I decide to try for Verdun and set off for Hirson then Charleville where I strike south on the D974. The road is now following the Meuse valley. A quick tour round Sedan to see where the Germans began their tour of France in 1940. Time is going by and it’s time to find a camp. After finding a couple of closed sites I land up at Dun sur Meuse at a site by a lake, very nice and only 4.5 Euro. Total miles covered for the day 227.
Wednesday 22/9/04
Up sharp, the lakeside is adjacent to a steel stockyard. Clanking and bashing was heard from an early hour. Porridge and tea, break camp and off by 9am. Planned route for the day is Vedun, Neufchateau, Mirecourt , Epinal, Gerardmer and Villers sur Thur. The road is a bit twistier with more woodland and villages. I stop at Commercy to take on supplies and again at Vaucoulers(the birth place of Jean D’Arc). I change my mind about the days route and decide to keep going south after Neufchateau to Chaumont, Chateauvillian, Montbard, Saulieu, Autun,Luzy, Bourdon-Lancy and Gueugnon. The roads are really quiet and even when running through towns I have no trouble. I get a little wandered on the D15 to Autun. The D15 has signs warning of bends for 5000m on what is already a very twisty road. Again after Autun I get wandered and miss Luzy by taking a road heading direct to Gueugnon. And land up camping at Etang sur Arroux. This beautiful riverside site offers reduced rates to bikers (5 Euro) and is owned by a very friendly Dutchman. The camp shop has bottles of campsite wine, I buy one, the dentist said not to drink yesterday and my gums are already healing well; and I am on holiday; and it is France; and the sun was definitely over the yardarm; and besides its my liver and I’ll do what I want with it. OK?
I set up camp have a S,S & S and demolish half the wine then go eat at the hotel which specialises in local bourgonne food. I find I have left the phrase book at the tent but the 14 Euro menu seems safe when I order a salad with something and lardons. Unfortunately the something turns out to be sheep’s kidneys at N,S,E and Wof the plate and a big pile in the middle just in case I miss the rest. Well you have to try, they taste great but the texture I cannot stomach so I eat around. With a starter, main, cheese and dessert I am well fed and head back to camp to join in the embers of a BBQ and finish my wine and chat to the owner. He is keen to attract British people to his site. The site is for touring caravans and campers rather than residential, it does have teepees, which can be booked if required and also bunkhouse type accommodation and gites. The location is excellent, at the side of a river on the edge of the village. I saw a dipper in the river and I am told that kingfishers are common.
Several road blocks on the road today, some by gendarmes, police and civil security.Total miles covered for the day 256.
Thursday 23/9/04
A long and complicated route for the day Gueugnon D994, Digion D994, Le Donjon D994, Lapalisse D994, Le Mayette De Montagne D7, D49, St Remy D122, Thiers N89, Courpiere D906, Ambert D906, Arlanc D906, Chaise Dieu D906, Le Puy en Valey N102 and Aubenas N88 N102.
A great day for riding on twisty bits especially the D7, D49, N102 and N88 lots of laughs and a big grin. The icing on the cake was the Ardeche Gorge. I dropped into it from the plateau of the Central Massif, the road runs down digging ever deeper into the surrounding mountains. As you descend the temperature rises and the driving appears to get worse. Cars hurtle round corners on the wrong side, tyres squealing and white knuckles glowing. As for the trucks: get out of the way or die. Apart from all that a brilliant road, I think I was a bit unlucky as it was going home time in Aubenas and I was mixed up in the traffic. From Aubenas I took the D103 to the west and camped in Laurac and ate at L’ete Indien( A Place in France) or what was that establishment but has now returned to being an excellent French restaurant.
Friday 24/9/04
Today I will be mostly heading west Joyuese, Le Vans, Villefort in the Cevennes then Bagnols-les Bains, Mende, Balsieges to follow the route round the Gorge du Tarn to Millau.
The road from Les Vans climbs quickly up through woodland then runs along the crest of the hill before descending to Villefort. It is an exciting road as the dense woodland restricts visibility and a good deal of concentration is required to get the most fun from the road. Every now and then you get a view over the surrounding countryside, which is mountainous but thickly wooded. I pick up supplies at Villefort and use a pissoire in the main street, very French. Villefort is surrounded by hills covered in abandoned terraces. The main industry is tourism and nobody wants to subsist farm anymore. The route via the D901 to Bagnols and Mende is really wild, lots of adverse camber hairpins and amazing villages that seem to be hewn from the rock. As I gain height the hillsides are more barren, but the tops look to be good pasture. As I join the N88 to the east of Mende I come across a memorial to the local Maquise who were involved in an ambush with the Germans. When I pull in to inspect it I discover that the site of the ambush is just below the road, it proves to be a great place for a picnic. I take the bike down on to the old road and ride along to the ambush point. An hour in the sun and some quiche Lorraine with strawberry tart for dessert and I’m ready for a few more miles. Mende is full of gendarmes dishing out hard stares. South of Mende I miss my turning and head of to the NE on the N88. About turn and back to the turning then hit Balsieges and turn off, to go up the hill by some crazy hairpins on the D31. The road climbs quickly out of the trees to run along a plateau with great views and visibility. After the 1st gear work on the way up the hill I am suddenly doing 90+ MPH. Not for long, the road then plunges down into the Gorge du Tarn and sane speeds return. The gorge is full of villages, some only accessible by cableways across the river. Steep cliffs hem me in with sheer drops to the river on the other side. It’s great! I have wanted to ride through here ever since I found out it was there. It sure is there! Many twists and turns and a break for water is needed. I stop under an overhang of rock and as I drink stones fall onto the road! In Le Rozier Payreleau I see a café is filled with bikers as I approach 10 Germans take off heading my way. They have there towels laid on the road and I stop to let them get out of the way. Sometimes things just happen and I find myself at this incredibly beautiful spot with a path running down to the river. At the river are notices warning of a new byelaw prohibiting dogs from swimming in the river. Apparently they get swept away and drown. Personally I think dogs should be encouraged to swim. Still in the absence of dogs I have a go myself. The river is very low and the water almost tepid AHHHHHHHH! And I didn’t drown. A few minutes in the sun and I’m dry. The bike gear is hot to put on and by the time I remount the bike any good the swim did has gone and I’m soaked.
I pick up the N9 at Aguessac and head south. Millau is jumping up and down, I ask at the Tourist Office for a hotel but a big road race is taking place at the weekend so the place is stuffed. Millau is a bit like Aviemore except its nice. The town has a medieval centre, any outdoor sport you care to mention, they have it in spades. But there is no room at the inn so I head for St Affrique. On the way I pass under the new viaduct for the A75. This spectacular structure is being built by M. Eiffel, he of the tower. The reasoning behind the A75, which is toll free and has many junctions to allow easy access from the many villages, on the route from Clermont-Ferrand to Montpellier is that: "the people of the Central Massif should not be disadvantaged due to lack of good communications" and to this end EU money is paying part of the cost(that means you and me). It is a far cry from Britain where the economy of Skye has been crippled by the tolled bridge. And don’t mention the railways or the investment in infrastructure during the 80’s and 90’s when we were told there was no alternative to cutbacks. But I digress; the route to St Affrique took me through Roquefort (it’s a bit cheesy) via a fast more open road. The Hotel de Pont proved to be a good place; I was able to park in the beer cellar that had been the coach house. The hotel is sited on the ramp running down to the river ford so must be quite old but very clean and modern inside. I had a few beers before dinner in a street restaurant then bed. Total miles covered for the day 172.
Saturday25/9/04
Todays route is probably the most complicated of the trip. Leave St Affrique by D999, St Piere D999, Left onto D32, Belmont sur Rance D32, Launcaune D32, D607, Angles D52, Rouairoux D52, Cross N112 onto D88, Left at D88 to Sales D88, Right onto D920, Lebrat D920, Citou D920, Caunes Minervois D620, D620 direction of Carcassone, Left to Laure Minervois, Trebes D135, Fonties D’Aude D3, Lagrasse D3, Villerouge Thermes D23, Mouthoumet D613 Arques D613. Phew!!!!
I leave a bit later than usual, about 10.30am, it being Saturday the roads are quite busy but as I make my first turn off and head up the D32 I start on what turns out to be the classic day’s biking in France. The traffic disappears as the road climbs onto open hillside. As I reach the plateau at around a 1000m. The topography is like the Cairngorms, there are patches of woodland in the well-weathered corries, farms are everywhere and the lush grazing holds cattle and sheep. The road runs along the broad ridges between the mountains, ahead I can see I am about to run out of hill. The road turns suddenly left and runs down the edge of a corrie, to the right I could fall 1000 feet before the first bounce. Just before the floor of the corrie on my right, the road cuts across the face of the valley and by a series of adverse camber hairpin bends descends to the valley. Launcaune is very busy but I stop to take on supplies and have a coffee and study the map. The road (D607) appears to start just out of town, in fact it starts just on the edge and is cleverly disguised as a lane running steeply up between crowding houses. Things are looking good. The D607 quickly becomes the D52. The road is running through thick forest, the road is arched over like a tunnel in places. The move from bright sunlight to dapple and deep shades slow me down, it is difficult to see the condition of the road surface. The road is continually climbing and falling; twisting and turning as it seeks a route through the mountains. The V twin of the DV is coming in to its own. The torque pulls the bike up some silly slopes and picks the bike up from some heavy leans round the corners. I am becoming hysterical, tears are in my eyes as I laugh my way along. It all gets a bit much and the wee red button on the back of my neck pops out. It’s complete biking overload. Time to stop, a lay-by presents itself and I pull over. Sitting on a log watching lizards dart about, eating lovely fresh baguette with local goats cheese and jambon. Does it get any better?
I remount the bike, sans earplugs, and almost immediately the answer is YES!!! This crazy winding road now has signs warning of series of bends for x y and z Kilometre. Now I’m really into it. I can hear the engine more clearly and even the birds. My confidence in the road surface increases and I begin to go faster. The DV is a joy on this stuff; a four would be really hard work, always searching for that right gear. I have the occasional kangaroo in too high a gear, but a quick clunk down the box, and chug chug chug off it goes. I find myself trailing the rear brake into corners, having found the bike tends to sit up and try to run wide if the front is applied to vigorously. The bike is heavily loaded but this is not a problem. The bike leans over to touch down, yet is easily put onto the opposite lean. After miles and miles of this fun the mountains are falling away and a steep descent to valley begins. Long slanting zigzags find me putting on more and more speed. I wiz down to the hairpins, haul on the brakes, drop a few gears, set the bike up for the corner, crank it over, hit the apex, on with the throttle, accelerate up the gears and repeat. When I hit the N112 I get petrol. The discs smell hot, a Suzuki something or other 750 is parked next to the office. Its owner comes out and sniffs, I tell him where I have come from and he gives me a big smile and the thumbs up. When I show him where I am going he laughs and gives me two thumbs. Mmmm!
I return to my route. There is a set of traffic lights but I cannot see the junction. The lights go green and what appears to be the entrance to a carport is signed Caunes. The road is like the drive to a farm, as I pass under the trees a man is seen standing in the road with a rifle. Suddenly dogs with bells appear all around him. I seem to have ridden into the middle of a hunt. He gives me a wave to pass. Turn left turn onto D88 to Sales; the road is climbing again. This is the Montagne Noire, through these and I should see the Pyrenees. As I begin the descent the air changes and the temperature rises. This side of the mountains is semi arid. At the side of the road are orchards and sheds selling peaches and other fruits. Suddenly the steep valley sides fall away and I am on the plains around Carcasonne, the Minervoises are great wine growing country and the fields are full of vines, harvesters, machines and people. Each town and village has a cooperative winery and the smell of freshly crushed and fermenting grapes is overwhelming. I get a little wandered crossing the N113. The route rises again to Villerouge and twists and turns along a plateau to Mouthoumet, then descends towards Arques. Two kilometres from Arques I find the drive to my gite, half a Km of tarmac followed by 1Km of the worst piste/chemin I have ever seen. First gear no revs, feet down a lot, it takes the wind out of my sails, worse still it tends to discourage taking the bike back out to the road. Never mind, there is the pool and the rest of the party are already ensconced with food and wine and a car. Two whole weeks. Aaaaaahhhhhhh. Total miles covered for the day 129.
Part 2 There and Back Again
Saturday 9/10/04
Two weeks in the Gite and a couple of quick runs around the area on the bike and it was time to head for home. The weather had been brilliant, I was never rained on and the thought of heading back to the colder north was not too appealing. I could not decide which way to return. Should I head east and spend another day in the south or start the journey north right away. In the end I decided to let the fates decide. I still had to buy wine and honey to take home so with the bike fully packed I set off to the Meilerrie and the cave. As fate dictated I purchased the honey and went looking for the wine. One particular wine I wanted meant getting lost and found then a frantic look round for petrol. With the bike filled up, I went for the final top up of wine only to find the cave closed for the requisite two hour lunch. It was decided, I would head north to Limoux where I knew the wine I required was stocked by the supermarket.
The shopping done, I sat in a café and planned a route. North to Carcasonne, Castres, Albi and Rodez, then decide further.
The road to Carcassonne was busy and the town itself mobbed, the market was just beginning to break up and people were wandering all over the road, a couple of circuits of the town and I was on the right road, when I eventually reached Castres and stopped to check the map I realised I must have been well wandered. But what a great wander, I had been through countless villages, back and forward over a canal(turned out to be Canal du Midi) and had worked up a great appetite. Following the N112 to Albi I stopped at a café for a break, Carefully parking the bike under a tree for shade, I went in and ordered Café and a jambon et fromage sandwich. The patron asked me something in an accent I could not fathom and the bar flies asked if I was Allemangne? Non. Anglais? Non Ecossais. Ah rugby. One bar fly in worse English than my French tried to translate the patrons question to no effect. He tried shouting in French and I realised I was being asked if I wanted the coffee and sandwich together. Zoot alors!! Gings!! I now found myself in a one sided conversation with all present in the bar. Not sure what was being said exactly, my ears pricked up when Tony Blair’s name came up.
"Tony Blair? Puhh" I spat. "Il est le petit chien de George Bush."
"Mai qui" they said, with much back slapping and smiles.
It just shows the unintentional harmony in international relations that Honest Tone has created. I sat outside in the shade ate and studied the map.
Back on the N112 heading for Albi the pace quickened and I became aware that the front end was a bit skippy in the corners I stopped and had a close look at the front tyre. Mmmm looking a bit the worse for wear. I decided to go through the heart of Albi and look for a bike shop. No luck, now heading for Rodez on the N88. The road is getting twisty and hilly and the front tyre is feeling worse. I stop and check the pressures, they are up but its hot and so are the tyres. Press on, suddenly I come out of trees and as I head up to the brow of a hill there is a village and a big sign MOTO. In I go, out with the phrase book and the note pad and I attempt to buy a new front tyre. The owner speaks better English than I do and sorts me out with a BT 010 for 132.30 Euro. Warns me to go slowly for 40Km and sends me on my way at 4pm.
The Rodez road is great, long sweeping corners and up hill and down dale, my confidence in the new tyre increases as the miles go by, so much so that I miss all the possible routes I had to the north after Rodez and stick with the N88 as it turns to the east. I follow it to the A75 and as it is getting late I follow the signs for Millau. Too late I realise I am now heading south. I pile on the speed thinking to make an exit and turn north, whizzing along at 105 I run onto reserve and decide Millau is close so will stop there and remake the miles to the north in the morning. C’est la vie. The A75 bypass for Millau is still to complete so I come down the old road, which dives down into the surrounding hillside, glancing down the side of the valley and going round some temptingly wide and fast hairpins. Yippeee!
By the time I reach Millau it is starting to be dusk, I spot a petrol station but it is infested with crusties and new age traveller types with bundles of dogs on strings. I pass, as do others. Definitely not good for business, last thing I want is a dog bite. I find the campsite, camp, SS&S and go looking for a place to eat. All the good restaurants are full, so I land up eating at a pizzeria. Brilliant food, good beer. I stop in a couple of bars on the way back to the tent. One is full of unsavoury types, who look like they are on holiday from a Marseilles dockside bar. I am propositioned (I think) by an extremely drunk, fat woman, when I decline, her man/minder gets a bit upset and we become the floorshow. I take a swift exit. Phew! I walk along a bit, observing the street dealers and decide I need to make a sudden detour. About turn and quickly back to civilisation. I try another bar. It appears to be a local and as a stranger I attract some attention but all is friendly. The place is a bit of a rock café with a big screen jukebox pumping out rock n roll, heavy metal, 60s and 70s stuff. The joint is jumping, it looks like the start of a good night when some of the afore mentioned crusties turn up complete with dogs, eyes like Katherine wheels and strong body odour. The place quickly empties and I move on. Not having much luck I return to the tent and crash out. Total miles covered for the day 233.
Sunday 10/10/04
Morning dawned misty and cold, as I left the tent to wash a
few spots of rain fell. I packed up the tent and as I prepared to make
breakfast the rain came on. Time to go. Back on the bike and heading back north
to pickup the A75 to Clermont Ferrand.
The A75 runs out at Clermont Ferrand and becomes peage, I
take the last exit and head through Riom and start to follow the signs for
Vichy, quickly I pick up the N9 and head for Moulins. I stop for lunch beside
the river L’Allier, it is now a beautiful warm sunny day. It is such a nice day
I decide to do some serious biking, no particular destination but put in a load
of miles to the north. I pump a route into the Etrex, Moulins, Nevers, Clamency
Auxerre,, Sens, Nogent-sur-Seine. The roads are mostly national roads with the
odd bit of departmental. It’s a great day out, I find I am averaging 60MPH over
a tank of petrol. I have a bit of a problem finding petrol at one stage. The
only working pumps are automatic and my un-chipped plastics are useless. I run
into herds of bikes in one town but have to keep going to find a manned pump.(
it turns out to be a Moto de France rally) What a bummer. Never mind the biking
is fun. As the tay starts to run out I have to think of where to stay. I know
there is a good capsite by a lake just north of the Seine at Nogent but a
realigned road throws me of the trail and I head onwards towards Sezanne. At
the edge of Sezanne I am tempted to continue north but as the light is fading I
make the sensible move and head into town to look for an hotel. I start to get
worried when the first two hotels I find are closed. I carry on into town,
nothing but closed hotels, I park up and consult the map looking for the most
likely place to have a campsite. I pick a road, get back on the bike, turn
right onto the road and find the Hotel de France, Sezanne. I get a warm welcome
and instructions to take me to the rear of the hotel where I can park securely
in the old coach house. Sorted. The patron is extremely friendly and helpful and gives me a
comfortable room with a shower. I retire to the room and S,S&S by which
time it is 8pm and dinner. I am the only diner and I get the most excellent
friendly service from the waitress. The food is fabulous and reasonably priced.
I am a bit knackered with the drive but manage a glass of Champagne.(When in
Champagne…) I head off to bed at around 10pm. Total miles covered for the day
420!!! Monday 11/10/04 A buffet breakfast and a leisurely start to the day the
friendly smile of the waitress lights up the day. I reload the bike and have
coffee while I plan today’s route. First I check my ferry tickets to see what
time I have to be in Zeebrugge. Oops! It’s tomorrow, a quick phone call and my
departure is changed to today. The only useful waypoints I have for today are
Cambrai and Zeebrugge, so a map reading and route finding day is required. I
have plenty time, so the plan is: N4 direction of Paris, right onto RD373 to
Montmirial, Chateau-Thiery, Soisons D1, St Quentin D1, Cambrai N44, and retrace
my outward route to Zeebrugge. I set of on a cool morning with just a hint of mist in
places, the RD373 is a great road, it swishes it’s way through the rolling
countryside following the line of least resistance. There are few woods or
hedges and the road ahead can be easily seen. The road is quiet and as the bike
warms the pace quickens. Soon I am whizzing along, I give the bike a good work
out, running hard into corners, brake hard to suit the corner, crank the bike
over and as I apex the bend pile on the power. The road is fairly wide but even
with the visibility and lack of other traffic I stay on my own side, it’s more
fun. I meet a bike coming towards me at fantastic speed, he seems to need the
entire road to himself and he does not see me
I pass through Montmirial and pick up the D1. This road is
similar and I crack on, the traffic builds and my pace slows, time to enjoy the
countryside. This is where Brie comes from so I find a café and have a Brie and
jambon sandwich( Yum yum) and café. Soisons is a largish town and beer brewing
seems to be big business. The road through is a bit devious and at one point I
have to wait for several changes of the lights to get through a junction. A chap
in a 2CV passes me and the queue of traffic on the inside by driving down the
grass verge past the lights, he nearly causes a riot when he plunges of the
verge onto the road in front of the traffic turning right. I could not swear to
it but I’m sure his left arm was out the window holding the roof and the other
was wafting up and down to his mouth while holding a Gitanes. The route out leads up a steep zig zag onto a plateau and I am off again. Wizzing along and
suddenly this 20ft sword is sticking out of a boulder at the side of the road.
It is a memorial to those who fell defending France in 1940. The road drops
down a bank to the north and the canal de L’Oise et L’Aisne passes to the
north. The hill with the sword in the stone commands these and is probably as
good a place as any to make a stand. As I speed towards St
Quentin I glance in my mirror to see a gendarme patrol car glued to my exaust.
I check my speed, Oops, slowdown , pull in to the side and he overtakes, waves,
and speeds off. Phew! I pick up the N44 out of St Quentin and head for Cambrai.
The road is busy with a lot of trucks, so I toodle along enjoying the country.
As I come into Cambrai from the south I quickly realise I have no idea where I
am, I have been in and around the town lots of times but never from this
direction. I pickup the road to Douai but make a wrong turning for Lille and
land up on the A1. Argh, it makes the M25 look like a Sunday school picnic. Not
my idea of fun, the problems are compounded when I take another wrong turn and
land up heading east to Tournai. I have to make an illegal turn at the junction
I come off at to get back towards Lille. I pass Lille to the north, heading NW
following the tracback on the Etrex ,of my out ward journey, and pick up the
road to Zeebrugge. It is easy from here on in, I skirt Brugge and am soon at
the port. I check in, and am sent to the head of a queue lane on my own. I have
a 20minute wait to board and occupy myself by checking the bike. Time to load
and off I go first on. There being no dental restrictions I retire to the bar
and reflect on a brilliant holiday. Total miles covered for the day 250. Facts and Figures Total Miles Zeebrugge to Zeebrugge = 2064 Fuel Consumption in mpg: 60.7, 55.6, 57.2, 56.5, 63.7, 55.8,
58.1, 50.83, 55.5, 51.0. Useful Links Superfast Ferry http://www.superfast.com/ Camping at Etang sur Arroux http://www.en-bourgogne.com/ Hotel de France, Sezanne http://www.hotelfrance.fr/indexuk.htm