Day 1: Sat 6th June 2009
Ride: Bewdley to Etreaupont - 341 miles
This mornings departure time of 7.00am loomed. This was the time that Pete, Gaz and Mark - the "Ride-out" group - had decided to start their journey to Europe, and the skies were looking dark and menacing. Their outline plan was to spend a couple of days riding down through France, followed by another couple of days in Switzerland, before crossing into Italy and riding to the Dolomites on Wednesday, when they'd meet up with Bobby, Kyle, Phil, Cat and Taj - the "Fly-out" group - in Arabba.
Like all good plans, this one started with a good breakfast, kindly organised by a friend (who wasn't going on the trip). At 6.15am Pete and Gary were getting ready in their respective homes when a text came through notifying them that the 6.30am breakfast chef had overdone it on a late night wine tasting session, and wouldn't be capable of boiling a kettle let alone organising a full fry-up. Apparently the fire service are quite busy on Friday nights / Saturday mornings, and any misadventure in the kitchen would result in the Moto GP being missed due to a smoke damaged TV. So breakfast was cancelled.
Gaz took up the mantle and responded with cereal and coffee, for which Pete with his calorific intake satisfied for another couple of hours was most grateful.
Gaz and Pete fuelling up in Bewdley, the starting point of the trip
The weather for the trip to Dover was forecast wet. With some amateurish forecasts and rain dancing predicting that the heavens may clear by Oxford the bikes were started and a rendezvous at Mark's house completed following a fuel top up in Bewdley, wet weather gear clearly in evidence.
The run down to Dover was as good as any run gets, with showers, traffic and more showers. Arriving in Dover on time with just under an hour to sailing, through the gates and to our vessel parking in the sunshine.
Pete (L), Gaz and Mark (R) at the ferry terminal in Dover
When crossing the channel we recommend the upgrade to seated dining, this for around £15 a head gives a good lunch served to your table while watching the sea go by. A word of warning, get there right away on boarding as the crossing is short, by the time you are paying your bill the call to disembark will be coming.
There is something about arriving in France and getting off that ferry, it is like you have left everything behind and you are embarking on another great adventure. This was clearly the case with the enthusiastic riding style over the first hundred or so miles being covered in what seems no time at all, stopping only for coffee and photos at a petrol station we were on to our first destination - a revisit to our last stop over in 2008 the Hotel Le Clos du Montvinage.
Pete and Gaz outside Hotel Le Clos du Montvinage, Etreaupont
As hotels go this isn’t the most luxurious, but the welcome is certainly very friendly and the rooms sufficiently equipped with shower, English TV and the essentials downstairs of a good restaurant and a bar for some light refreshment.
Hotel Le Clos du Montvinage, Etreaupont
Before dinner and whilst making the check-in calls home to our loved ones, we ventured out to see what Etreaupont offered. The town is best described as quiet and pretty, with no bar within a 10 minute walking distance, only a kebab shop - which in true French style had been upgraded to a sit down restaurant with menu’s et-all. Only the French could turn a British late night stumble fodder into something to romance over!
Hotel Le Clos du Montvinage, Etreaupont
