Across the water day 8

And back across it is today as were heading back to Blighty and the one o'clock boat home.

Turn right for Calais

Straight on for Dover

A good trip and good company overall. Thanks go to Mike for sorting out the route and the digs - Mike used to do bike tours for a living, but now does it for kicks!! Find him here.

Across the water day 7

Heading over to Laon via a few stops, but first a ride around Paris looking for a Suzuki dealer for a spare part for one of the lads.

Al B looking pleased with himself after leading a mystery tour around Paris backstreets.

 

Al B sorts us all out and guides us to not one but a few dealers - mission accomplished and we get on our way to Chantilly.

They didn't invite us in for lunch so it was sandwiches beside the moat at Chantilly

 Next stop is the Armistice Memorial in the Compiegne Forest. Theres a small museum there inside of which you can see the carriage used for the signing of the German surrender to the French (and us) in 1918 and the French surrender (but not us) to the Germans in 1940.
Or rather you can’t… but they don’t tell you that until you’ve paid your couple of Euros to get in. This is because Hitler nicked the original coach and dragged it back to Berlin, where it got burned. The coach in the museum is ‘a very similar one’. This is told to you after you’ve listened to about ten minutes of audio commentary telling you what a wonderful place in history the coach occupies.

Anyway don’t let it put you off, you can half close your eyes and pretend it’s the real thing, and the museum, after saying all that, is worth the entrance fee.

Next stop Laon, and we're staying here for our last night of the trip. The hotel is on the outskirts, and the town centre is on a hilltop so we roll out the bikes and get up there for a look around, something to eat and then back to the hotel for a beer or two.

Parking up just outside the Laon town walls

Our view of Laon from the hotel room......

.....but it gets better when you get up there

Across the water day 6

Heading for Paris today and the plan is to dump the gear at the hotel in Vitry sur Seine then get on the train into the centre for a bit of sightseeing.
Its about 15:00 ish when we get to the digs and the plan works getting off the train near the Louvre for about 16:30.

We found a big roundabout with this in the middle

 

Blackpool Eiffel Tower

 

A couple of hours seeing the sights and back on the train to the hotel via a 'turkish' bar for few nightcaps.

Across the water day 5

On the move again and for a change the weathers not too bad - dry initially for a trip over to Geneva via the Lac de Vouglans, over the dam and up the Col de la Faucille.

Sunshine & blue skies by Lac de Vouglans - we'll pay for it later!!

We pass a waterfall by the side of the road- this one by the sign is not very impressive

This one behind the sign and further to the right has a bit more going for it

The top of the Col de la Faucille is a bit grim with abandoned buildings etc, a really cheerless place, but the sun is still out, so all is fine.

Down from the mountains and into Geneva and park up next to the Jet d'eau. Coffee and ice cream and then a wander over to the fountain which was 85m high today according to the measuring thingummy you looked through.

Clouds are coming in and the rain returns, so situation normal for this trip then. We're going along the lakeside road to Nyon and then cross country to St George and heading over the Col du Marchairuz to Le Brassus. Going over the top of the Col, the fun really started when it starting snowing heavily - not recommended on a bike going down hairpin bends constantly wiping snow from your visor. One thing in our favour is that its not freezing, only around 3 to 4 degrees so the snow is falling but not settling - its still bloody wet though and running water all over the road to boot.

 

We have about 40 minutes of this snow that eventually turns back to heavy rain with the drop in altitude, and we miss the view of the two forts on the way into Pontarlier as they were hidden in the deluge.
We're stopping for the night in Pontarlier, and its a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet and a few beers before bed.
We've had it all today - sunshine and dry roads on the twisties along Lac Vouglans, cloudy but dry up the first Col, overcast in Geneva, snow on the second col, and heavy rain into Pontarlier. Four seasons in a day I think the saying goes.

Across the water day 4

A tour around the Jura region local to Lons-le-Saunier is on the cards today and its wet yet again, but not as heavy as previous days and it even stops for a while.
Not far is the Cirque de Baume, a dramatic gorge with the village of Baume-les-Messieurs at the bottom.

 

Attractions in and near the village include the Abbey, where we inappropriately preached from the pulpit and took confession

Abbey

Gospel according to St Mike

Knock knock .....Who's there?

10th century abbey of St Peter

Not far is the waterfall, which was quite spectacular given the amount of rain fallen, and some caves. We gave the caves a miss - there was an entrance charge after all

Waterfall in a quite spectactular mood given all the rain in the last couple of days

Onwards and a visit to some more gorges and lakes. A stop for lunch at a pizzeria followed by a mystery tour up a track that hadn't seen much traffic recently judging by the grass growing up the middle - a mountain bike probably the best form of transport and we have one casualty who goes literally off road into a field and comes out minus a mirror and with dented pride.

Across the water day 3

There was me laughing my bollocks off at Nige & Steve's Scotland trip last week being done virtually underwater and they say what goes round comes round and guess what - its raining again. We're on our way to Lons-le-Saunier at the foot of the Jura, and the plan is to stay for two nights and have a run around the area.
So from Verdun its a virtual straight line south through Neufchateau, Langres & Dole to Lons le Saunier

Lunch stop in the Middle of Langres You will note it is still wet.

Dole looks like this.....in the wet.

Dinner tonight is a walk into town with a few beers in some bars afterwards. Like most French towns, everything seems to shut after nine, but we find a bar thats open late but so do most of the towns dodgier drinking clientele and its a bit of a rough old dive but o.k for all that.

Dodgy drinkers in Lons le Saunier

Makes a change to be getting wet on the inside on this trip. Large Kronenbourg sil vous plait.

Its a run around the local area tomorrow and I guess its going to be wet.

Across the water day 2

Told you the weather was too good to be true - pissing it down. Plan for today is to head for Verdun, but by a bit of a roundabout route via Bastogne, into Luxembourg, towards Ettlebruck, then south back into France and then follow the Meuse from Stenay to Verdun.

Bastogne, stopping for snap in the Place McAuliffe. This town has a great significance for Americans due to the WW2 battle of the Bulge. There's US references all over.



Just outside Bastogne, the Mardasson Memorial to the 76890 americans wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge. Its a big un', as the Yanks like to do things in style.

 

 

The Sgt Major on top of the memorial gives a sense of the size of it. Memorial big too.
 

Run down to Verdun now and a quick visit to the Douamont Ossuary. This is a memorial containing the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the WW1 Verdun battlefield. Through small  windows, the bones of at least 130,000 unidentified soldiers of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves. On the inside of the building, the ceiling and walls are covered by plaques bearing names of French soldiers who fell during the Battle of Verdun.

Whats through the square window.....?

The square windows, each looking into a 18 cubic meter vault containg the remains from different areas of the battlefield. there are 36 vaults in total with two larger 150 cu.meter vaults at each end of the building - so 948 cu.meters in total.

After that sobering experience it was off to the hotel in Verdun and something to eat in the steakhouse next door.

Across the water to see the neighbours

Off to France/Belgium/Switzerland for a week with Neil & Alan - bit of a repeat of 6 years ago when we went to Normandy/Brittany together on teh bikes.
So its down to Dover for the 1 o/clock boat, meeting some other guys on the way at a cafe in Deal so that gives us 9 - quite an invasion force!!

Reporting in to the boss - all safe & sound

We are sailing......

 Once at Calais, we head out towards Ypres to check out the Menin Gate, then head on to Lille for the first night's stop. Just before we get to Lille we take another detour to Fromelles to have a look at the new CWGC Pheasant Wood cemetery built in 2010 to hold the remains of 337 WW1 soldiers found nearby in 2008.

Menin Gate

 

Alan finds something to 'amuse' himself with

Pheasant Wood, Fromelles

 

 

 Weather's been really good - dry & sun shining, but it ain't going to last.

A flying visit to the Borders

Popped up to Moffat to meet Nige & Steve who were on their way back from an early Scotland trip - quite an experience they had by all accounts what with punctures, sat nav induced mystery train spotting tour, a road gradually disappearing into a muddy track before their very eyes and being stalked by a mysterious french biker!! And it did nothing but rain as well.
I was meeting up with them on the last stop and travelling back home with Steve the next day.
Took a leisurely ride up with the weather fine, off the A1 at Darlington and stop in Corbridge for a drink and a bite at Grants bakery in the market square - three sausages in a bread bun and a coffee for £1.99 - its on my stop list for the future.

Breakfast on the go - good little bakery in the background, Grants in Corbridge

 

Parked up in Corbridge, filling up on sausage butties.

 

Its around 09:30, so go a little further up the A68 and then cut across towards Alnwick through Rothbury and up the road to Coldstream. I'd planned for a little bit of a wander west following the Tweed towards Moffat with a little detour to Scotts View and the William Wallace statue near St Boswells.

View from Scotts View. As you can see, the weather is holding, but it ain't going to last.

Mr W Wallace - 'Great patriot hero! Ill requited Chief!'. Thats what it says on the inscription anyhow.

Can you see what a Scotsman wears under his kilt?

I'm heading for the Glen Cafe near the Tibbie Shiels Inn on St Marys loch for a bit of snap. Rain starts as I come out of Selkirk, but more of a sprinkle to wet the roads. I stop and have a fry up whilst it starts to rain harder, so two drinks of coffee taken in order to spin out the time whilst its raining.

Glen Cafe

Old AA box at the turn off for the reservoirs road

Retracing my steps a few miles back from the cafe, I take the road at the AA box and go across the hills past the Megget & Talla reservoirs to pick up the A701 at Tweedsmuir. Rain is heavy now and the wind has picked up but its a sneaky little road with some good views, plus the run down to Moffat is a more sweeping A road and definitely sports bike territory - if there were any out in that weather that is.

Looking west over the Talla reservoir - looks like more rain as I'm heading straight towards the centre of this picture, down the hill and along the right hand bank of the water

Get to the B&B in Moffat, park up and then Steve & Nige turn up literally minutes later. I've had a nice 400 mile or so steady run up and around some of the Borders I've not been to before, so a good day in all.
Wash & brush up then into the town for food & drink, starting off at the Stag Hotel for a couple, then down to the Star Hotel for more guiness and some food, where I hear all about the previous couple of days goings on from the two intrepid travellers.

Lincoln Grand Prix

Its that time of the year again and the spectacle of the most prestigious one day race in UK cycling.
13 laps of an 8 mile course giving 102 miles overall, so its 13 times up the cobbles of the 1 in 6 Michaelgate climb.
Always a good day out watching this, its about 20 minutes for them to come around each lap so plenty of time to get a beer in at the various pubs on the route in the city - I usually get into the Tap & Spile, Magna Carta, and Wig Mitre
Race won by Team Sky rider and Olympic gold medallist Peter Kennaugh, riding in Isle of Man colours.

Escort bikes leading through Castle Square

Coming along West parade

Leaders coming through Castle Square on about lap 4 (Kristian House leading in black)

Peter Kennaugh at the top of Michaelgate