Day 1 Home to Tours

Leaving home at about 0708 in lashing down rain doesn't fill one with enthusiasm for a near on 350 mile ride to the first overnight stop.

I had opted for the Triumph Steve McQueen ISDT replica jacket with my usual green Bikers Australia chino jeans. Fill waterproofs over the top.

I have three pairs of waterproof gloves and two non waterproof pairs! All in the left pannier! 

The first pair lasted until we were on the train. My hands wouldn't go back in them! Scratch Belstaff leather and hipora. 

Did I say it was lashing down?

We set off on the A16. I fuelled up at Auchun Calais. Scratch £100 worth of Alpine Star Goretex gloves. Couldn't get my hands in them. The lining sticking to the minutest damp. 

Cue the old Akito Mercury gloves my brother was ditching and I had taken. Went on okay and with careful management they lasted another 300 miles. By that I mean at the lunch stop drying each hand under the hot air blower in the loo and then putting each one one separately!!  

We came down on the non toll route. The A16 to Boulogne. The N1 or whatever it's called in different departments, D901 or D1001.. Then A28 from Abbeville to Rouen.

At one point it was thundering and lightning. We pulled into the services about 30k short of Rouen for lunch. We set off in rain!

Second fuel stop in Evreux. Vera managed over 61mpg on the run from Calais. Admittedly we did stick to speed limits.

There was a brief break in the rain some where on the N10 and the air temp was showing as 27°C. Sunny and at times we rode with the front of the helmets in the open position. My face is a little red, but that maybe the Pelforth later on.... 😉

It wasn't to be. As we approached Tours it began to lash down again.

At a set of lights I felt something on my left boot. Maybe I had a leaf or twig stuck to it?

Much worse.

The sole has detached from the heel almost to the toes!

If only it had done this last week. Now I need to find a bike shop. There is one about a mile from the Kyriad where we are staying. A Kawasaki and Yamaha dealers. They must have boots?

Dinner tonight in a restaurant nearby called Bella Citta. Pizzas and beer and ice cream to end with.

Outward Journey - Hotels Changed

I have cancelled the Première Classe hotel in Joué de Tours and the Campanile in Bayonne in favour of Neill's choice of a pair of Kyriad Hotels.

His Kyriads are a Chambray-les-Tours and Orthez.

The Routes - So Far

In blog-time it's not that long since I made the first post. I have been working on this in reality for the best part of two weeks though!

So where are we at the moment?

Day 1 - Shuttle or Ferry to Calais. Overnight - Tours Première Classe

Day 2 - Tours to Bayonne. Overnight - Bayonne Première Classe

Day 3 - Bayonne to Morella. Overnight - Morella El Cid

Day 4 - Morella to Motorland Aragón to Morella. Overnight Morella El Cid

Day 5 - Plan A - Morella to Motorland Aragón to Morella. Overnight Morella El Cid

           - Plan B - Morella to Motorland Aragón to Lleida. Overnight TBC

Day 6 - Lleida to Cahors. Overnight Cahors Campanile

Day 7 - Cahors to Chartres. Overnight Chartres Hôtel Inn Design Resto Novo

Day 8 - Chartres to Shuttle or Ferry - Overnight Home.

There are a few ends to tie up but this looks like this could be the final plan.

If the weather is still nice and warm, hot even, I might get to wear my bandana again!  Without anyone laughing!

It's rude to laugh!

Outward Route and Hotels

I have been looking at the non-toll route to the El Cid hotel that will get me/us there on the Friday afternoon. 

Having decided on Option 1, ride both ways, I now have to decide how long to take and how long Claire will suffer me being away.  I was looking at a week away or in reality 8 days - two overnights out, three at the GP end, and then two nights back. 

If Neill comes along he might want to take longer and that will need some debate. I have booked the hotels in twin bedded rooms but if it is a solo trip, then I will see about changing to a double room and have a big bed just for me....

It's pretty much the same route I took way back in the 80's when I rode with my ex-partner to Biarritz for a week in a villa owned by a colleague at Reuters. We wanted to avoid the toll motorways and what was then called the N10 went all the way from the outskirts of Paris (where we got lost near Versailles) to the Spanish border.

Back then I was on the Kettle aka Suzi Triplo. I have an embarrassing photo somewhere of that trip.

But I digress. 

This time I fully expect to be riding Vera Strom.

I looked at distances and let MyRouteApp and Google work together to choose the route itself and then dip in and out to get a decent and achievable mileage and time on the road.

Day one may not be the longest day on the way out. It all depends on what sort of time we arrive in France from the Shuttle. 

I have booked a cheap Première Classe Hotel near Tours that night. Google reckons 308 miles from the Shuttle and 6h 18m riding time. Usual free cancellation etc terms.

Common architecture!

Over the years I have used Première Classe hotels many times. They are budget and they are often quite neatly placed near a Campanile hotel. Part of the same group of hotels but with a restaurant that is usually good value. If you are looking to stay somewhere luxurious with a pool then look elsewhere. The most we have stayed in one was two nights when we took the nephews to Futuroscope in the car!

Continuing south on the N10 (or its new designation) past Bordeaux and the Atlantic coastal dunes.

At Mont de Marsan, the suggested route takes a left turn and heads towards the Pyrenees. I have changed this as the choice of hotels between the fork in the road and the Spanish border is very limited. When I say limited I mean not many and none that match my budget!

Instead I looked around the Bayonne/Biarritz area and found a Première Classe near Bayonne. 

Google makes it a long day at 356 miles in the saddle. Around 6h 20m on the road. Not too bad before you factor in fuel and lunch/pee breaks.

Okay, it looks a bit in need of a clean up!

This Première Classe also has a Campanile in walking distance. Oddly it has no twin rooms, only doubles and a triple.  In the end I booked the triple. If I am on my own I can change to a double!

From Bayonne it's still on the N10/D810 to the border near Hendaye or so I thought. Google and MyRouteApp had other ideas  

From Bayonne we avoid the last bit of the N10/D810 and branch off southwards on the D932 and then D20 towards Cambo-les-Bains and then onto the border.

The third day on the road should be around 280 and a calculated 5h 20m on the frog and toad.

This route joins the original route at Zaragoza. It's a little further on my route but the hotels are cheap and cheerful but for overnight stops I'd rather save a few quid.

At the end of the day I/we should be in Morella and the El Cid Hotel.  

This is the rough route at the moment. It might change.... 😉