;)
;)
This was my first trip abroad on the bike and we decided to take
two days to get to the South of France, staying off the motorway
and using normal roads as much as possible. When we got off the
ferry in Calais, it was almost midday, local time, and it was wet,
so we took the motorway as far as Paris. Going round
Paris on the Perefric on a Saturday afternoon, in the rain,
wearing overmitts was an absolute nightmare. I definitely don't
recommend it! Once past Paris we got off the motorway and onto the
'N' roads which are the French equivalent of British 'A' roads. We
made pretty good progress despite it being wet. Once the light
began to fade we stopped at the first hotel we found. We had loads
to eat and drink and had a good night's sleep.
The second day was much more fun. For a start, the weather had improved and the roads were dry. This time we only used motorways to get through or around the large towns. On the motorway coming out of Clermont Ferand, there is a series of large, almost constant radius bends which seem to last for ever. It was a great feeling to have the bike cranked right over, one way and then the other, at 100 mph for half a mile or more at a time. We left the motorway at Mende. The road from Mende to Alès is about 70 miles with very few straight bits. I was absolutely flat out on the Ducati and must have averaged 3rd gear for the whole 70 miles. What a road! When we finally arrived in Pertuis, it was nearly 8pm. We got stuck into a hotel, and drank till the small hours of the morning.
;)
;)
We spent most of the week riding our bikes because there was
nothing to do in Pertuis. In the evenings, all the bars closed at
9pm so our only option was to drink in the hotel bar or stock up
from the local supermarket and drink in our room.
;)
One of the trips we did was to St. Tropez. The D558 from
Le Cannet Des Maures,
through
La Garde Freinet to Grimaud,
near
St. Tropez is an absolute corker. A French
dickhead in a Citroen BX16 overtook us and the car we were waiting
to overtake, on the wrong side of the road on a blind left hander.
He must have known the road really well, but it didn't take long
for us to catch him up and put him back in his place.