soul destroying. French a roads are quite slow going... Done a lot of both. Take a high viz, breathalyser and spare bulbs. Reflective helmet/clothing? That's was thrown out, not necessary. Enjoy it, there's a lot of good riding to be had in France, very good. Have a good think where you go though, a lot of flat boring riding potentially. Slow as you go through lovely villages where it'd be nice to sitting with a vin rouge, but not prime biking roads.
