Taking bike to Le Mans

[mrincredible]

I am taking the motorbike to Le Mans this year as my would be passenger (aka pussy) has bailed out. Can anyone suggest a decent route for a bike rather than straights roads.

Cheers.

[randlemarcus]

Anything out of Calais, down to Rouen, then the A28 through Alencon. Nice route, not too straight, not corkscrew twisty, and plenty of nice little stops en route to wave at nice cars and other bikes.

Do be careful of the Gendarmes, though...

[mrincredible]

Thanks for the advice - I got banned from driving in France for 2 years by the bobbies just outside of Le Mans and wont be making the same mistake twice.

[E36GUY]

Aside from the slightly dull drive down, having a bike at LM is brilliant when the traffic gets heavy.

[WhiteBaron]

Travelling on the monday with bikes not sure about the first section yet (may take a short stretch of Mway depending on ferry time) then Rouen to Lemans via Alencon on the old N138

( can't remeber new euro no. 338?)

happy days

[Nick M]

WhiteBaron said:

Travelling on the monday with bikes not sure about the first section yet (may take a short stretch of Mway depending on ferry time) then Rouen to Lemans via Alencon on the old N138

( can't remeber new euro no. 338?)

happy days

We took a 'scenic' route one year, which basically was as follows:

- autoroute from Calais to Boulogne
- dive off just before the peage section and take the old road from there down to Abbeville (think it's also the N138, as was ??)
- skirt round Abbeville on the motorway
- the D something or other from Abbeville south to Rouen - broadly follows the path of the autoroute down there. Lovely road through some nice little towns
- through Rouen
- N138 Rouen to Le Mans via Alencon

Should be OK on bikes, but it took a lot longer in cars as average speeds weren't that high (though some of the peaks might have been.... *ahem* .... ).

[mrincredible]

Cheers guys - it has taken me 5 years for the wife to agree to my getting a bike - I am so excited already I can't stop thinking about the trip, fresh air, freedom from wife and 2 kiddies - ahh....

[E36GUY]

Just make sure you get Euro breakdown mate. Three of my lot were on bikes in 2006. We all got a 10pm Thursday ferry for an overnight drive with the bikers all smug that they were stopping at a Boulogne hotel for a nights kip then they'd be up early and be with us at about 10am. Or so they thought. A few beers and a slightly later than planned start already set them back. Then a puncture for one of them an hour out of B. 1.5 hrs waiting for recovery. An hour back to B then time spent changing the wheel. They eventually arrived at 9.30 on Friday night having taken a grand 28 hours total! lol. Not so smug then.