Day 8: Fri 4th July 2009

 

Ride: Etreaupont to Bewdley - 347 miles

 

Just like two years ago, today we had a short 130 mile dash to Calais - mainly autoroute - a ferry crossing to Dover, and then a final 200 miles or so of motorway to cover before we'd be back home in Bewdley. Where it differed to last time was that we were due to arrive in Dover at rush hour on a Friday.

 

Right from the off this morning it was every man for himself and a race to get an earlier crossing. We virtually all started together but one by one riders - and driver - fell back either getting caught at traffic lights, having to stop for fuel, or getting lost in the most ridiculous diversion around Cambrai. In the end Phil was victorious and the only one that managed to catch the early ferry.

 

 

 

The M25 was like a car park and we were happier to be on bikes today than we were yesterday however note to ourselves - don't come home on a Friday afternoon next time.

 

Once again we had a fantastic trip and everyone had a great time and on this tour, for those that did all the rides, we managed to clock up 1,750 miles.

 

On a final note, once again many thanks from everyone to Phil for his route planning, and motorail and hotel bookings.

 

Next year we're thinking of heading to the Italian Alps - possibly having the bikes transported there and flying out to pick them up - and touring the Dolomites...

 

 

 

Day 7: Thur 3rd July 2009

 

Ride: Belfort to Etreaupont - 291 miles

 

This morning the weather was dreadful and we envied Cat being in a car. Today we planned to the most direct route which was basically the D438 to Vesoul, pick up the N19/E54 to Langres, and then the A5/E17 to the E54 towards Troyes. Then the A26 to Reims getting off at junction 13 and pick up the N2 through Vervins and finally into Etreaupont.

 

From the getgo it was a race to Le Clos du Montvinage, our hotel for tonight. We naturally split into three groups based on the bikes we were riding. Chris B and Phil were both on BMWs, Pete and Gaz were both on high speed long range tourers, and Kyle and Chris P were both on sports orientated bikes.

 

The result was a surprise - to some. Pete and Gaz took the early lead but after about 40 miles they were caught and passed by Kyle and Chris P who didn't look back until they reached the hotel. Pete and Gaz rolled in a full hour later but the question was what had happened to the two BMWs. Another hour had passed by until they finally arrived. Unfortunately Chris P's Boxer Cup had developed an electrical problem not long after leaving Belfort and it had taken the best part of an hour to sort it out.

 

 

We stayed at this hotel in 2006 on the way back from Chamonix and we'd still recommend it. It's quiet and relaxing, the owners very friendly, and the restaurant superb.

 

Below is a group photo taken by Pete of the final dinner, marking the end of another tour.

 

 

 

 

Day 6: Wed 2nd July 2009

 

Ride: Col du Ballon d'Alsace - 48 miles

 

We had nothing planned for today, just the vague idea to go for a short ride and find somewhere to have lunch. After a lazy breakfast we spent a cultural morning exploring the castle and Belfort's most famous icon, the enormous sandstone sculpture "Le Lion du Belfort".

 

The sculpture is by Frédéric Bartholdi who was also the architect of the Statue of Liberty. It's made of sandstone blocks that were individually sculpted and then moved to the bottom of the castle and assembled. The sculpture is 22 metres long and 11 metres wide and it's quite impressive and really dominates the local landscape. It symbolises the heroic resistance of Belfort during a 103 days long Prussian assault in 1870-71.

 

 

We then headed for the centre of town to find a cafe. Over a coffee we formed a plan of action and decided to ride out to the Col du Ballon d'Alsace and get some lunch at the top. The last time we were there was on the way to Chamonix on our 2006 tour - and as it happened that was exactly two years ago to the day. The views were as spectacular as we'd remembered.

 

 

After lunch we headed back to Belfort via Ronchamp however when we got to Champagney we spotted a lake that looked like a popular for sunbathing and swimming.

 

 

It was hot and we wanted to cool down so we parked up and went for a swim. The weather forecast for today had predicted storms this afternoon and by the time we'd dried off we could see the clouds beginning to gather so headed back to Belfort.

 

 

Meanwhile Cat was in his hire car making his way up to Belfort from Grenoble. He was making good time and expected to make it in time for dinner so the rest of us headed to a bar and waited for him to make an appearance.

 

 

Cat finally appeared shortly after 6.00pm. Over a few beers he gave us the lowdown on his bike - basically it was knackered and he was fed up talking about it so the conversation moved on to food. We fancied something to eat that wasn't pasta or pizza and Pete knew of a Moroccan restaurant in the old city called La Gazelle D'Or. We could have done with booking because it was quite busy but they were helpful and found us a table - the food there was good and reasonably priced.

 

 

From there we headed over to the opposite side of the city and a dodgy karaoke bar that Pete knew of. We just about made it before the gathering storm set in. Sensing that the weather was getting worse we then headed closer to home and finished the night off at the Irish bar opposite our hotel.

 

Shortly after midnight we called it a night, by which time it was blowing a gale and raining heavily. Tomorrow was going to be a wet ride.

 

 

 

Day 5: Tue 1st July 2009

 

Ride: Briancon to Belfort - 363 miles

 

This morning Cat was waiting for a man with a van to take him and his bike to Grenoble. It wasn't clear what was going to happen after that, but if the problem was terminal he was going to arrange for his bike to be shipped back to the UK and then hire a car and drive up to Belfort to join everyone else the next day.

 

Meanwhile everyone else had a lot of riding in front of them today. Phil had planned a route to Belfort that started with a run over the Col de Montgenevre and a brief spell in Italy. From there it was along the E70 to the Tunnel Alpin du Frejus and then up the A43/E70 virtually all the way to Albetrville. From Albertville the route headed towards Ugine and up and over the Col de l'Arpettaz to Flumet, then the D909 towards St. Gervais, before finally picking up the N205 and riding up the valley to Chamonix.

 

However before leaving Briancon this morning there had been dissent within the ranks and Pete and Gaz had decided that they would skip Phil's ride up the Montgenevre pass road and go the most direct route to Belfort. While they were well on their way Phil and his group of Chris B, Kyle and Chris P stopped off at Chambre Neuf in Chamonix for lunch.

 

After lunch Phil's group made their way up the valley and over the Col des Montets to Vallorcine where they crossed into Switzerland. From there it was up and over the fantastic Col de la Forclaz - an old favourite that was ridden a number of times on the 2006 tour to Chamonix - and into Martigny. From there it was up the A9/E62 heading towards Montreux and Lausanne from where they picked up the E23 and crossed back into France. From there they took the N57/E23 to Pontarlier and finally the A36/E60 for the run into Belfort.

 

The accommodation we had chosen for tonight, Grand Hotel du Tonneau d'Or, is a large recently refurbished hotel with a private car park. It's a bit more expensive than than the places we normally book but Pete had spent a few years working in Belfort for Alstom and was able to get us a corporate rate.

 

 

Gaz and Pete made good time to Belfort and were already relaxing in a bar when Phil, Chris B, Kyle and Chris P rolled in. It had been a long hot day in the saddle and everyone was glad to get out of their leathers, get something to eat and get to a bar.

 

 

Meanwhile Cat had spent most of the day trying to sort his bike out. This morning the man with a van had taken him and his bike to an Aprilia dealership in Grenoble. Someone there had taken a quick look at it and after a bit of head scratching told him it was knackered and needed to be shipped back to the UK. After all this, and after organising the shipping, he'd lost the best part of a day and was now stuck in Grenoble - at least for the night. Rather than simply fly back home he made a plan. Tonight he'd check into a hotel and tomorrow he'd hire a car and drive up to Belfort and meet up with the rest of the group, and continue his holiday.

 

 

 

Day 4: Mon 30th June 2009

 

Ride: Col Agnel & Col du Galibier - 136 miles

 

There was a full complement today despite another heavy night on the beer. We decided to head south-east from Briancon and ride over the Col d'Izoard and the Col Agnel and have lunch in Italy before returning via Col de la Maddalena.

 

 

The Izoard was superb and generally well surfaced with a really fast lower section followed by hairpin after hairpin after hairpin.

 

 

At the bottom of the Izoard we turned left towards Chateau Queyras and then right towards the Agnel. The sign said the pass was "ouvert" on the French side but "ferme" on the Italian side but we paid no attention to this as John Hermann's book Motorcycle Journeys Through the Alps and Beyond (in the fourth edition) told us that this was frequently the case and to ignore it. There were some road works going up but once we got past these the run up the valley was sensational - highly recomended. The road surface looked brand new and it was another mix of sweepers, twisties and finally knee down hairpins all the way up to the French-Italian border at the top.

 

 

Unfortunately when we crossed into Italy this is what we faced.

 

 

However, looking south into Italy the road looked fine and Gaz volunteered to squeeze his Blackbird past the barrier and ride down the valley to see if the road really was closed or not.

 

 

Our intrepid volunteer headed off down the valley and managed to get about 5 miles into Italy before he encountered an excitable group of road workers - presumably Italian. They seemed to be quite agitated waving their arms about a lot and gesturing. Not speaking Italian Gaz decided discretion was the better part of valour and made a retreat back to France.

 

 

 

It later transpired that the road was closed for resurfacing because on 20th July stage 15 of the Tour de France would be coming up and over the Agnel for the first time in the history of the race.

 

At this point we had a chinwag and decided that the only thing to do was head back down the way we'd come. Before we did that though we took a few more photos.

 

 

 

We rode down the valley back to Briancon and then out towards Grenoble on the D1091 heading for the Col du Lautaret and the Col du Galibier. We stopped for lunch at Le Monetier les Bains where we found a cafe run by a very pleasent British couple who were very helpful. It was very hot again today and after lunch Chris B and Pete decided they wanted to head back down to Briancon and find somewhere to have a swim while everyone else headed up the Lauteret.

 

 

The road up the Lauteret is very wide and fast - you wouldn't really categorise it as a Col - and at the top you turn right onto the D902 towards Valloire and immediately you are on the Galibier. The road up is good but many of the bends are blind and campervans seem oblivious to road markings so you can almost guarantee they will be on your side of the road.

 

Nevertheless the views from the top of the Galibier were probably the best of the entire trip as the series of photos below show.

 

 

 

However not everyone made it to the top. Kyle, Phil and Chris P passed Gaz and Cat parked up on the side of the road some way below the summit. If you look carefully at the photo below you can just about make out the two little dots (circled in white) about 500ft down.

 

 

Gaz and Cat had swapped bikes at the bottom of the Galibier and on the way up Cat's Tuono had developed a bad rattle - probably a broken cam chain tensioner. That pretty much brought an end to our day, and certainly an end to Cat's tour. He managed to limp back to Briancon rolling all but the last 5 miles but that was a far as his Tuono would make it on this tour.

 

 

 

Day 3: Sun 29th June 2009

 

Ride: Barcelonnette - 190 miles

 

Today Pete, Chris P and Gaz decided to have a day off and spent their time exploring a bit of Briancon's history - and no doubt topping up last nights beer intake. Apparently at 1,350m Briancon is the second highest city in Europe, after Davos in Switzerland, and on 8th July this year several buildings including the city walls, Redoute des Salettes, Fort des Trois-Têtes, Fort du Randouillet, ouvrage de la communication Y and the Asfeld Bridge were classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The historical centre of Briancon is a strongly fortified town, built to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and very narrow but very picturesque. The modern town extends in the plain at the southwest foot of the plateau on which the old town is built and forms the suburb of Ste Catherine.

 

 

 

Meanwhile Chris B, Kyle, Phil and Cat - who weren't adverse to a bit of culture but had different priorities - headed southwards. First they ran down the N94 to Embrun where Kyle and Cat needed fuel - those damn V-twins with their short ranges. While they searched for fuel Chris B and Phil pulled over and waited in the shade.

 

At Savines du Lac they turned onto the D954 which runs around the edge of the Lac du Serre Poncon. This flowing stretch of road is superb whether you're on a bike or in a car and the views are absolutely stunning. The ride around the lake rates as one of the rides of this tour with a mix of sweepers, twisties and hairpins that provide plenty of opportunities to get your knee down. It's obviously a bit of a favourite with the locals too as there were some seriously quick bikes out there. Chris B particularly liked the Italian he saw coming round a tight left-hander, Ducati cranked right over, knee to the ground with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and giving a left-handed thumbs-up - it made riding on the 'wrong' side of the road look very cool.

 

The series of photos below were taken about half way round and give you a feel for how amazing the scenery was.

 

 

They then took the D900 towards Barcelonnette and turned right up the D908 to Col d'Allos. This is a very pretty Col with some stunning views on the way up however the road is very narrow in places and overtakes need to be planned. Having said that, the few cars that were encountered were easily passed until they reached the refuge at the top and stopped for some lunch.

 

 

They weren't the only petrol heads in the area though as you can see from the photo below.

 

 

As you can see from the photo below, the view from the refuge looking north was impressive - you can see Barcelonnette in the valley floor in the distance.

 

 

After lunch it was over the top of the Col and down towards Colmar where the photo below was taken - heading south and just below the summit.

 

 

You then pass through a series of dreary ski resorts until you reach Colmar where there's a sign pointing left for the Col des Champs, towards St. Martin d'Entraunes. The road up is pretty dreadful - actually it's worse than dreadful and quite uncomfortable after you've spent a few hours in the saddle - however once you've reached the top the road down is very nice. Ideally this would have been better ridden in reverse, riding up to the Col from the St. Martin end.

 

 

 

At St. Martin they turned north and headed back towards Barcelonnette on the D2202 which would took them over the Col de la Cayolle. This was great going both up and down but was possibly a Col too far as everyone was getting tired by this point.

 

 

 

From Barcelonnette it was back to Jausiers, over the Col de Vars, Guillestre, and finally the run into Briancon.

 

Tonight it was the final of Euro2008 between Germany and Spain and everywhere was busy. To save time queuing at the bar we needed a cunning a plan...

 

By all accounts Spain beat Germany which seemed to please the locals.

 

 

 

Day 2: Sat 28th June 2009

 

Ride: Nice to Briancon & Cime de la Bonette - 147 miles

 

Despite having a late one last night we woke early this morning and were glad we did. As the train slowly makes its way into Nice for the final hour of the journey you are treated to some truly beautiful views of the coastline and you begin to get that sun, sea and sand feeling, and instinctively you know that you've arrived on the Cote d'Azur. At 10.00am the train pulled into Nice as scheduled and it was hot, seriously hot - well over 30 degrees in the shade - and then we were told that they wouldn't be unloading the bikes before 11.30am. So we had a 90 minute wait before they started to get the bikes off, wearing our leathers in the sweltering heat.

 

Our discomfort was lightened however when we heard about the 5 BMW riders that we'd seen in Calais, putting their bikes on the Avignon section of the train. Apparently they'd got seriously wasted on the way down and not one of them had woken up in time to get off at Avignon. Net result was bikes in Avignon, riders in Nice facing a 4 hour train ride back to Avignon.

 

By 12.15pm we were on the road and rolling and 15 minutes later Nice was behind us and we were on the D6202 heading towards Digne les Bains and the turn off onto the D2205, signposted Col de la Bonette and Restefond. This road takes you high, in fact the scenic loop road that runs around the peak of La Bonette is as high as it gets in Europe topping out at 2,802m. The D2205 was nice with a decent road surface and some good twisties. At St. Saveur we stopped for lunch and some much needed rehydration at a nice cafe, and then it was on past Isola to St. Etienne.

 

 

The stretch of road to St. Etienne was quite modern with fast sweeping bends. Nice for a car or a bike. At St. Etienne the pass road up to La Bonette really begins and the gradual climb up the southern ramp starts here. As you would expect the scenery is outstanding. From this point there are few passing places and we were pleased to be on bikes and not in a car, on bikes we could get past virtually everything given half a chance.

 

Eventually we got above the tree line and got the panoramic views to which we had been looking forward.

 

The series of photos below were all taken at the top of the southern ramp just before the turn off to the scenic loop road that runs around the peak of La Bonette.

 

 

 

At the top of the southern ramp we turned off and headed up to the Cime de la Bonette via the 2km long teardrop shaped scenic loop that runs around the peak. The road was shut at the bottom for resurfacing so we had to go up anti clockwise and then return the same way. This road is completely pointless and we could only imagine that the local mayor decided to build it to get the title of the highest paved road in Europe - at 2,802m it's 32m higher than Col de l’Iseran.

 

 

From there we dropped down the northern ramp, barely noticing the Col de Restefond. The passage over the Restefond is easy to miss because the actual pass is situated on a gravel track leading off the D64 close to its summit. There’s no signpost to mark the top but you'll know you're there because there are various ancient blockhouses, remnants of the Maginot Line’s Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, that litter the area. The Ouvrage Col de Restefond consisted of three infantry blocks, all facing Italy.

 

 

The northern ramp from the Restefond to Jausiers is about 14 miles long and has been completely resurfaced. It's a superb road with something to please everyone from moderate straights to long sweepers, twisties and tight hairpins.

 

 

At Jausiers we turned right to go over the Col de Vars to Guillestre and then onto the N94 to take us to Briancon, our base for the next few nights. We stayed at Hotel de la Chaussee in the centre of the lower town. The hotel is family run, the rooms are nice clean, there is secure parking for bikes, and at €70 a night it's good value for money.

 

There are plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from in Briancon and we soon got stuck into them. Tonight we ate alfresco at L'Alpin - very good food and excellent service but very pricey although in fairness we did go overboard with the wine selection.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1: Fri 27th June 2009

 

Ride: Bewdley to Nice - 228 miles

 

Last night over a few pre-tour beers it was agreed that we needed an early start this morning - we settled on meeting up at Kyle's house at 7.00am. It's about 220 miles, or an easy 4 hours, from Bewdley to Dover, and we had a lunchtime crossing booked.

 

 

 

The weather this morning was superb, blue skies and sunny, and for those that arrived on time there was a cup of tea and sausage sandwich waiting - thank you Kay. And for those that didn't they had to wait until Dover for breakfast.

 

 

Unlike the farcical ride down to Dover on our 2006 tour to Chamonix Mont-Blanc, the ride down this year was uneventful with all of us arriving pretty much together. We all fuelled up just outside the ferry terminal, then checked in and waited for our P&O crossing to Calais.

 

 

The ferry got into Calais just after 3.00pm and we rode round to the Motorrail terminal - it's close to the main Calais station - to check in. Once you're in you can't get out except by foot so you need to stock up on food and drink for the journey before you get there. You can buy a picnic type meal and wine to take on board the train, and you can buy wine by the half bottle on board, but there is no restaurant car, only a buffet car and the service is limited.

 

The train only runs in the summer months and clearly hasn't had much invested in it for a number of years. Compared with the Santander ferry it rates poorly in both cost - £265 one way per bike against £240 return on the ferry - and amenities - you have the full run of bars and restaurants on the ferry, and even a cinema! The cost is calculated as £530 for a car and 4 passengers in a 4 berth couchette - and 2 bikes take up the same space as one car so you split the cost between 2.

 

Having said that it does cut out about 900 miles of riding, of which 500-600 miles is quite tedious. We reckoned that petrol, an overnight stop in a hotel and peage charges would have cost about £200 so the net cost was about £60-£70, and we avoided squaring off the rear tyre and some wear and tear.

 

Getting the bikes loaded onto the train takes a bit of time - actually it's securing them that takes the time. Unfortunately no photos but we were more concerned that everything was secure and the bikes weren't going to be damaged.

 

The train departs Calais at 6.05pm and arrives in Nice the following morning at 9.58am - so what to do for the next 16 hours? The journey started off quietly enough in the buffet. We ate our picnic and discussed tomorrows ride from Nice to Briancon over a few beers. And then we decamped to Pete and Gaz's couchette where the wine started flowing and it all went downhill.

 

 

 

No one has any idea what time we wrapped it up.