1st time in europe

[bristolsaint]

Hi,
I'm considering my first european jaunt in late June this year. My partner and I have done short (5 days) trips round Cornwall and Ireland in the past but have no mainland europe experience
(Her) early thoughts are to cross Dover to Calais on the ferry then head for Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany and France. We have no specific places we want to visit. We plan to go for up to 2 weeks.

What I would like are travel tips, eg how far is a days riding ( I know this is subjective and dependant on roads, weather etc), what must we take (I find a passport and credit card will do for most things), how easy is it to find b and b's or should we book in advance.

No advice is too trivial so allow me to pick your brains and learn from your experiences. 

[loudpedal]

Just go for it.
If travelling in June you should have no problem with B&B except maybe the weekends.
The tunnel is very easy on a bike and if you travel out early in the morning or late at night its not expensive.
As to a route, it depends what you want.
If you want a bit of city culture then your heading the right way.
But if you want biking roads then head to the Alps, Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy. All the passes should be open by then.
But hi. you have two weeks, do both
Just don't over plan, be flexible and have a really great time.


Loudpedal

[big al]

like loudpedal says, just go for it, it an experience you wont forget, the alps are out of this world if you want great biking roads.
i myself like nothing better than flinging the tent on the bike and just go where the notion takes you, first stop for me is st goa as a stop over on the way down to interlakin, once there you just dont wanna leave, travel light but well prepared, as for daily milage, well that depends on what you feel comfortable with or what you want to achieve in a day, just take your time and enjoy. good luck.  :beer:

[tomhowe]

For me, the main thing is that the route plan should be just a guide and completely flexible.   Don't have fixed times to be at any particular place, 'cos you can end up just chasing time rather than enjoying the world and your bike.   Distances can be much more time consuming than they look on a map!

As for Luxembourg, I found it overpriced and much less interesting than I expected.   However, the Youth Hostel there is superb - more like a classy hotel and good value.   That's the only thing I'd recommend about Luxembourg....

[bristolsaint]

Thanks guys,

I like the "just go for it" attitude. As for a tent, i don't think so. A bit like the Vara, we are built for comfort, not for speed.
I fancy the Alps but my other half has targeted northern Europe. I think she is a bit intimidated by the distances and time involved in reaching the Alps.
We tend to travel light normally. A pannier each and the top boxfor the map, camera, waterproofs etc. I,m not a satnav person so a good map is essential. Any recommendations?
Do we have to take spare bulbs and hi-viz jackets like car drivers do?
I don't want to plan too much but I don't want to miss the obvious either

[loudpedal]

I fancy the Alps but my other half has targeted northern Europe. I think she is a bit intimidated by the distances and time involved in reaching the Alps.
 

Switzerland is less than 500 miles from Calais.
Even taking 3/4 days to reach it you will have 4/5 days to play before a leisurely 3/4 day return.


Loudpedal

[Barber]

As everyone else says - just go for it - accommodation should be no problem - have a look at the biker friendly accomodation sites on the internet - travel as light as you can - take copies of bike documents/insurance. European car drivers are far more bike friendly than in the UK - mosel valley - black forrest in Germany are stunning as is most of rural (ish) France. Agree with Tom about Luxemborg.
Flexibility is the key unless there are specific places you want to go to. I'd suggest Michelin Maps they are very good and the green bordered roads do not disappoint.
Unless you are going point A to point B avoid the bigger dual/mways roads - stick to the normal roads - you'll see far more and it's a very different culture.
Whatever you do enjoy

[jp]

...........What I would like are travel tips, eg how far is a days riding ( I know this is subjective and dependant on roads, weather etc), what must we take (I find a passport and credit card will do for most things), how easy is it to find b and b's or should we book in advance.

No advice is too trivial so allow me to pick your brains and learn from your experiences. 

Don't try and go too far in a day, you may be ready for more after 6 hours in the saddle but pillions are generally fed up before, and have been known to nod off.
Accommodation- we usually stop at about 4pm somewhere that looks OK, I park myself in a cafe and jude finds a b&b or small hotel. this gives time for a look round and later a leisurely dinner. We've also had good experiences of motels on French Auto-routes. Be aware when the locals take their holidays, especially 4 day weekends, accommodation disappears and you'll be grateful you packed that camping gear, or not.
petrol stations in France were/are closed on Sundays, to brits with credit cards anyway, except on auto routes.
Take the bulbs and jackets, they may even come in useful.
Sat-nav is by far the best way to navigate, its hard enough finding places in a foreign country with out making it more difficult, unless you stick to motorways, It also eliminates another cause of arguments. Be careful of  short cuts on non existent roads tho' <doh>. Finding my favourite hotel in the middle of Poitiers (cheap, secure parking)is a nightmare without. Maps are essential for planning, with wine, over dinner. .
what else.. oh yes, French speed cameras are grey and are on auto-routes, take an expanding tank bag, you'll be glad you did, avoid Genoa in the rush hour, wet cobbles can be slippy <heid>   and Ferries are a good place to sleep yet keep moving!

[Harv]

Bristolsaint, have you considered an alternative?

Just my tuppenceworth..... I find Northern Europe a bit bland to be honest..... and the weather is a little too like the UK....unpredictable.

An easy to do is the Pyrenees ..... and a local on another forum has pieced together a route... see here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=539636

You can get there either by the 'big ferry' and therefore cut out an awful lot of boring N-Way miles...or plan a route down via the Central Massif...which is interesting in itself.

If you do decide to go further South East...have a look at the Dolomites rather than the Alps...and the Italians are more hospitable towards 'motos' than the Swiss in my experience....

Just a thought......

The only 'must do'....is to make sure you do something rather than nothing.... the clock is ticking and there is no rewind button!

[tomhowe]

Got to agree with Barber and Harv - riding up the Mosel valley, keeping beside the river from Trier to Cochem is simply superb, and you can take a look at (or ride round) the Nurburgring while you're there.   And the passes to and from Italy into Switzerland/Austria in the Dolomites are stunning.   That's the area my wife insists we'll be going back to.   But find out for yourself, the world's full of interesting places!

The 24 hour unmanned fuel pumps in France worked fine with my Post Office pre-loaded Visa card, so no probs there.   And yes - you'll find a tank bag invaluable for odds and ends, your panniers and top box will be pretty full!

Make sure you stop for at least a couple of breaks of a few days and use them as bases to ride out from or just to wander around for a change.   It's nice to have a 'home' to return to.

Beer's dear in pubs everywhere almost, but most of all in Dunkirk, the home of the 6 euro half litre of Fosters!   Best pub prices in Germany, but cairry-oots from supermarkets everywhere are good value.   You can sit at the side of the Mosel and get pished - as long as you can walk 'home'! :beer:

[LazyRider]

Give some thought to what you will be wearing on the bike and when sight seeing.   It can get very hot making riding and sight seeing in heavy biking gear a bit of a problem.  That is one good reason for doing your riding in the morning and stopping early to get rid of the biking gear and have a look round in comfortable clothing.
 
Staying in one place for 2/3 nights can be very rewarding ? Cochem at weekends is a great place to stop, take a boat ride, sit in the sun drinking coffee and eating apple strudel whilst watching the Germans at play can be a real eye opener.

If you do have any high mileage days in mind ? not recommended for a first trip ? stay out of the mountains, but for a long motorway ride, think of riding at night, especially if you are just blasting down through France.

Just take it easy and enjoy yourself, remember, bikers are generally more welcome on the continent than they are in the UK  ? except Switzerland

[curzon]

As almost everyone else here has said. Keep it flexible. A rough idea of a route or Itinery is not a bad Idea, but don't put yourself under the pressure of trying to keep to it religiously. You are on holiday after all!

One rule I always set myself and try to stick to is what I call the 4.00 O'clock rule! Around 4pm start looking for decent looking places to stay in interesting towns and villages. If you do this, you give yourself plenty of time to find somwhere a) decent, b) affordable c) available. Also gives you time of the bile to relax, go for a beer etc....etc. Start looking around much later than this and you start having to make compromises. The later you leave it, the bigger the compromise, and you'll end up ragged, tired and fustrated. Not what you want on holiday!

[Dee Dub]

I agree with most of the above: don't aim to ride too many miles each day, if you don't have anywhere booked look for hotels around 4-ish and so on. (As a sat nav man I prefer to pick a destination and phone ahead to book a hotel; I can ride into the early evening knowing I have somewhere to stay.)

Where I disagree with previous posts is about researching places en route. One of my early trips around Fr/Ben/Lux/Ger I passed by no end of places that turned out would have been interesting had I known in advance. For example, roadworks forced us into a bumper-to-bumper jam around the industrial estates of Trier; if I'd known the town centre had interesting Roman ruins and so on I'd have headed that way. Sometimes you blast down Autoroutes right past really interesting places. At least if you know what is where you can make an informed decision about whether to take that detour or press on.

[Dee Dub]

One of my stories here:
http://www.bikersoracle.com/rs/forum/showthread.php?t=416

[LazyRider]

I agree with most of the above: don't aim to ride too many miles each day, if you don't have anywhere booked look for hotels around 4-ish and so on. (As a sat nav man I prefer to pick a destination and phone ahead to book a hotel; I can ride into the early evening knowing I have somewhere to stay.)

If you arrive in the evening, when do you make time to look round an area?  Or do you always stay  couple of nights?

One of the first stops I make is in the local tourist office to pick up local maps and to see what the area has to offer.   It is also a good place to find where the local coach trips go to.

On most trips you will have to choose between visiting places of interest or just press on and enjoy the ride.     

Riding solo, with a pillion or with a group of solo riders or with a group of mixed solo/pillion, offer very different experiences.   I have visited the Picos and pyranees with a group of solo riders, mixed solo/pillion and on my own.   I found that with a group of solo riders we had some good rides but tended to isolate ourselves from the locals.   The mixed group was just a pain in the bum.   

I much prefer touring solo, it forces you to interact with the locals and I find that very enjoyable and rewarding experience - that is why I get through France as quickly as possible and avoid Switzerland