UKC

I'm wondering if there are any motorcyclists on here.
Having just returned from France on a family holiday, i got to dreaming of doing a bike trip that also took in a bit climbing either in Fontainebleau or the sport crags in the South.
probably looking a a quick trip leave friday am, climb sat & sun return monday

possibly late OCT - early NOV

In reply to gavjwp:

At tht rate I reckon you'd be so knackered on arriving in 'Bleau that climbing would be the last thing on your mind.

In reply to Rigid Raider:
I rode to 'Bleau from Sheffield in a day a few years back, via the tunnel. (To meet friends who'd driven out taking my pad with them - one solution to the obvious problem of going on a bouldering trip by bike.)

At the time I had a Triumph Sprint 900, a very comfortable and capable bike for long distances, I was ready to climb the following morning but even so it was just a bit too much really. After a week's climbing I found the return trip absolutely exhausting. If the OP is made of sterner stuff than me he/she might be fine, but I would definitely split the journey over two days if I did it again.

Made me think of that famous photo of Chris Bonington with an *enormous* back pack, on the pillion seat of Don Whillans's tiny bike (by modern standards) as they were setting off for the Alps. Good god those boys were tough.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


What!!

Struggling to comprehend that you could be tired unless you were riding from Aberdeen in the same day?

In reply to gavjwp:

A friend if mine once road down to the Vedon/Buoux for the Easter fortnight - after a week he admitted he couldn't enjoy the climbing as he was dreading the journey back so much - it is a long haul,


Chris

In reply to gavjwp:

I'd be pretty interested in this, I did post a similar thread up about 6 months or so ago. My only issue is I'd probably need to go for longer. I'm not sure I could handle my place to font in one sitting on the bike I've got at the moment.

In reply to gavjwp:

Also, I'd have to bunkhouse or hostel it, there'd be no way I could carry camping gear

In reply to walts4:



Biking can be hard work and different people cope with different limits.
If I were to do that ride from Leeds it would be just over 500 miles, easy for me on my Explorer but would be crippling for my mate on his blade.

I have driven 1000 miles in a day plenty of times but earlier this year I Rode from Monaco to Leeds in the day 1036 miles in 20 hours and 29 mins (400 miles mountain roads and the rest motorway) and I was like a zombie for the next few days

In reply to deepsoup:


Agree - what a photo - but not only the Alps: the North Face of the Eiger - here it is:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a9/1a/a1/a91aa10c9df656705b0320eb...

In reply to Dax H:

At least you were the living dead

In reply to Dax H:

for those interested, I'm in Sheffield.

I am not expecting to go to Font for a proper bouldering trip. theres more than enough quality 'comfortable problems' to enjoy. So from a bouldering point of view, i'm not going with a mission to send. just enjoy time doing two things i enjoy. two days of bouldering. 'low intensity' and two days on the bike.
I was thinking of staying in the Hotel de la Gare in Font. its a cheap hotel near the station. i stayed in it in 2000 for about 3 weeks. it cheap and you get what you pay for.
i was going to strap the small Moon Pluto pad under my tail bag and take chalk bag and boots.

i know its a rushed trip and would be better with more time. but i dont have that option.

if anyone is keen, let me know.

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Surely the nose to tail traffic shouldn't bother you unless you have panniers... Or ride a harley

In reply to gavjwp:

I've got a week booked off work in October (though it may get cancelled... Long story) and considered a font trip from near you. With a comfortable bike is easily doable in a day. The ride home will probably be a bit miserable but partly as... Its the ride home.

Also considering Scotland, or given weather in October, heading down to Cornwall for a few days. Not sure what I'll do yet (assuming I get the time off :/)

In reply to gavjwp:

Albarracin bike trip?

In reply to gavjwp:

I used to struggle with Newark to Skeggy on my 1098 but that is because i was getting to old for that type of bike. With a more appropriate two wheeler i reckon that would be an awesome adventure. The big Beemers eat long mileage without issue. That said, its a long way.

In reply to Scarab9:
I'd be interested in those options too.
Probably much more doable as well.

The Albarracin trip would be awesome. That I would like to take a week or two off for. Would you take the ferry to Santander then ride ? OR ride through France and Pyrennes?? Longer ride but those roads are very appealing in their own right.

In reply to gavjwp:

Last Monday (24th) I loaded the bike with climbing gear, rode from Somerset to Portsmouth (2hrs) took ferry to Le Havre and then rode to Lausanne, Switzerland (9 hrs). Had a great week in The Swiss Alps and then came back yesterday from Lausanne to Calais (9 hrs) and Dover to Somerset (4 hrs). Plus waiting time at Calais due to strike delays etc

So it is possible.

Flying would have been cheaper and easier. Taking my van would have been more convenient amd I could have taken more kit BUT overall it was fine and I might do it again.

In reply to gavjwp:

I have a Ducati MTS1200 and a house in the Languedoc with some great sport climbing nearby and have often wondered about combining the two for a trip, realistically it is two full days ride there so would need to be a week long trip to give a few days climbing.
Problem is I like to travel very light and so getting a 70m rope and hardware could be a problem but not insurmountable I'm sure.
Work would stop it happening next year but it's certainly a plan for the future.

In reply to Andrew Lodge:
That sounds a great plan for 2017. I'm up for that. One could pack rope and draws and the other packs shoes harness & chalk bag.
I'd be happy to carry the lot.

In reply to gavjwp:
There seems to be a certain reluctance to travel long distances with any equipment from certain posters on this thread.
Nothing wrong with that of course, each to their own.
For a little historical perspective I found this in an article written by Tony Moulam for the Climbers Club journal.


"My last holiday with Peter was in the summer of 1950. For some reason I can no longer remember Peter came to meet me in Wales and we set off for Scotland on
my 350 cc Royal Enfield (bought with the army’s university grant and painted green including saddle and chain) rather than his Vincent HRD. We covered 183 miles in 91⁄2 hours and camped somewhere outside Penrith. Next day we went on another 230 miles to pitch the tent below the Buachaille, but at least had dinner at the Royal Hotel in Tyndrum (we had had fish and chips in Wigan on the previous day."

So let's get those bikes loaded up and be on your way, no more excuses


Pmc

In reply to baron:


It's not just on here it's the way of the average bike owner. Every year at insurance time I get questioned by whoever I sign up with "are you sure you want cover for 10k miles sir? The average biker only dose 4k per year"
Every few years I change my bike and we go through the that's very high mileage for the year so I'm going to low ball you dance.

In reply to Dax H:
These days I fall into the low mileage category despite having two motorbikes. I put it down to having two bikes, two cars and a van hence the mileage is spread around. When younger and much poorer and with a motorbike as the only means of transportation we went everywhere by bike, two up and with camping and climbing gear.
Now I've retired I hope to up the mileage on both bikes but given the weather at the moment I might just buy a boat

Pmc

In reply to gavjwp:

Realistically, if I was to do albarracin id like to ferry it to Santander to be honest. Riding all the way through France on a street triple would be hard going for me. I've just finished touring Ireland and did 1400 mile in 6 days. It may not sound like much but as the only bloke on a naked bike on the trip, I had by far the toughest time

In reply to gavjwp:

Just about to cross a road in Ogwen just up from Plas Y Brenin and had to stop sharply to let three bikers fly past at 100+ mph and 15k rpm. One of them had a mini tank slapper. F*cking idiots.

Think Bike? They're the biggest hypocrites around.

In reply to radddogg:

Oh come on. I don't think you can generalise bikers as hypocrites because of th actions of three guys

In reply to gavjwp:

You can hire a pad when you're out there, I've done this before from The House, but other places do it as well.

In reply to baron:




My reason is I hate driving and refuse to do it if I am not being paid.
Work = driving around 25k a year but being paid.
Not work = bike, weather doesn't matter. Just get better gear

In reply to Dax H:

ok folks.
reading through this, there appears we could have a number of trips.

I would be up for the trip to Andrew's place in the Languedoc in 2017. (Andrew, would this be possible?)
I would also be up for Albaraccin in 2016 taking the ferry to Santander. (when is the best time. i guess two weeks would be the time frame) this is subject to domestic negotiations........

Font this year in Oct/Nov. I need confirmation from anyone if they are up for the mad 4 day run. staying in the Ibis in Font.(cheap accomodation, secure bike parking).
if i can get someone in, we can look at dates.

Scarab9:
what week do you have provisionally booked off? I'd be up for a trip to cornwall/Scotland with you.

In reply to Mostin3:
Come on, every biker is the same. Yes there are the odd pootler but they are the exception.

In reply to radddogg:

We will have to agree to disagree on this one mate but I see your point

In reply to Mostin3:

Don't get me wrong, if they want to risk their lives then that is fine, it's only like us climbing, I just find it a bit rich when they expect drivers to compensate for their recklessness.

In reply to radddogg:


Winds me up big time. Every year I lose a friend or acquaintance in a bike crash and know at least 5 or 6 people who come off but survive with varying degrees of injury.
In 95% of the cases everyone blames the car but in my experience in 95% of the cases it's the rider riding like a knob.

In reply to gavjwp:

i'd still like to do this sometime:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/travellers-seeking-travellers/tafraou...

cheers
mark

In reply to Dax H:

There has been research done into causes of motorcycle accidents http://www.maids-study.eu/ . Unsurprisingly human factors were the primary contributing factor in most cases. The driver of another vehicle was more likely to be the primary contributing factor than the motorcycle rider (50% vs 37%), whilst the largest single primary contributing factor was 'perception failure' by the driver of another vehicle.

This doesn't mean that the motorcycle riders weren't 'riding like a knob' or that they couldn't have prevented the accident, but it does suggest that an effective strategy for reducing motorcycle accidents might be to try to encourage drivers to look out for them.

There are other campaigns aimed at riders.

In reply to MarkJH:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2746026/Please-don-t-die-like-boy-M...

In reply to radddogg:

A good example. Clearly there were two contributing factors (both human) two this accident. One was a decision failure on the part of the rider (excessive speed). However, according to the report, there was also a perception failure by the driver, who was convicted of dangerous driving for not seeing the bike.

This is the kind of accident that could definately have been prevented by better driver awareness and could perhaps have been prevented by more sensible riding.

In reply to MarkJH:

You can forgive the driver not seeing a small bike travelling 100mph. Bikers need to realise they are harder to see and ride accordingly.

I'd love to know the stats on bike accidents where bike speed was excessive.

In reply to radddogg:

Perhaps you can, but the courts didn't.... Completely agree with your second point.


From the MAIDS report. In 74% of accidents, motorcycle speed was not unusual relative to surrounding traffic. In 8% speed was unusual but did not contribute to the accident, and in 18% unusual speed relative to the surrounding traffic contributed to the accident.

In reply to MarkJH:
Cheers for the response

I supposed a lot of my opinion and that of others is down to perception; the few - or many - that ride recklessly totally undermine the Think Bike campaign for the entire biking community.

Just as a throwaway note, I was a biker until fairly recently and was even knocked off by a car while I was doing 30 in a 30, so I know not all accidents are due to speed.

My original point was about the hypocrisy in the Think Bike campaign where motorcyclists claim holiness while simultaneously poking the grim reaper with a stick and running away.

In reply to radddogg:


There may be an element of truth to that. To be honest, I'd always thought the "Think Bike" slogan was deliberately ambiguous. i.e, when I'm in the car it feels like its aimed at me ("Think about motorbikes"), but when I'm on the bike it also feels aimed at me ("You're on a bike; use your brain!"). Maybe just me...

In reply to MarkJH:

Yeah, maybe it should be changed to Think, Bike

Over the years I,ve gone from 2 up + all gear to Alps/Verdon, dash down to Boux/Finale lightweight with small bag, staying in Gites, to overnight ferry from Hull, ride down to my place in Cham. and day rides out. I,ve always loved the journeys and the roads. One memorable trip with a friend on his bike was leisurely breakfast in Boux, pint in Tideswell that night [prob. riding like knobs !!]
Big bikes and Alpine/Provence roads are what memories are made of, so anyone who loves bikes should go at least once