French Alps in May - Anyone want to come?
Discussion
Mike600F said:
Want to come on this at some point, finances and time don't allow this year, but it might be an option next year. Fingers crossed.
You would be very welcome to join us. Make sure you subscribe to the e-mail list on the www.old-gits.org site to be kept in the loop on deciding where we go next yearOK, another bump. The hotel rooms are currently reserved but as of next weekend I need to either cancel them or pay the deposit. I know there are a number of the PH BB crew who have expressed an interest in joining us but have not yet committed. It would be great to get a few more on the trip, especially if the DON'T ride a BMW - it is looking a little like a BMW owners club outing!
If you're thinking of a Euro trip this year and don't know where to go or who to go with, then drop us an e-mail.
If you're thinking of a Euro trip this year and don't know where to go or who to go with, then drop us an e-mail.
Excellent. We're oing with 3DP in June!
Did you check the status of the cols? It's been quite cold and miserable in France (same as here) and quite a few are still closed.
I was checking this week and anything above 1900m was shut.
http://www.savoie-route.com/savoie_route-carte_de_...
http://www.infotrafic.com/route.php?region=FRANC&a...
Still...plenty of fun to be had! Enjoy
Did you check the status of the cols? It's been quite cold and miserable in France (same as here) and quite a few are still closed.
I was checking this week and anything above 1900m was shut.
http://www.savoie-route.com/savoie_route-carte_de_...
http://www.infotrafic.com/route.php?region=FRANC&a...
Still...plenty of fun to be had! Enjoy
black-k1 said:
Just a couple of days and we're off.
Not that I'm excited or anything!
We are at Les Houches which is about 4mls down the road, we get there on sunday for a few days before we head off for the med.Not that I'm excited or anything!
Weather not to promising mind.
I'll try and keep my eyes peeled for you lot.
We are in a BMW m3 convertable.
Hope you all have safe and enjoyable journey.
twizellb said:
We are at Les Houches which is about 4mls down the road, we get there on sunday for a few days before we head off for the med.
Weather not to promising mind.
I'll try and keep my eyes peeled for you lot.
We are in a BMW m3 convertable.
Hope you all have safe and enjoyable journey.
Bring me some Golden Virginia back William, I'll square you up when you get home.Weather not to promising mind.
I'll try and keep my eyes peeled for you lot.
We are in a BMW m3 convertable.
Hope you all have safe and enjoyable journey.
Biker's Nemesis said:
twizellb said:
We are at Les Houches which is about 4mls down the road, we get there on sunday for a few days before we head off for the med.
Weather not to promising mind.
I'll try and keep my eyes peeled for you lot.
We are in a BMW m3 convertable.
Hope you all have safe and enjoyable journey.
Bring me some Golden Virginia back William, I'll square you up when you get home.Weather not to promising mind.
I'll try and keep my eyes peeled for you lot.
We are in a BMW m3 convertable.
Hope you all have safe and enjoyable journey.
Long run from Calais to Chamonix today. 555 miles in rain, hail, wind and occasional sun shine. It never got above 10 degrees. The Firestorm ran out of petrol on the Autoroute and one of the BMWs melted a pannier on the exhaust but all safely at the hotel and in good spirits after a couple of beers and a pizza.
More tomorrow.
More tomorrow.
Andy XRV said:
That doesn't sound like much fun. Hope the weather across Europe gets better before we head down there in 3 weeks time.So instead we are off to the US office paid for by work, and my plan organise some team building by going to a shooting range, followed by team building at a bar. I know they manage to sign off the drinking on expenses, so they should be able to pay for shooting lead too I hope!
Myself and the chaps got back from our Euro-jaunt yesterday (Weds)... went from 6 degrees on departure day (15th) to 12 degrees in Rotterdam, got warmer(ish, about 15) by the time we hit Colditz (475 miles or so).
Friday 17th we headed for the Czech republic where we had 25 on the run into Prague, down to about 18 further south in Strakonice.
Warm run into Austria on Saturday, pleasant evening in Salzburg, then a dry run to the Eagle's Nest on Sunday AM, where we had a snowball fight in 20 degrees!
Then we headed for Nuremburg, and things got decidedly soggy, some of the worst rain I've ever ridden in. Nuremburg itself was dry, which was lucky.
On Monday we split into two groups for the run up to Cologne: some thought further rain was likely and hit the motorway just to get there quicker. The lucky ones trusted Herr Garmin and Mr. Tomtom to take the most tortuous route possible and were rewarded with completely empty roads (going through some of the towns was almost post-apocalyptic, there was literally nothing moving - it was a national holiday on Monday). To say there was some thrashing would be an understatement.
It got a bit cold and damp in the last 40 miles or so into Cologne but stayed dry enough that we were sat around smoking cigars at a wine festival near the cathedral until bedtime.
Our last day (Tuesday) saw us with a scant 180 miles to cover and all day to do it, so yet again the group fragmented with Rob and I spending all day riding back roads trying to beat our cutting-it-fine record of 17 minutes before gate closure - and failing miserably. The weather was so poor in Zeeland that even I got fed up and just wanted to get on board - and I had full waterproofs and a barn-door fairing to hide behind, Rob has only the screen and clocks of a Multistrada to keep him warm
Ironically possibly the maddest, bum-clenching thrashing of the whole trip was the run up through the Yorkshire Wolds following Martyn yesterday morning: if every run could be like that we'd never feel the need to go abroad.
So, what did we achieve... well I clocked 1866 miles through 5 countries, managed 43mpg overall and shagged the ST13's rear pads. Rob proved that left to its own devices a Ducati will try to disassemble itself to component parts. Neal proved that an Aston is no match for a ZR1400 on an open road, Iain proved that sometimes it's safer to push your bike than jump aboard while it's rolling
and I proved that my cornering technique needs improving to avoid the possibility of wearing a Volvo estate 
Commiserations go to the guy from Sheffield who stacked his ZZR14 at 25mph on an oil spill, clouting the kerb and snapping both yokes
only two days into their trip.
Observations: fuel is (relatively) cheap in the Czech republic! I think we worked out it was about £1.05 a litre.
Allow more time than you think if you visit the Eagle's Nest. We had to queue for the bus tickets, queue for the lift, wait forever to get served drinks on the terrace (and still didn't), queue for the lift back down... it's 16 Euro for the bus and lift pass and you still don't get to see around Adolf's lair unless you join an official tour, of which there were only two a day while we were there. Worth it for the Italian Job-style bus ride and the view from the top, although it'd be even better without the haze.
Colditz is quite good: we only did the short tour but the place is so vast you don't need to see all of it to get a feel. There's an extensive museum of escape 'stuff' the Germans confiscated or later found - including the proverbial knotted bedsheets!
The Indian restaurant in Nuremberg that is ranked 4th on Trip Advisor is well worth a visit: we stayed at a Best Western that was within walking distance not only of that but also the Courthouse where the War Crimes trials were held after WW2.
...and Dutch girls are genetically bred to be tall and leggy - though they will insist on cycling out in front of you; had a few heart-stopping moments, they still have 'priority to the right' in Holland
Roll on next year
Friday 17th we headed for the Czech republic where we had 25 on the run into Prague, down to about 18 further south in Strakonice.
Warm run into Austria on Saturday, pleasant evening in Salzburg, then a dry run to the Eagle's Nest on Sunday AM, where we had a snowball fight in 20 degrees!
Then we headed for Nuremburg, and things got decidedly soggy, some of the worst rain I've ever ridden in. Nuremburg itself was dry, which was lucky.
On Monday we split into two groups for the run up to Cologne: some thought further rain was likely and hit the motorway just to get there quicker. The lucky ones trusted Herr Garmin and Mr. Tomtom to take the most tortuous route possible and were rewarded with completely empty roads (going through some of the towns was almost post-apocalyptic, there was literally nothing moving - it was a national holiday on Monday). To say there was some thrashing would be an understatement.
It got a bit cold and damp in the last 40 miles or so into Cologne but stayed dry enough that we were sat around smoking cigars at a wine festival near the cathedral until bedtime.
Our last day (Tuesday) saw us with a scant 180 miles to cover and all day to do it, so yet again the group fragmented with Rob and I spending all day riding back roads trying to beat our cutting-it-fine record of 17 minutes before gate closure - and failing miserably. The weather was so poor in Zeeland that even I got fed up and just wanted to get on board - and I had full waterproofs and a barn-door fairing to hide behind, Rob has only the screen and clocks of a Multistrada to keep him warm
Ironically possibly the maddest, bum-clenching thrashing of the whole trip was the run up through the Yorkshire Wolds following Martyn yesterday morning: if every run could be like that we'd never feel the need to go abroad.
So, what did we achieve... well I clocked 1866 miles through 5 countries, managed 43mpg overall and shagged the ST13's rear pads. Rob proved that left to its own devices a Ducati will try to disassemble itself to component parts. Neal proved that an Aston is no match for a ZR1400 on an open road, Iain proved that sometimes it's safer to push your bike than jump aboard while it's rolling
and I proved that my cornering technique needs improving to avoid the possibility of wearing a Volvo estate Commiserations go to the guy from Sheffield who stacked his ZZR14 at 25mph on an oil spill, clouting the kerb and snapping both yokes
only two days into their trip. Observations: fuel is (relatively) cheap in the Czech republic! I think we worked out it was about £1.05 a litre.
Allow more time than you think if you visit the Eagle's Nest. We had to queue for the bus tickets, queue for the lift, wait forever to get served drinks on the terrace (and still didn't), queue for the lift back down... it's 16 Euro for the bus and lift pass and you still don't get to see around Adolf's lair unless you join an official tour, of which there were only two a day while we were there. Worth it for the Italian Job-style bus ride and the view from the top, although it'd be even better without the haze.
Colditz is quite good: we only did the short tour but the place is so vast you don't need to see all of it to get a feel. There's an extensive museum of escape 'stuff' the Germans confiscated or later found - including the proverbial knotted bedsheets!
The Indian restaurant in Nuremberg that is ranked 4th on Trip Advisor is well worth a visit: we stayed at a Best Western that was within walking distance not only of that but also the Courthouse where the War Crimes trials were held after WW2.
...and Dutch girls are genetically bred to be tall and leggy
- though they will insist on cycling out in front of you; had a few heart-stopping moments, they still have 'priority to the right' in Holland Roll on next year
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