Grand Tour of France
With the heat and my hay fever, my trip to France on my new Honda NT1100A last year didn’t go so well. So this year I made sure to take my Beconase nasal spray and to go a little bit earlier, 1st June for 2 weeks. The Becoinsae did its job fine but the weather these days is so unpredictable. As it turned out I was very fortunate with 40+ celsius heatwaves in France bookending my trip.
Like most motorcyclists I like winding mountain roads so my route included Vercors, the French Alps and the Pyrenees. I particularly wanted to return to the department of Haute-Alpes which I visited in 2024. The Route Napoleon town of Gap is a favourite. I also wanted to revisit Col de la Bonette which I had been to with Chris on the Blackbird in 2013. Cherbourg to Vercors included a 2 night stopover at Lyon. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port was the end of the Pyrenees leg and from there it was due north to Cherbourg with stops at Bordeaux, Cognac and Nantes. I stayed on the D roads avoiding the peage.
From Cherbourg to Vichy and Lyon
The trip didn’t get off to a good start when after disembarking the Barfleur ferry and while queuing at Cherbourg French border control my bike was bumped from behind. A guy behind me on a Ducati had somehow managed to run into the back of me while we were slowly advancing a vehicle at a time. He is best described as “all-the-gear, no-idea” and, in my opinion, needs to do a bit more training before he’s let loose. Luckily, apart from a small scuff on my RHS pannier, there was no damage.
After Cherbourg it was an uneventful ride to Lyon with a couple of overnight stops at two chambre d’hotes on the way. I’d thought I had booked an apartment in central Lyon but it turned out it was just a room in an apartment. Anyway, the room was comfortable and spacious. My host, an older lady, was great. She even did some washing for me which I was pleased about as I only took clothing for a week. One of my priorities when booking a place is secure parking for my bike and the apartment had a very secure underground garage for the bike. Essential in central Lyon I think. I stayed in Lyon for two nights. The weather was great the first day, Wednesday, but it rained all day the next day as I walked around Lyon. It was OK though as my host lent me an umbrella and I used the Lyon metro to get around. I found religion that day as the Cathedral and Basilica were the best places to stay dry.
Vercors, Gap and The Alps
After Lyon the weather perked up and the ride through Vercors to Gap on Friday was lovely. The section through the Tunnel des Ecouges, Les Écouges, Combe Laval, Col de la Machine and Col de Rousset was spectacular. The tunnel is a bit intimidating with its puny lighting and its rough hewn sides and roof. Les Écouges and Combe Laval are spectacular "balcony roads" carved into the sheer cliffs with occasional tunnels and overhanging rock above. The ride down Col de Rousset on a long winding road with numerous switchbacks and bends was a highlight of the trip. As I wound my way to Gap I started to see the snow covered Alps.The scenery in those parts is breathtaking. It was a nice stopover at the B&B Hotel in Gap with the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet a short walk away!
My first stop after leaving Gap on Saturday morning on the way to the Alps was Lac de Serre-Ponçon to eat the pastries I had bought for breakfast. I stopped at the exact same place in 2024. Such a beautiful spot. Then I wound my way south from Col de Vars to Col de la Bonette. Col de la Bonette was a place I always wanted to get back to since Chris and I were there on the Blackbird in 2013. At 2715 metres, It’s the highest road in Europe and the ride up and the views are spectacular. Unfortunately there was still a fair bit of snow around and I couldn't get up to the viewing platform as I did in 2013 because the authorities, for reasons of safety, had bulldozered snow walls across the last bit of road. The day ended with me stopping at a charming chambres d’hotes at La Bastide not far from Nice. I got chatting with a couple of French walkers staying there and we had dinner at the local restaurant. Nice meal but too much cheese for me.
From Nice to Millau and Carcassonne
Sunday was a day of gorges, starting with the Gorges du Verdon, then came the Gorges de la Nesque and finally the Gorges de l'Ardèche. Beautiful scenery and lovely roads again. I kept seeing Mont Ventoux as I rode along but I had visited it in 2024 so I didn’t go again. It was at the Verdon Gorge that the bike took a second hit. This time from an over excited plonker on an Africa Twin showing off to his mates. I was walking back to my bike which was parked on the side of the road behind other bikes when he and his mates pulled up on their bikes behind my bike. He was at the front and as he pulled away chatting to his mates, behind him he clipped my top box with his right mirror. Unbelievable! Laughing manically, he sped off. Fortunately again, no real damage to my top box. Just some donated white paint from his mirror. After the gorges I revisited Mont Aigoual. I had been there in 2024 but it had been so windy I hadn’t hung around that time. The views are fantastic from there. After that I rolled into Millau where I stayed the night. I got a great view of the bridge as I descended into Millau.
On Monday I rode to Foix stopping at Carcassonne on the way. Carcassonne is another place Chris and I visited on the Blackbird back in 2012. I parked up at Cité de Carcassonne and strolled around the place. It’s very impressive but so touristy. I didn’t stay too long. Foix was the starting point of my Pyrenees leg.
The Pyrenees
On Tuesday morning it was a bit damp and misty as I started my Pyrenees leg. I stopped for lunch in the small town of Bossòst. Unfortunately there were a few communication issues at the café as I hadn’t realised that I had wandered across the border into Spanish Catalan where they mostly speak Catalan. I kept to the minor roads close to the border and visited Col d’Aspin (1489 metres) and Col du Tourmalet (2115 metres) on the way to my overnight stop at Pierrefitte-Nestalas. The views were good from Col d’Aspin but unfortunately I could hardly see where I was going at Col du Tourmalet as it was in the clouds. The hotel at Pierrefitte-Nestalas was run by a very nice couple who served me local dishes for dinner.
I continued along my Pyrenees route on Wednesday visiting Col du Soulor (1474 metres) and Col d'Aubisque (1709 metres) on the way to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The views were a bit better than the previous day but unfortunately there were still some low clouds around. One minute mist, the next blue sky. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port was a pretty little town, albeit somewhat touristy. I had squid for lunch there. My overnight stop was a chambre d’hote south of Bordeaux.
To Cherbourg via Bordeaux, Cognac and Nantes
On Thursday I started the final leg of my trip. A four day ride due north to Cherbourg with the Atlantic on my left. Along the way I stopped at Bordeaux, Cognac and Nantes. The temperature was starting to hit the low 30s centigrade but it was a pleasant enough ride. Walking around Bordeaux was a bit hot and sweaty. At Cognac I visited some of the distilleries and stayed at a nearby chateaux. The chateaux was really impressive and it would have been a really great stopover if I hadn’t been bitten all over by mosquitoes during the night. They served an excellent dinner in the garden. 24 Hours of Le Mans was on and there was no accommodation at Le Mans so I stayed west with my last stopover at Nantes. I stayed at the Novotel because it’s right next to Les Machines de l'Île. An amazing place with its mechanical animals. Great fun to see the kids baiting the giant elephant and being sprayed with water from its trunk. On Sunday I rode the last 200 miles to Cherbourg. There was a lot of fast motorway which meant I was in danger of getting there 6 hours before my ferry was due so I stopped at various Normandy sites along the way.
It was a trip of 2,500 miles which took in a lot of beautiful scenery and the kind of roads motorcyclists delight in. The NT1100A was totally reliable. It started first time and used no oil. It didn’t even need the drive chain adjusting. With a Puig screen (I found the Honda screen to be truly awful) you can cruise all day long at 130 kph (80 mph) in perfect comfort completely protected from the elements. The NT1100A cornered very well as the skinny ‘chicken strips’ on the back tyre testify. However, when climbing the French cols it becomes apparent that it’s more tourer than sportster. It’s jerkiness in second gear means it’s necessary to slip the clutch a fair bit when tackling switchbacks. (I think the jerkiness in low gears has a lot to do with compliance to emissions regulations.) The big twin engine takes a while to spin up and can be rough when pushed but it has plenty of grunt. Overall the bike performed very well and I developed a fondness for it on this trip. In summary, a fantastic trip through some of France’s best motorcycling countryside with some visits to its big cities thrown in.