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6 Nov 2007
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Thanks for the replys everyone.
Walkabout, i see your point about having to use the motorways to make up some time, and i expect i will have to use them maybe from Turin to the Millau viaduct, otherwise in your opinion is 200-250 miles per day on European a roads a hard slog or fairly easy?
Stevenkirk that trip you took last year is very similiar to what im planning at the moment, makes me want to go right now, especially seeing that pic of the viaduct that flying doctor posted, i saw it for the first time on an episode of Top Gear last year, it looked amazing.
Im taking the v-strom to Ireland again on Sunday for 4 days, hopefully the weather will stay fine!
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6 Nov 2007
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Adrian,
Now I realise that we all have different ideas of what an optimum mileage day is but in case it helps I did a couple of leisurely bimbles around France last year, one a bit under a week and the other a few days over and I averaged around 180 miles a day.
I found it quite leisurely, which it was, and it left me sufficient time to take in a race meeting one day and some time around war grave sites on another day. Plenty of time for sightseeing in fact.
I also managed to arrive at my destination around tea time each day because that's what I wanted to do.
Anyway, enjoy it whatever you do and hope your weather stays dry this weekend.
Last edited by Hustler; 6 Nov 2007 at 23:17.
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6 Nov 2007
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That bridge shot is stunning. Where exactly on the D41 is that?
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6 Nov 2007
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I've done 500 mile days on occasion. It's not out of the question as a one off to get to the ferry. If you've only got 10 days you have to consider a few big 'uns. 250 miles a day is easy if you're riding all day with a stop for lunch. If you want to park up somewhere for 4 hours to sightsee then it will be less. IMHO having looked on the map to go east to Switzerland and then west to the pyrenees is more than 2500 miles. 3 weeks no problem 10 days ? Make it easy for yourself and save some for next year.
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6 Nov 2007
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Wile e, without trying to sound trite it's exactly where the D41 goes under the bridge !
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6 Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyingdoctor
Wile e, without trying to sound trite it's exactly where the D41 goes under the bridge !
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Ok, apparently I need to rephrase my above question.
That bridge shot is stunning. As an ignorant American I am having difficulty in understanding how the autoroutes are set up in Europe and have no idea of how to locate that exact location. I would love to include that location in my upcoming European motorcycling travels if someone could help me out in locating it. Thanks for any help I can receive.
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7 Nov 2007
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I have found a D41 in Nord, France but it appears to only run through farmland and smaller towns. I can't seem to locate that bridge on google maps satellite view.
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7 Nov 2007
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wikipedia link
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7 Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adrian74
...my plan is to travel from Callais to Belgium (Bastogne), thru luxemburg to Germany (black forest), to Switzerland (alps), to northern Italy (Turin), to France again (millau viaduct), to Andorra, to Spain (Santander) for the ferry back to Plymouth...
... I'm not planning to use motorways or toll roads (except for millau viaduct) and would like to keep my milleage down to about 200 to 250 miles per day.
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Hi Adrian,
We covered some of the same ground recently and my 2 cents worth would be to take the motorways and cover big miles between the main sights you've chosen in Belgium and Germany to get to the Alps and northern Italy (e.g. the Lakes) spending most time liesurely winding around the mountains and lakes. We were a little disappointed by the Black Forest. Then motorways again down to Millau, winding back roads again through southern France. Cheers
Quote:
Originally Posted by wile e
I can't seem to locate that bridge on google maps satellite view.
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Wile e,
Try these coords in Google Earth: N44 04.861 E3 01.243 - You'll see the tall pilons in place (or their shadows) and the construction work, but no bridge/viaduct road platform as the maps are still too old! We took these photos of the Viaduc De Millau on 4th August 2007:
Last edited by Grant Johnson; 6 Days Ago at 03:27.
Reason: .
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7 Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wile e
Ok, apparently I need to rephrase my above question.
That bridge shot is stunning. As an ignorant American I am having difficulty in understanding how the autoroutes are set up in Europe and have no idea of how to locate that exact location. I would love to include that location in my upcoming European motorcycling travels if someone could help me out in locating it. Thanks for any help I can receive.
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Being Europe, each nation has its' own road classification system (having said that, there is also an EU system in place as well, I believe for just major motorways, just to clarify things  ).
D roads in France are run by the local highway people; D = Departement, something about the same size as a county in the USA.
Therefore, there are loads upon loads of D roads and the numbers, as you have discovered, can repeat themselves across 100s of Kms of roads.
Having got that out of the way, the very best twisties in France are often the D roads!!
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7 Nov 2007
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More about French roads
I've just noticed that the "As" and "Ns" are mentioned as well:
A: these are the Autoroutes/Autobahns/Autostradas etc, like Interstates in the US.
N: these are the national routes of strategic importance to France but not constructed to "A" standard (can also be quite twisty and of interest to motorcyclists therefore!).
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7 Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyingdoctor
Wile e, without trying to sound trite it's exactly where the D41 goes under the bridge !
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Tee!Hee!!!............................
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7 Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adrian74
Thanks for the replys everyone.
Walkabout, i see your point about having to use the motorways to make up some time, and i expect i will have to use them maybe from Turin to the Millau viaduct, otherwise in your opinion is 200-250 miles per day on European a roads a hard slog or fairly easy?
Stevenkirk that trip you took last year is very similiar to what im planning at the moment, makes me want to go right now, especially seeing that pic of the viaduct that flying doctor posted, i saw it for the first time on an episode of Top Gear last year, it looked amazing.
Im taking the v-strom to Ireland again on Sunday for 4 days, hopefully the weather will stay fine!
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Hi Adrian,
In the last 12 hours you have received replies to your query that are all perfectly valid and I agree with all of them (some days you will ride longish distances and on other days you will be stopping frequently for breath-taking views, sight seeing of whatever, torrential downpours blah blah &, yes, you can end up doing more than you prefer in order to catch some ferry or other - the Long Way Down people are doing exactly that right now and Ewan is not happy!); there are still factors that no one knows about you, such as "will you be carrying a pillion passenger and, if so, does he/she give you "grief" at every fuel stop?".
Very glad to hear that you are off on a short trip soon - no doubt you will use this to get a feel for your own preferences in the daily distances debate.
Let us know what you think after that!
Cheers,
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More about French roads
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