Last Year’s Trip

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Spike941
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Last Year’s Trip

Post by Spike941 »

With nothing currently better to do, I thought I’d have a go at this. Hoping it works.

Last Year’s Trip

For the last few years, Dan (my long time riding pal) and I have met up with a couple of Swiss mates for our annual European bike trips, and last year was no exception. The only difference was it was to be a shortened one due to various individual commitments of the other three. Many dates were discussed, and eventually whittled down to just five days at the end of May. Dan could take nine, so I started to hatch a plan to meet up on the Swiss border, then head south for sun, snow, sea and sand.
The rough plan was to meet the Swiss guys in Annecy, ride the Grand Route of the Alps south to the Cote d’Azur and return via the Route Napoleon and the balcony roads of the Vercors.
Dan and I as usual were riding our trusty Tiger Explorers, and that fine dry Friday evening at the end of last May saw of them both roaring down the A34 to Portsmouth for an evening meal and the overnight ferry to Le Havre.

Saturday was a very early disembarkation into a clear, dry but rather chilly morning, and a motorway free cross country route to Nevers, our pre planned overnight stop. Mid morning breakfast in an aire saw us getting out the stove for porridge pots and cappuccinos as it was still bloody cold, before eventually picking up the Loire and a warm scenic ride along it’s banks to Nevers.
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Spike941
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Re: Last Year’s Trip

Post by Spike941 »

By lunchtime it was hot, bloody hot, and shade was our priority.
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Spike941
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Re: Last Year’s Trip

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The previous year we’d parted company with the Swiss guys after spending our last night together in Lourdes (a place we all swore we’d never revisit) after our Pyrenean adventure, before Dan and I headed south into northern Spain. Imagine my surprise when searching Booking dot com for cheap accommodation in Nevers, to find a convent in the middle of town offering basic rooms, avec petit dejeuner at affordable prices. What’s more, it was the very convent attended by Saint Bernadette in 1866 after finding fame and fortune in Lourdes, with mini Grotto to match.
Dan, a lapsed Catholic who’d suffered greatly from the hands on nuns during his childhood wasn’t impressed. Even more so when nowhere in the town was showing the Spurs Liverpool European cup final. As usual, all the French restaurants had stopped serving by 9pm, but thankfully the delightful Portuguese one in the old town hadn’t. I fell asleep listening to Dan recalling tales of his upbringing.
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Spike941
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Re: Last Year’s Trip

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The following day was a most pleasant ride along stunning D roads, with weather to match, and into the mountains to Annecy. The Ibis with secure parking next door, an early evening meal and a stroll along the shore of the lake was the very ticket. I do like Annecy, even if it is a bit of a honey pot for the tourists.
We weren’t due to meet up with the Swiss guys until lunchtime the following day, so the morning gave us time to check the maps and current alpine road conditions. Thankfully, following a request on the Adventure Bike forum, I was pointed in the direction of a great little website showing the current condition of the passes, including dates and times they were due to open. I’d been monitoring the site since before leaving, and things were looking good.
They weren’t. Bugger!
I’d booked that nights accommodation for the four of us in a too good to be true very cheap ski chalet airBnB in Briançon. The planned route was to follow the Grand Route via Valloire and the Col du Galibier, but that route was now blocked by avalanches. The only other way to Briançon was via Grenoble. On the stroke of midday, the two Swiss registered GS 1200’s pull up outside the Ibis, except one was now the brand new 1250 Rallye, and very nice it was too. A quick lunch and catch up left us with no choice re the now late afternoon’s route south, hopefully arriving in Briançon before dark. The first part of the ride over the Massif des Bauges was great. The second, following the banks of the Isère not so. However, turning due east at Grenoble for the evening run up the D1091, with the likes of Alpe d’Huez to our left and Les Deux Alpes to our right was magical.
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Spike941
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Re: Last Year’s Trip

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The fun started with our late arrival in Briançon and trying to track down the owner of our airBnB. He eventually appeared and showed us to his small but bijou apartment, sans towels and bedding. We had none, so had no choice but to fork out a small fortune to hire some sheets. (One for the lessons learned folder) The day finished in a cracking little bikers bar restaurant catching up more with the guys and checking that our intended route south was open. The website thankfully said it was.
The following day was one of those days you never want to end, that was until the end when we found ourselves separated in the heat of the evening rush hour traffic in the centre of Nice. The day however was fantastic. Lots of sunshine, lots of dry twisty roads and lots of snow. Motorcycle heaven. Worth riding 500 miles just for that one day. The Col du Bonette was open, but the summit loop was still well and truly snowed over.
On the descent from the Bonette we encountered a 10 minute downpour necessitating putting on the waterproofs, but that was short lived and things dried out soon enough. Heading now for sea and sand, we approached the outskirts of Nice. Being one for usually steering clear of any Peage, having lived down that way a few years back, I knew only too well what driving through Nice and Monaco was like. I tried to indicate to the others to pick up the motorway, as that night our destination was Menton. They were having none of it. What followed was two hours of motorcycle hell. Needless to say, we all met up again on the run into Menton and our beach front Ibis just yards from the Italian border. Chianti and Pizza it was that night, along with many poor impersonations from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s The Trip.
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Spike941
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Re: Last Year’s Trip

Post by Spike941 »

The next day we wanted motorcycle heaven from the outset, so the satnavs were set for Sospel and the Col du Turini. We weren’t disappointed more great weather, more great riding. The switchbacks on the climb and views up to the col are breathtaking. From the Turini we plotted a cross country mountainous route due west to Digne les Bains, to pick up the Route Napoleon and onto Sisteron for that night’s stopover. Many riding days have equaled, but never beaten. Fingers crossed for the same again tomorrow and the Vercors.

I hate temping fate, but continually find myself doing so, which is possibly why I find myself writing this in bed, recovering from 8 bone fractures during a time of national lockdown. The other guys look to me as chief route planner, so the following morning, bikes ready to go and wanting more riding heaven, ask “Where to Spike?” I reply, without thinking, “We’re going to Die” Die is a town on the D93 on the southern edge of and gateway to the Vercors Massif. We all took it steady. From there pick up the D518 then D76 to Saint-Jean-en-Royans for a true ABR must ride route. The weather had started to change, although still dry, we did find ourselves riding up into the mist and cooler temperatures and several occasions. The riding however was equally as impressive as had been in the previous few days. A picnic lunch in the warm valley air at Vassieux-en-Vercors below the Col de Lachau with it’s famous Memorial de la Résistance, was followed by an afternoon nap by some.

The balcony road, still the D76, (you all will have seen photos of) on the way to Saint-Jean is absolutely jaw dropping. Shorter than I imagined, but no less impressive. Another one ticked off the list.

We dropped down out of the Vercors into the Isere valley once more, north of Grenoble, and a late afternoon ride north to Chambery, and the town centre Ibis where we’d spend our last night together as a foursome. There’s a fairly new’ish plaza type square in the Chambery, with many restaurants and bars. We found ourselves until the wee small hours in a music bar on open mic night. Some great musicians and great music. Every Thursday apparently and well worth a visit.

After an extended farewell breakfast, we parted ways. Dan and I had two days for a leisurely ride back to Le Havre, but the weather forecast was not good. In fact it was horrendous, with a mighty storm crossing all of France over the next 24 hours. We planned our route accordingly. No point heading west, our intended and obvious route, as we’d be riding straight into the storm. We choose to head north to Dijon, find a hotel with spa facilities and hold out there until the storm blew through. We made good time to Dijon (Dan a little too good, as he picked up a €45 ticket from one of those sneaky hidden central reservation cameras, which I luckily spotted just in time) and made Dijon just as the rain started to fall. The storm past overnight and the following day’s ride west, although windy, was actually quite pleasant. Even managed to find a sheltered picnic site. An afternoon ferry back to Portsmouth was followed by an uneventful late evening ride back up the A34. All round, a most enjoyable little adventure indeed. Just hoping there’ll be enough of this year left after the all clear to fit in another one.
Until then, keep safe.
Spike.
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