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Whither Shall I Wander?
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We need to jump on a bike and wander for 10 days or so starting on
Monday. The weather in the UK looks wet over the next week so it looks
like we need to go to that large island off our coast - Europe.
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Wimp.
What's wrong with a bit of rain?
What's wrong with being soaked through for ten days?
Pah! Yoofer - don't kno how good you have it.
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Warm, good roads and scenery, interesting things to look at - old
towns, castles, etc. would be good (we were thinking of Wales and the
Isle of Man until we saw the weather forecast). If we're in Europe I
need to be in Zeebrugge on the evening of Thursday 27th to catch a
ferrry for a weekend appointment in Cumbria.
Ferries to Spain appear to go on Wednesdays which would mean losing
some days so that's probably out.
We also thought of Motorail to southern France and wander from there
until we discovered it meant sharing cabins with people we don't know
which I really don't fancy at the moment (I'm not in the mood for
socialising).
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made of money are you?
what's wrong with riding your motorcycle down there? it'll
only take about 9 or 10 hours and it'll save you *many* pennies.
plus, you don't have to talk to anyone.
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I thought it may save time - travelling while we're sleeping instead of
being stationary while we're sleeping, so we start the day in southern
France riding nice roads rather than a slog to get there. It's been
dismissed as an idea anyway.
We've had to delay by a day to resolve some issues so we're now going first
thing tomorrow. Having checked the forecast again today we may end up doing
exactly what you suggest and get the ferry to Calais then ride to southern
France and/or Spain.
Italy seems to be a combination of fog, sun and cloud over the next 10
days, the Czech Republic is mostly rain whereas southern France and Spain
seem to be mostly sun.
Our plans are somewhat fluid at the moment and the only thing we know we
want is a bike and some sun! We need to make our minds up soon though or
we'll still be sitting here fannying about this time next week.
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I agree. We now have the ferries booked and SWMBO is booking a couple of
hotels. Lyon tomorrow night, Castellane on Wednesday night, a friend's
place in Mojacar at some point over the weekend or early next week,
Santander on Thursday of next week to catch the ferry, Cumbria on Friday of
next week and some messing around in between.
That sounds a solid enough plan for what we want to do. If there are any
must-see/do things around any of those areas let me know.
I've filed Platypus' plan for next year as I'd still like to do that when
the weather is better.
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Any ideas?
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SE through the Ardennes, Black Forest, Dolomites. Day in Venice. Down the
Adriatic coast to Taranto, back up to the Bay of Naples, Florence via
L'Aquila[1], Monte Amiata, Sienna, San Gimignano. Probably a full day in
Florence. Then up through the Appenines via Lucca[2], Barga, Genoa, through
the Alps to Pont-Saint-Esprit, then up the Ardeche and through the Auvergne.
Have a look at the volcano at Puy-de-Dome. Then NNE through the rich
countryside of Burgundy. By this time, you'll probably be ready to pick up
the autoroute and nail it for Zeebrugge a day early...
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You know that looks rather good and there are quite a few places on there we
haven't been to. I've been to Italy just twice and on both occasions I flew in,
went to a hotel, slept, had my meeting, flew home again.
I put an approximation of the route into Mapsource and it reckons around 2800
miles. I think we may start with just what you have suggested as an outline
plan. Thank you.
Any idea what hotels are like down there for just dropping in? I don't really
want to pre-book as that removes the wandering element.
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No, But it's outside the main holiday season so you shouldn't have too much
trouble with turning up on spec.
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I think that route may be just a little beyond my abilities let alone
the FJR's.
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That looks interesting. Are there any llamas to keep the pillions
entertained?
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I'd guess marmots would be more likely.
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If you use Windows you could get the freebie travel planner which does
motorcycle routes from UKRM nova
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Oooh nice one!
(I must confess I have neglected the site a bit recently and this is a
good opportunity to seed a bit ...)
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Thanks. Downloading as I type.
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Never forget;
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I don't like beer.
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So ... "Three bands play from 11 am to 12 pm"
I wonder what their timing and synchronisation is like towards midnight
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Who cares? It's only important during the hour from 11am until 12pm.
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...
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That made my brain hurt, thank you.
When does their Summer time end?
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You must be cheap to run.
< slight movement of lips> schnapps...?
Or, if all else fails;
You may, however, need to service the bike before doing this one.
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Anyway, that's approximately what I would do.
[1]bit of a wildcard - I've always wanted to go there. See
[2]if only for the city walls
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Er, should I know who or what 'fluffycat' is?
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