trip bilbou germany
 

Hi Must see would be Gorges Verdon, Grand Canyon of France,60 miles north of Nice, San Bernadino Pass, old road. and in Switzerland using Interlaken as a 3 day base all of the passes in Switzerland, Amazing and on the way to Black Forest.

Regards Ray

North of the Black Forest.
 

Hi Ray,
I was meant to do your trip in reverse this year but halfway through i was let down my mates who turned for home, alas i didnt complete the trip.
Anyhow, firstly 2 1/2 weeks is more than enough, even staying off the motorways, which i'd advise. That trip works out about 1100 miles if my memory serves me, so limit yourself to 200 miles a day, and enjoy. When you come up through the black forest, be sure to use the B500.... awesome road mate. If you feel like stopping in Baden Baden for a night ( or 2, you have the time ) look for Cafe Lohr, smack in the middle of the town opposite the big Cathedral and fountain. Theres a Serbian lady who runs it, cant remember her name, but mention me ( Lee ) i stayed there twice this year, and she'll look after you. Nice town, great people and fabulous beer!!
If you fancy some advice, from there go north, toward Kaiserslauten, and make your way towards the Eiffel region. This is where the Nurburgring is, and its one of those things you have to do once in your life. Dont beleive the hype either, the Ring kills no one, they kill themselves by not respecting it. Theres a real nice hotel in Auderath on the B259, called Hotel Wilhelmshoe ( think thats how you spell it ). Its run by an English woman, Jackie, and her German husband, Ulrich, who is also the chef. The place is real nice, secure garaging for your bike, the food is top notch and its not at all expensive. If you mention me to Jackie she'll know who your talking about ( I've stayed there about 8 times now ).
That whole area is beautiful, great riding, the Mosel Valley is spectacular, go to Cochem... real picture postcard town.
Good luck anyhow, if you need any more info, drop me a line.
Regards!!

im not sure how close to your route it is but Harmonie-Hotel Waldesruh - Bikers welcome is a good place to stay. its run by an English ex bike journo who moved out there as he liked the place so much.
only other thing i can think of as ive not travelled much yet is the road south from santander to burgos? is great. high empty plains & ends in a valley with what looked like hundreds of vultures circling overhead.

Avoid mediterranean coast towns in my country. They seem all the same and they are overcrowded of people and hotels for "guiris" (English and German tourists). Don't ride in Barcelona city unless if you are used to ride in big cities (there are lots of alternative ways to visit Barcelona).

Inner roads about 40 km far from the sea are much more interesting to ride a motorcycle. Maestrazgo country or Sierra Espadán in Valencia - Castellon is very nice to see Parque Cultural del Maestrazgo Parque Natural de la Sierra de Espadán , and way to Barcelona, don't forget Ports de Basseit Els Ports Parc Natural or Penedès country DO Penedès

Just some suggestions of my beautiful and sunny country!

do it
 

We did Bilbao on the ferry from Portmouth, cutting out the boring france bit, take the single night route not the 2 nighter (zzzzzzz). Monday night arrival though. Drop off to the Picos de Europa, its only a few hours west and worth a peek. The grand tour takes a good days ride and is great practise for the Pirenees and alps.
We did it on a fully loaded Goldwing with a total weight of about 500kgs, but still had fun. B&B s cheap and good roads.:thumbup1:

Hi Mark
 

Hello Mate,
Dont know if you already have one, but i cannot stress enough how good the tom tom rider is for this sort of trip. I used mine for Calais-Chamonix, through Germany, Switz, Italy, and although some die hards will say it takes some of the fun out of the trip, i can tell you now the time they save you is unreal. I did the trip last June, no motorways, planned the next days ride with a map picking out my route on the backroads, and never needed a map while on the road. If you need someone to help you with it, i'm in Romford and would be willing to show you how it all works. Also, if you bought one just for the trip, you can sell it on after and dont lose a great deal of money, I sold mine for £ 300.
Good luck, once youve ridden on the continent, you'll realise how crap it is here!!!!