Hey, A mate and I are planning on a blat to the south of France next year, this will be our first trip to Europe! Firstly does anyone know of accomodation in a beach resort on the south of France that cater for bikers? it doesn't need to be 5 star - clean/cheap and cheerful is fine with secure bike storage! secondly I'd be grateful on any advice on things to/not to do, take not to take and are there any legal things I need to be aware of? Cheers Rev
I rode to Tours a month ago and these are my thoughts: You are meant to have a gb on your number plate. You are meant to wear a high vis I've been told by law as of the last couple of months. I'd say take a real of string as you never know what you're going to have to tie in place. I also have one of those tyre inflator things that fills the hole and inflates the tyres so you wont end up stuck on the side of the road hopefully. If you are not going to use a full size tank bag then a small one is very useful so you can put things like toll tickets into it as I lost a couple through putting them in and out pockets. Much easier to have a small bag infront of you to keep things you need access to. Baby wipes and some tissues to clean all the bugs off your helmet visor every half hour or so. Make sure your paniers are VERY VERY VERY securely tied in place as the catch on mine popped off one end, the bag fell hanging down and the tire wore a hole nicely through it thereby completely making the paniers useless. Fake number plate so that you can swap them when on the ferry and then do crazy speeds all the way through France lol. On the ferry they sell small A-Z maps of France - one of them is a biker specific one that highlights nice roads to take that are perfect for biking - its like £3! I hugely recommend getting it. I took a compass just so I knew I was heading roughly the right direction even if I had no idea where I was.
I went to the French Alps (not coast) last year. Travel as light as you possibly can. Remember, they have shops in France, better than ours too. So you don't need to take loads of clothes, I took just a few wicking Ts and shorts, with a small bottle of wash fluid, washed things out after a ride,it was so warm that they were dry in an hour or so. Pack and then take at least half of it out, what do you really need? Think carefully about bike gear - it will be 35C or more - you'll cook in leathers. I bought some mesh, yes I read all about the 'no skin left' stuff but decided that I wasn't going to fall off (I did though :roll: ), once there I wore them all the time and they were great. I fitted 9-10 days of stuff into a tankbag and a tailpack borrowed from andysjt, wore my leathers through France for the autoroute and had the mesh folded up under a cargo net. Most toll booths accept cards, so keep a card in the top of the tank bag with the toll ticket so it's easy to get to. On a 675 it's OK on the autoroute but in a town it'll feel like your legs are on fire Fit a Scottie, saves the hassle of taking lube with. Remember your bike docs!!! Gendarmes are bike friendly as long as you don't upset them. If you do - they bite.
