This year I did my first bike tour around parts of the UK - almost a costal tour of Wales taking in some great back roads in Snowdownia and the Beacons. For 2009 I'd like to hit mainland Europe a bit, and find some more interesting roads, scenery, and people.

As a first plan I'm ponding doing this over 9 days:

Google Maps

This would be two up, probably staying in B&Bs rather than camping as this is our first longish trip and I want my better half still to love me at the end of it, and as that implies, it'd be two up on our Buell Ulysses.

Given we'd take a day off at both Les Gets and Stuttgart (possibly two in Les Gets), does this look like a doable distance in 9 days? How packed for warmth do I need to be for the Alps in summer? And will I need to buy more suspension half way round given all the cheese we'll eat? (perhaps scrap that last one...)

But any tips for a first time around Europe would be welcome. Particularly whether I'm way under budgeting time at 9 days and should just go for two weeks (though then the cost comes up of course).

If you want a really unforgetable experience, stop off for a few hours at Schwaben Quellen in Stuttgart, see Schwaben Quellen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It's at the SI Centrum (Stuttgart International Centre) about one mile north of the junction of the A8 and the 27.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

The route seems very do-able. A group of us did a longer loop of 2600m in 9 days and this was only hard-ish in the Alps. You need to understand the difference between a holiday on a bike and a biking holiday. You need to balance out riding and seeing stuff. Your 'balance' of the two may differs from your pillions.

Weather wise.......late May we left Monaco at 31 deg and within a few hours were in 5 foot of snow up the top of a pass into Italy that was supposed to be closed.......'ROUTE BARRE' was ignored, the roads were clear enough but sub zero and horizontal sleet on an unmade road surface was a bit iffy.

The weather can change very quickly that high up, I suggest a 'boil in the bag oversuit' to put over your normal gear and you should be okay.........good luck and enjoy!

Roger.

We did 3500km from Denmark to Normandy, on a Yamaha FZ6, 2 up in June.
It took 8 days and we were off the bike a lot.

The biggest thing to remember is that you and I love to ride a bike. We could ride all day every day. BUT how long could you be a passenger for???

I could not have got half way to France if I were a passenger.

Take time to think totally of the passenger. I thought about Jannie months before we left. I added a top box so she could lean against something. Just as well because she nodded off a few times. I put on passenger peg extentions. It extended her legs 4 inches and she said it made a huge difference.

Make sure you have breakdown assistance that will get the bike ALL the way home.

To get B&B we found the best way was either to knock on the B&B door and see if they are in or go to the local Tourist office because they keep a book of all the B&Bs and will ring them and arrange it for you.

Use Hostelworld.com. I have used them all over europe and you can get some fantasic bargains. You could even plan your route by them and book them all now.

My Visa would not work in unmanned petrol stations in France. I now have American Express and Mastercard but have not had the chance to try them.
DON`T ride passed a manned petrol station if you are getting low, especially late in the afternoon. We nearly got stranded by doing that but a French woman helped us out.

We were in Nice in May, sunbathing by the sea in the morning and in 6 feet of snow in the afternoon on the mountains. The roads were dry and clear.

Think of the passenger. Riding day in, day out for 9 days. I could not do it.

Steve

I would reiterate what Steve just said about petrol. manned stations in france are fewer & fewer. You need a chip & pin visa card to use the automatic ones. If you're crossing over into switzerland at all, don't forget that they're not in the Euro...

use the tourist offices to find places to stay, they'll speak engrish (!) & can usually phone round which avoids endless traipsing on your part. But, make sure you get where you're going before the tourist office shuts. Beware that in france (mostly) monday is closing day for all but the big supermarkets. Check out the bank holidays cos EVERYTHING will be shut. ie 1st may, 8th may,21st may, 14th july (which falls a tuesday & will therefore give a long week end: sat, sun, mon & tues) 15th august, etc etc.

MooN


PS, eat cheese

Just to add what I have already said.

I now take Visa, Mastercard and American Express when travelling. I usually do not touch the Mastercard or American Express when I am at home but it is a good idea to have other cards to fall back on when out on the road.

Steve

Heh, this is so true...after riding all the way from China the only place I almost ran out of gas was France . I had a wallet full of credit cards but none of them would work in the unmanned gas stations...not a good system...finally found a manned station as I was running on fumes.

I had the same problem and just offered some french dude who was filling his car if he would fill my bike if I gave him the cash, no problem

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This is exactly what we did. It was coming in dark and cold but luckily a french lady turned up to fill her car with a card and was happy to fill my bike up and I gave her the cash.

We were lucky.

The answer is to not to drive past petrol stations when you can just drop in and fill up.

Steve

Or, "never pass gas".
Also, never pass up the chance of a porcelain cronk - you can never tell when nature will catch you short.

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Dave

As other have said, yes, very doable.

One the fuel side take a GPS with fuel stations marked on it (TomTom for example). Sorted. It's a bit like russian roulette without one.

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9 days, no problem! I'd only add the following - Metz/Nancy/Alsace region to miss out the Autoroute drudgery through France, Lucerne for a few hours (Glacier garden, oldtown), Schwarzwald from Titisee up to Freundenstadt. Enjoy!

Two suggestions:

The D964 Sedan to Neufchatel is beautiful

The Route des Grandes Alpes Thono-les-Bains to Menton also

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Paul "Every county of England, every country of Europe and every (part of every inhabited) continent of the Earth" 94% done! What's left? Central America, East, Central and West Africa, Australia & New Zealand