hi there,
thanks for the replys,didnt know about the shared cabin idea! thanks.
any more suggestions keep em coming, any thoughts on the sat navs??
thanks paul.

Can't say about the Tomtom - I'm using the Zumo 550 and am very pleased. The coverage of western Europe is excellent. Every lane and ally was on the map, only some very new roads were missing. Sure saves you a lot of time when riding in foreign regions, esp. when on backroads.

The only time I had problems with the Zumo was when it was pouring for hours. Eventually some moisture crept inbetween the contacts between cradle and Zumo and caused quite a bit of interference

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Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

Although we live and work in the south of Spain, we drove down through France, Andorra and Spain (to the south coast) a couple of years ago - do it, its absolutely great, but I think that 10 days might be a little tight.

Due South Tour

I used a TomTom Rider 1 and it worked faultlessly, apart from a little operator error in the south of France.

One of the highlights was camping near the Millau Viaduct, doing the visitors center and riding it on a wonderful clear day.

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http://www.moto-andalucia.com

Hi Mate,

I also live in Wales and I will be undertakinga similar journey in 2009.

I have relatives near perpignan in the South of France which i want to visit and then I will be going down as far as just south of Valencia (Calpe). I will be leaving my bike there ( I have a house there) for a month or two while I fly back and then I will fly back out and ride the bike home. This will break the trip up and allow me to enjoy the return as a seperate adventure on a different route once I am refreshed.

I have played about with different routes and i found ViaMichelin: Maps, route planner, route finder, UK maps, European maps, hotel booking, travel guides to be informative. I was advised by my cousin to take the ferry from Weymouth / Bournemouth / Plymouth to Le havre or St Malo and then ride down the west coast of France and then cut across eastwards to meet him and that would put me on the eastern side of spain for a straightforward ride down through Catalunya and onward to valencia.

However if you want to ride the Millau bridge and you also want to get down through France quickly then go to Calais and pick up the E15, this is the Mediterranean Route motorway (it is called various numbers but always prefixed with E15) and goes from the top of France to Gibraltar. This route will take you near the Millau Bridge (or so i have been told).

With the Michelin route planner you select routes for different types of trip, IE scenic, quick, economical etc

Please keep us informed of your plans.

Lee

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'Never worry about things that YOU cant change'

Hi Lee,
If you need the off road facility, then there is no choice to be made... However, if not, I really cannot stress how good the Tom Tom Rider V2 is, and it comes with the Bluetooth headset as standard. I used mine in europe and it never missed a turn, nor did it have any problems with the rain. I always wear either earplugs or my ipod, depending on my mood, and the volume on the headset is enough to be heard even when using either of the above.
Also, just to put a different spin on things, I would go accross Belgium, south through Germany, Then accross the south of France. Germany is a fantastic biking country, the people are MUCH NICER than the French, and its cheaper!! I know it would take longer, but i think 14 days would be enough, and you wont regret it.
Good luck either way,
Lee