Post by molestrangler on Aug 3, 2011 21:41:29 GMT
Thursday 30th June
Run to Ashford - Kent
Mileage 185
Work in the morning just to tidy up loose ends the home, bike out of the garage and ready for the off. Left home with dark clouds gathering and rain threatening, a threat that thankfully never materialised.
Steady run down the M1 as far as junction 12 where a broken down lorry in the road works was causing chaos. Worked our way through that and onto the M25 where we actually managed to pick up speed until the motorway earned it’s reputation as the worlds largest car park, 6 miles from the QE11 bridge when everything once again ground to a halt. With panniers fitted the Beemer is not the easiest to filter through traffic with and despite numerous lane changes and forceful riding it took us over an hour to get over the bridge, nice to find we were not going to be charged for using the bridge. Once off the bridge we moved onto the M2 the M20 and the hotel at junction 9.
Steve and Jan had arrived at the Travelodge about 20 minutes before us having had an uneventful if rather boring run down the M40/M25.
Dropped the luggage in the room, quick shower and change then into the bar for the first of several beers. Wandered across to Pizza hut for a bite of lunch, couple of bottles of wine and off to bed, tomorrow is going to be a long and hopefully dry day.
Friday 1st July
Run to Nancy via Channel Tunnel
Mileage 335
Up bright and early having not had the best nights sleep ever, far too hot in the rooms and far too noisy to sleep with the window open. Used MacDonald’s for breakfast simply because they were very close and open. Not exactly gourmet eating but at least their coffee is good.
Put the luggage back onto the bikes then just a short run along the M20 to the Channel tunnel terminus, never used this mode of transport before. Check in was very easy using our booking numbers and we were offered an earlier crossing than originally booked at no additional cost. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes before we boarded, the line of waiting bikes growing long by the minute. Very careful entering the carriage, polished metal floors not looking to offer the best level of grip and in the wet I would imagine can be quite tricky but no issues for any of the bikes loading. Bikes pressed hard up against a small raised kerb, parked in first gear and left on the side stand. If one bike goes over then they would all topple like dominos.
Crossing only took about 35 minutes and it disembarking was just a reversal of boarding, we rode straight off the train and straight onto the A16 motorway.
First leg of our journey along the A26 motorway lasted about 1hour 40 minutes, a bit too long for comfort before we pulled into the services just south of St Quentin. First job was to refill the fuel tanks on the bikes then into the services where we purchased baguettes and crisps which we enjoyed sat outside in the sunshine, the day by now was turning really warm and various layers of warm clothing were being discarded.
Back onto the bikes and off in the direction of Reims. A new by pass that wasn’t on my Garmin or Steve’s Tom-Tom saw us end up on the A4 heading for Metz rather than the planned route of the N4 to Nancy but this new road has a really good surface and as we were still heading in the right direction it seemed pointless to try and find out intended road.
Somewhere along this road Steve’s toll ticket was seen flying into the ether as it managed to find its way out of a pocket whilst they were doing 130 kph and at that speed there was no chance of us ever finding it. At the next toll booth we explained to the attendant what had happened and he agreed to swipe my ticket twice and onward progress continued. Another couple of stops saw us move around the edge of Metz and head south for Nancy where we had reservations in a Welcome B&B hotel for the night. Straight into the shower to cool down and freshen up, Pat even managed to find Andy Murray playing at Wimbledon on one of the French sports channels.
A while later we took a short stroll across the main road we had arrived on and found a grill where we could sit outside and enjoy the evening sun whilst having our evening meal. A meal of steak and chips was devoured washed down with a couple of bottles of somewhat disappointing French red wine before we wandered back to the hotel for some much earned sleep. A much better nights sleep ensued as this hotel chain has air conditioning in all it’s bedrooms.
Saturday 2nd July
Nancy to Davos
Mileage 291
I had a great nights sleep but Pat struggled with a hard mattress and a soft pillow and didn’t get too much sleep. Alarm went off at 07.30 and we made breakfast for 08.00, a couple of cups of coffee and croissant saw us nicely prepared for the off. Sun was shining and the temperature was already at 14c.
A short run back onto the motorway and off towards Colmar, a very pretty pseudo-Swiss town on the France-Switzerland border. Sat-nav then thankfully routed us away from the motorways and across country towards Mulhouse via several long tunnels. Back onto the motorway system and through Basel to the Swiss border, all the border guards were checking for was our vignettes, a pass that allows you to use their motorway system (there are no tolls on the Swiss motorways unlike France) and we still hadn’t shown our passports to anyone since leaving home.
Swiss motorways are identical to the French ones apart from a lack of speed limit signs but as everyone else was travelling at 120 kph we decided to keep up with the flow. Over the next 3.5 hours we skirted around the southern edge of Zurich and followed the shores of the Zurichsee and Walensee, two lakes that certainly improved the scenery of our journey. Eventually we reached the town of Landquart and turned west along the 28 towards Klosters. At last some really twisty roads to grapple with, the run to Klosters taking us just over 30 minutes before plunging us into a 6 km tunnel that takes all traffic around the town rather than through it. Klosters to Davos is another great twisty bit of road although we were delayed for a short time by a traffic queue caused by a very nasty looking car accident. A short run into Davos Dorf and along the main street to Davos Platz and to our apartment. Steve had spoken to Martin, the guy who owns the apartment we were renting in Davos to find out where the keys would be and to advise him of our estimated arrival time, he gave us the exact location of the apartment which he had left unlocked and ready for us to occupy.
Straight into the apartment and deposited the luggage in the main room, we then emptied the contents of the top boxes onto the floor and Steve and I set out to find a supermarket for supplies. We found a Spar supermarket that was closing in about 10 minutes time so we did our version of ‘supermarket sweep’ and bought the essentials – alcohol and pizza- then returned to the apartment to show the ladies how good we are at shopping.
Martin turned up at 19.00 to show us around the apartment and to collect outstanding monies then we settled down to pizza and beer.
Great end to a great day.
Sunday 3rd July
Day around Davos
Mileage 0
After the last few days of heavy, reasonably boring miles we decided to have a day off the bikes today. Nice steady and later than normal start, toast, jam eggs and coffee for breakfast, nice to cater for ourselves rather than rely upon other people. Switzerland charges a tourist tax so after breakfast we set off into the centre of Davos to pay our taxes and to see what was available to us. Not the easiest place to find but once we had located the tourist office we set about paying our dues, CHF 4.6 per person per night which equates to just over £3 per person per night. Payment of this tax however also entitled us to a free transport pass called Davos Klosters Inclusive Card which gives free bus travel in the local area, over 36kms of free train travel and free usage of the cable cars and mountain railways.
Once we had the cards in our possession we decided to go and try out the nearest cable car so we easily found the base station for the Jakobshorn cable car, showed our travel cards and off we went. The Jakobshorn is one of the longest cable cars in this area so we needed to change over halfway up before eventually reaching the summit at 2590m. This cable car had bought us up over 1000m ( Davos itself is over 1500m above sea level ) and the temperature had dropped quite significantly down to only 6c and the wind had certainly picked up. Views were amazing but it was too cool to hang around too long so we caught the cable car back down to Davos where it was significantly warmer.
We strolled back to our apartment for a bite of lunch before going our separate ways for the afternoon. Pat and I strolled back towards the centre of Davos and eventually tracked down the base station for the Schatzalp mountain railway. Again the tourist passes offered us free travel so we sat back and enjoyed the journey up the side of a very steep mountain. The difference in altitude was only 300m but at an angle of well over 45 degrees the journey certainly offered great views.
The usual hotel and bar waited at the top station but a short walk took us to a ‘Summer Toboggan’ run down an aluminium track which we just had to try out. We then decided (foolishly) that rather than take the train back to the base station we would take one of the many paths and walk back down. Very steep most of the way down and it really told on our knees and calf muscles although the scenery along these routes was amazing – my right knee hurt for the rest of the holiday.
Once back to the base station we decided to continue our stroll along the main road towards Davos Dorf before finding a different route to walk back along, by the time we returned to our apartment we had walked about 4 miles.
Steve and Jan decided to jump on one of the trains and headed off to Klosters for the afternoon where they had a rather extended lunch sampling the local beers and drinking in the scenery.
We ate at the apartment that evening and having washed the meal down with several beers we called it a night at 22.00 so we would be ready for the first of the mountain pass’s tomorrow.
Monday 4th July
Stelvio Pass
Mileage 150
Awake and up for 08.00, so much for a lie in. Coffee, eggs and toast for breakfast then time to dig the bikes out of the garage and load them up. Still not fully awake – I really hate mornings – but eventually onto the bikes and ready for the off. Realised I had left the Airhawk cushion in the apartment so back inside, fetch seat cushion, back onto the bike and away as far as the fuel station. Fuel stops can be few and far between and Steve and I have always adopted the principle that once the tank is half full we will stop at the next fuel station, never yet run out. Off through Davos and up the Fluelapass, 2383m and stopped for photos at the top, already quite a few bikers on the road. Once over the summit we headed steeply downhill towards Susch, there were several sections of road works along this stretch, they were all very rough and loose, always it seems located on a hairpin bend but we needed to use this pass so we just took our time and concentrated on keeping the bikes upright. Once through Susch we headed towards Scuol and the Italian border stopping on route to stretch our legs by a spectacular looking bridge at Vulpera. Onto the little village of Martina where we expected to cross into Italy and turn right down a very twisty section of road before joining the S40 valley road towards Stelvio. Unfortunately the road we intended to use was most definitely closed so we continued on the road we were on until we reached the Swiss, Italian, Austrian border and turned right into Italy. Shortly down this road we pulled into a fuel station to stretch our legs and get something to drink, the temperature was already over 20 degrees. Various other bikers followed us into this station and at least five different languages were being spoken in the queue to pay for fuel and drinks. Continued on our way along the S40, incredible scenery and fast flowing bends for about 25 miles then we turned off into the village of Stelvio. Stopped here for 30 minutes in the shade to get a drink and take in our surroundings before setting off to ride a road I have wanted to see for the last 25+ years, the Stelvio Pass.
What followed has to be the most amazing stretch of road I will ever have to pleasure to ride. From the village to the summit is 30km of climbing twisty tarmac, 42 hairpin bends, unbelievable views and lots of motorcycles all heading for the top at 2760m.
Eventually reached the summit and found somewhere to park both the bikes. Bruno’s food stall looked favourite, his food and mustards are becoming legendary up the Stelvio and the smell was to die for. To call it a sausage cob or a hot dog would do his food a gross disservice. For less than 5 euros you get a large wurst, sauerkraut, onions, mustard all inside a large crusty cob – extremely tasty, well cooked and hot with entertainment supplied by Bruno the master salesman. We stayed for about an hour looking through the souvenir shops and talking to other bikers, surprising how many British there were at the top and all heading off in different directions.
Eventually we had to make a move so we headed off towards Bormio still on the Italian side of the Stelvio. A couple of kilometres down we reached a customs point and turned off the Stelvio and headed along the Umbrailpass and back into Switzerland. All the information I had managed to glean prior to the trip said that there was a section about 2-3 kilometres along this route where it was an unmade surface so I was unsure what to expect. Just as we reached the start of this section, at the bottom of another steep and twisty descent we pulled over to check on Steve’s screen as he thought it may be working loose. Quite a few bikes passed us whilst we were checking out the screen so obviously the surface couldn’t be that rough, nice to see fellow bikers making sure we were OK before continuing on their way. At this point we saw a creature that looked like a very large hamster scurrying across the road bridge and down the rocks towards a stream, it moved far too fast to get a picture of it but we later were told it was a Marmot, a creature native to the alps but very rarely seen. The unmade section of road was only a couple of kilometres long and not too bad a surface and we soon reached the bottom of the valley and continued on our twisty way to Santa Maria at the Swiss end of the Umbrail Pass. The run to Zernez was along the Ofenpass which is a fairly major road which was a much quicker road than before with long open twisty’s. From Zernez were returned to Susch where we found a road side bar for a cooling glass of beer, temperature now was in the mid 20’s. All that remained was to renegotiate the road works over the Fluelapass and run down the mountain back to Davos.
We dropped the ladies off at the local Co-op supermarket and Steve and I returned to the apartment, emptied the top boxes then fetched the ladies, with the food they had just purchased back to the apartment.
Evening meal was eaten on the apartments balcony overlooking the alps, perfect end to a great day. Steve and Jan decided to sample the delights of Davos nightlife and found a very cosy bar that served a rather tasty Pinot Grigio, Pat and I stayed in and chilled out.
Awesome day, everyone ought to see the Stelvio at least once, it’s what bike riding is all about!
Tuesday 5th July
Slugen and Majola Pass’s
Mileage 149
Lovely day again, sun shining as we ate breakfast. Start off as always by refuelling the bikes then head off past the apartment and down the valley past the Rinerhorn cable car towards Tiefencastel. Incredible views all around as the road climbed up from the valley floor to a considerable height along the valley sides before skirting around Tiefencastel and dropping us once again onto the valley floor. The road to Thusis is a good surfaced, fast road without many twisty bits but many tunnels. From Thusis we managed to avoid the motorway and instead took a fairly twisty but fast road that ran alongside, and constantly crossed the motorway before we arrived in the village of Splugen. It was here we left this great bit of road and headed upwards, the Slugenpass. Hairpin bend followed hairpin bend and although this pass is relatively short at 9 kilometres it is a truly spectacular pass almost on a par with the Stelvio although there is nothing at the summit of the Splugenpass apart from an abandoned customs post as here we travelled from Switzerland back into Italy. Leaving the summit we descended only a very distance before we came to the village of Montesluga on the shores of a lake also called Montespluga created behind a dam wall. Not much to see in the village, the usual souvenir shop, a couple of bar/restaurants and a very small but ornately decorated church. Found a comfortable spot on the shore of the lake and settled down to eat our lunch in the ever present sunshine. Stopped here for about 45 minutes before continuing our way down the Splugenpass, this bit is a lot more open and although it drops quite sharply and still features many hairpins they are far more spread out and give you some time to relax between corners and we gently ran our way into the village of Chiavenna at the southern end of the pass. Here we turned left and headed for St Moritz and Switzerland but very shortly afterwards we pulled over to admire a waterfall in the village of Piuro. Steve and Jan found a walkway that took us to the river at the bottom of this waterfall and it would seem that most of the village was enjoying the very hot weather (29 + degrees) and were either paddling in the river or sunbathing along it’s shores. Far too warm to hang around in full biking gear so we somewhat reluctantly kitted up and remounted the bikes and onto the Majolapass. The bottom of this pass is very fast and flowing, no centre solid white line so many overtakes were made until just before and after the village of Majola the hairpins returned and progress slowed quite significantly.
I had promised Pat the opportunity to visit St Moritz so as we approached Steve and Jan left us to find a bar and a cool beer whilst Pat and I soon realised that St Moritz is truly a winter sport place as there was not a great deal to see or do so we also found a bar and had a drink. Time was getting on so we continued up the valley to Zernez, a fast, wide and fairly boring bit of road before returning once again over the Fluelapass and back to Davos, no matter how many times we went over this pass the incredible beauty of the area never failed to amaze me.
Stopped of once again at the Co-op in Davos and managed to find enough ingredients to make a chicken curry for us all so that was tonight’s meal sorted, several beers, a few hands of cards and a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday 6th July
Pat and I opted for a day off the bikes today, Steve and Jan decided last evening that they fancied visiting Milan so they left the apartment very early, certainly a couple of hours before we surfaced.
Pat and I had a leisurely breakfast then walked a few hundred meters and caught a local bus (free) to the Rinerhorn cable car station about 4 or 5 miles down the valley. The bus was full of walkers of all ages all of whom we heading up the Rinerhorn as there are many walking and cycling trails heading out in most directions from the Rinerhorn summit station (2053 m). The cars on this system are a lot smaller than on the Jakobshorn, they only hold a maximum of 6 people but they run continuously, no more than a couple of minutes waiting in the queue before we began a very steep climb up the mountain affording us great views of the spectacular scenery.
Once at the top we spent about 30 minutes taking in the views before we hired a couple of scooters and spent the next 40 minutes freewheeling along various loose surface tracks, hairpin bends and tarmac roads back to the Rinerhorn base station, great fun way to descend over 600m, we never stopped laughing and smiling all the way down. Caught the bus back to our apartment and sat on the balcony eating lunch and watching a helicopter ferrying building materials to the cable car station halfway up the Jakobshorn.
Picked up our swimwear and caught another bus to the swimming baths, very clean and modern. An assistant who spoke excellent English, a rarity in Davos, explained how the system worked so we purchased our tickets and got changed. As the weather was once again in excess of 27 degrees we found a couple of sun loungers by the outdoor pool and took the plunge. The water was very warm, apparently it always is as they continue to use this pool even in the depths of winter and one side of the pool was a permanent jacuzzi with air being pumped out through the base of the pool below an arrangement of pipes designed to be laid upon. Spent a very relaxing couple of hours just enjoying the massage and warm water.
Took a steady walk back to the apartment, the helicopter supplying the builders had now been joined by another involved in a logging operation, certainly not a job for the faint-hearted.
Steve and Jan returned back around 18.00 and tonight we had decided to go out for a typically Swiss meal and as Pat and I had spotted a fondue restaurant earlier we all decided that is where we would go. The sky was by now looking quite threatening so we took the precaution of taking our umbrellas with us, just as well as halfway to the restaurant the heavens opened and despite the umbrellas we took shelter under a shop canopy and it was here that we saw a picture of the creature we had seen coming down the Umbrailpass, a local chap waiting for his bus told us what it was. The rain had slowed quite considerably so we continued to the restaurant and between us we chose two different fondues and a couple of small bottles of wine. Everyone except Pat seemed to enjoy the meal set in a traditional Swiss restaurant, all wood and beams. The bill did manage to take some of the gloss of the meal however at CHF187, about £147 in total, but we had promised ourselves this night out. Steady walk back to the digs and another good night’s sleep to follow.
Thursday 7th July
Livigno via Bernina and Albula pass’s
Mileage 104
The sky was looking cloudy and menacing but Pat and I really fancied a ride out whilst Steve and Jan wanted a day off the bike after their trip to Italy yesterday so they spent the day chilling out in Davos and at the restaurant at the top of the Rinerhorn where they discovered that the scenery definitely becomes more impressive after the 2nd bottleof red wine. We bought a pack up for lunch and hit the road, back over the Fluelapass which definitely gets better every time we ride it. We stopped at the top of the pass to put on our waterproof jackets as by now it was spitting with rain and the temperature was down to 8 degrees. Continued back through the road works to Susch where we turned right for a change and headed for Zernez where we turned left towards the Ofenpass. About 12 kilometres down this road the road tunnel to Livigno appeared, it’s only a single track tunnel but the light showed green so we went for it. Livigno is an anomaly insofar as it is an Italy tax free village entirely surrounded by Switzerland and price certainly reflect its duty free status. The road tunnel is just over 4 kilometres in length and very cold but we reached the far end and drove up to the toll booth where we paid our 10 Euros toll for using the tunnel then continued through the customs post, again without stopping and into Italy. By now it was raining hard but fortunately for us the road was covered and dry and ran for such a distance that by the time we rode out of the far end it had just about stopped raining. Headed for the centre of the town and spotted a parking space in front of several shops and pulled over but the signs posted suggested the parking was private so we decided to try elsewhere. Allowed the bike to roll backwards over a metal drainage gate, through the roadside gutter and back to the road. Unfortunately the bike didn’t roll as far as I had hoped so I put it back into gear and turned slightly right. At the point the bike slipped just a fraction on the grating and I knew the bike was going over. I just had time to shout a warning to Pat before the inevitable happened and bike gently fell onto its right hand side and rested on the engine cylinder. Thank heavens for a boxer engine, there was sufficient room for us both to pull our legs out from under the bike without any injuries but it was obvious that we would require some additional muscle to get the bike upright again. Even before I had the chance to turn the engine off help magically appeared from the hairdressers in front of us and this chap helped us to get the bike back on its wheels. No damage to the bike apart from a few scratches on the engine protector and a couple of marks on the top box just my hurt pride although I expect to be stiff tomorrow.
Put the bike onto its stand and went for a walk around the town to allow the adrenalin to slow down and for the shakes to stop. It is very obvious this is a tax free town as the prices seemed very reasonable especially when compared to Switzerland and France, lots of holiday properties and for a change signs in English. Back onto the bike and headed towards Pontresina along the Bernina Pass, a very bleak stretch of road. Nothing at all of note about the route until we got to the village of La Punt where we found a very tight turn and headed up the Albulapass. A really good and smooth road surface that twisted and climbed its way through the tree line and eventually to the summit, a very open stretch of road with only a couple of very small villages. From the summit down towards Tiefencastel the road became very bumpy and undulating but there was lots to see, we rode past a campsite that was home to various sort of temporary shelters including 3 or 4 teepee’s. A bit lower down it looked like they were preparing a site for a music festival and right towards the bottom the railway line worked its way back and forth over several bridges. Bottom of the pass and time to head north back to Davos, tight and twisty in places and fast and flowing in others, never a second to relax or get bored. Back to the digs and borrowed a hose pipe and washed some of the crud off the bike.
Took the opportunity to hop into a hot bath to try and ease some of my aches and pains after an eventful day. Great evening meal of pizza and chicken washed down with red wine then spent the evening playing cards watching the rain pour down and lightening light up the surrounding mountains.
Friday 8th July
Day around Davos
Mileage 5
Felt a bit stiff this morning but nowhere close to how I had expected to feel. Lazy and late start, after breakfast pat and I wandered down to the Co-op to buy supplies for tonight’s meal and some sandwiches for tomorrows run to France as food prices at European motorway stops is even more outrageously priced than that of the UK
Steve and Jan opted to stop in Davos today but Pat and I decided to visit Klosters so we hopped onto one of the local trains. Only a 30 minute journey but a real chance to fully enjoy the scenery without having to also concentrate on the road ahead. Looking forward to a leisurely, quiet trip that was disturbed at the last minute as the carriage filled up with a school trip and 20+ very excited and noisy pre-teen kids looking forwards to a few days away from their parents took over the carriage – glad I’m not a teacher!
Klosters is a very pretty town, far more traditional than Davos but not a lot to see and between 12.00 and 14.00 not a lot to do as everywhere is closed. Found a bench on a grassy square in the town and sat in the sun and ate lunch before getting the train back to Davos – I love free travel.
Once back at the apartment we took the bike into Davos, returned the tourist travel cards and got our CHF10 deposit back. We used this money to fill the bike’s tank, more than enough to get us to our next stop with my friend Jean-Jacques in Belfort across the border in France.
We cooked an interesting fry-up for tea, very thin bacon that cooked almost instantly and very fat wurst that cooked very slowly, beans, tomatoes, eggs and toast.
Quite a bit of beer left that needed finishing off so we settled down for the evening and forced ourselves to empty the fridge. The weather forecast for tomorrow is rain so we are all dreading the run towards home.
Saturday 9th July
Davos to Chevremont
Mileage 201
The much talked about thunderstorm failed to materialise, glourious sunshine all the way and the temperature around the border crossing at Basel touched 30 degrees. Out of the apartment for 08.45 and had a great run back along the valley, through the Klosters tunnel and back to the motorway at Landquart. Here we rejoined the motorway which certainly has far better scenery than the M1 and easily worked our way back across Switzerland. Once back in France we took an exit off the motorway and found a picnic site to relax and enjoy our lunch, spent a pleasant hour relaxing from the rigours of the journey. Back onto the bikes and another hour saw us at Belfort where we headed for the city centre is search of a supermarket. After a fruitless search Steve found a tourist office who supplied us with a map and off we set. Only a short run and we were there, fuel considerably cheaper than on the motorway so we took the opportunity to fill the tanks then into the supermarket to buy wine and flowers for our hosts, Jean-Jacques and his wife Natalie. I originally stayed with him over 35 years ago on an exchange visit arranged through school and we have stayed friends ever since. Only a short run to their place, Natalie was just returning home as we pulled up and Jean-Jacques was watching football, we got a really friendly French welcome from them with lots of cheek kissing and back slapping.
Removed the luggage from the bikes then parked them in one of Jean-Jacques garage near to his Jaguar XK140, a beautiful Citroen CV11 cabriolet fully restored as a wedding present for his eldest daughter, Natalie’s Porsche 928 and his immaculate 1932 single cylinder Peugeot motorbike. Carried the luggage upstairs and changed into our swimmers, they have a lovely pool in the back garden and we spent the next 90 minutes cooling down in their swimming pool and drinking champagne – it’s a hard life!
Jean-Jacques had to leave us to close up his pharmacy so we took the opportunity to dry off and put on clothing more appropriate for the temperatures than biking gear. We then spent the next couple of hours catching up on old times, much laughter and telling of outrageous stories followed as we consumed some of his very best wine and cheeses. Jean-Jacques was keen to see if we could remove the Swiss vignettes off the bikes intact, we are very close to the border and the French have come up with a clever way of sharing a vignette. Steve’s came off in several pieces but the heat from my engine had softened the adhesive sufficiently for it to peel off in one piece, it was then stuck onto a piece of clear plastic. The French then smear sun cream onto the plastic and use the oils in this to stick the vignette to their windscreen, try it next time you take a car to Switzerland.
They had a table booked for that evening at the local auberge so we were denied enjoying Natalie’s excellent cooking but at least this way we could all relax and have fun.
Only a five minute stroll to the auberge and we were the first in the place, the French eat a lot later than we do but we sat down and prepared for a feast. This restaurant is owned by the son of a famous French guitarist who also plays so we were told to expect some live entertainment later on. A great night followed, far too much food and wine followed by the promised entertainment then a walk back to Jean-Jacques and a bottle of 29 year old wine.
Great end to a great day.
Sunday 10th July
To Mulhouse and Salons
Mileage 127
Good nights sleep even though the bed was rock hard, down for breakfast prepared by Natalie around 09.00. off to the Bugatti Museum today, the weather was looking very threatening so we took the precaution of packing our waterproofs.
Set off via a visit to Jean-Jacques pharmacy, only a couple of minutes down the road at which point my Zumo packed up so Steve led us to Mulhouse and we easily found the National Motor Museum, home to the Schlumpf brothers collection of Bugatti’s. Massively changed since our last visit 15 years ago, a far more professional operation and a much better layout. There are hundreds of cars on display, not all Bugatti’s but a breathtaking display and home to two of the three remaining Bugatti Napoleon Royale coupes, each worth many million Euro’s.
Whilst we were touring the museum the heavens had opened so we sat on the restaurant balcony and ate lunch, everything seemed so much cheaper than we had experienced in Switzerland. After an hour the rain had almost stopped so we walked back to our bikes, put on the waterproofs and ran back to Jean-Jacques. Found an allen key to fit the Zumo, removed and refitted the battery pack and the Zumo was restored to full working order.
Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing with Jean-Jacques, Natalie was trying to arrange a flight home from Barcelona for one of their daughters who had missed her flight due to traffic problems and was struggling to find the right connections. We then needed to repack our luggage for a short trip to tonight’s stop at Jean-Jacques chateau, about a 75 minute journey just south of Besancon, Jean-Jacques was taking a car so Pat agreed to keep him company and we loaded the luggage into the boot of his car. Natalie stayed behind still trying to get their daughter home; she is due to fly out to America on Tuesday.
Quick blast down the motorway to the chateau, Jean-Jacques never was any good at following speed limits before we pulled up in front of his chateau in the village of Salans, very traditionally French but with the gardens laid out in an English style. Originally built in the 16th and 17th century the chateau passed through various owners after the original heirs were executed during the Revolution and now fully restored with seven magnificent bedrooms, a grand hallway, a billiards room and numerous other rooms whose usage I couldn’t begin to guess at.
Due to the lateness of arriving and the in-depth guided tour we didn’t get to sit down to eat until 22.00 and eventually got to bed just before midnight – sleeping in a chateau, how grand!
Monday 11th July
Salons to Arras
Mileage 334
Lovely morning, sun is shining. How grand to wake up in such splendid surroundings. A great breakfast prepared for us by Jean-Jacques mother who also lives at the chateau and acts as housekeeper to his paying guests followed by a final photo shoot then final farewells and back onto the bikes for a mile munching day heading back to the coast. A fairly boring day but we need to cover the miles and the motorways do that better than any other method.
Reached Arras just after 15.00 and Steve and Jan peeled off to visit the Canadian WW1 memorial at Vimy Ridge which we had visited a couple of years ago, Pat and I headed to arras and the hotel for the next two nights. We couldn’t book in as the rooms were reserved on steves credit card so we walked across the road and found a bar and settled down to a beer. When Steve and Jan arrived we still couldn’t book in as the card reader wasn’t working so we had to wait until just before 17.00 when a member of staff turned up and sorted out our booking.
Had a shower to freshen up then went back to the bar for a few more beers then over to the grill bar next to the restaurant for an evening meal, steak for Pat and I, mussels for Steve and Jan. far too much wine and stagger of to bed.
Tuesday 12th July
Arras to Albert
Mileage 64 miles
Another good nights sleep, helped by the quantity of red wine consumed followed by a very passable breakfast in the hotel. Off to Albert today, just a local run to visit 1916 Somme museum beneath the basilica in the town centre.
The recent weather made us decide to dispense with most of the biking gear so we were able to put the helmets into the top box and the jackets into the panniers leaving us free to enjoy our stroll around the museum. Gentle 30 mile run to Albert, many war cemeteries and memorials in the area which we intended to visit on the way back so we continued into the centre of Albert and managed to park the bikes at the side of the basilica. Only a short walk to the museum, the entry is underneath the basilica and is contained within one of the seven tunnels built beneath the town as air raid shelters during WW2 – ironic to put a WW1 museum in a WW2 shelter but it gave a very interesting insight as to what the place was like 95 years ago.
Once out of the museum we went our separate ways, Pat and I found somewhere for lunch before getting back to the bikes and setting off to visit some of the cemeteries we had ridden past that morning. At a commonwealth cemetery we met up with a couple of bikers from Kent who were holidaying in the area when it started to rain, fortunately the elaborate gate house offered us shelter from the rain, we had left our waterproof at the hotel that morning. Rain only lasted 30 minutes but the sky looked heavy and threatening so we made the decision to return to Arras before the weather took a turn for the worse and spent some time repacking the panniers.
Once we were sorted we strolled across the road for a beer and found Steve and Jan already in the bar, couple more drinks and ready for something to eat. Used local knowledge and walked up the road to the ‘Red Tomato’ restaurant for a really good quality and fairly inexpensive meal – home tomorrow.
Wednesday 13th July
Arras to home
Mileage 272
Up early (for me) for breakfast, luggage back onto the bikes and on the road for 08.00. We had to stop on the A26 to put on our waterproofs but we only saw about 20 minutes rain, albeit heavy rain, before getting to the Channel Tunnel early enough to get a train an hour before the one we were booked onto and for the first time since leaving home we were asked to show our passports. Unusually we were also asked to take off our helmets to check we were showing our correct passports, first time we have ever been asked to do so.
Turned the clocks back an hour as we arrived which meant it was just after 10.00 when we got off the train and we got about 30 miles down the motorway before bidding farewell to our travelling companions and heading for home. We only needed one stop for fuel and a leg stretch before getting home just before 13.30.
All in all a great tour, 2218 miles covered. Great scenery, amazing roads and good weather. We preferred the French alps but the trip was worth it just to be able to climb the Stelvio, hope to get back in the kit car one day.
Excellent report write up, a cracking detailed read. Ta very much..... Sorry to hear you had a little mishap with the bike in Livignio. Hope the knee's recovered.
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