Great French biking roads

Just back from a few days

touring in the south of France.

Although we did the trip in a camping car,

the route chosen ,and the quality of the roads

would make a superb biking trip.

Let me give you our itinerary ,

it might inspire you.

Starting from Limoges

head south on the A20 to Cahors.

Follow the Lot valley to Figeac,

Stopping at St Cirque lapopie

(an amazing ancient village

that clings precariously to the valley side)

-a world heritage site .

from Figeac take the road to Villefranche;

a break at Villeneuve is recommended

-its a lovely Bastide town.

A couple of hours south

is the amazing town of Cordes sur Ciel .

Before you arrive there ,though,

take in Najac

its simply stunning!

After a few hours exploring old Cordes,

head off for Albi

and take the road to Millau.

This has to be one of the best biking roads in france.

It swoops up and town the Tarn Valley-fabulous open vistas,

an almost perfect road surface and NO TRAFFIC!

(except for a gaggle of BMW tourers)

60 odd miles of biking heaven

brings you right under

the amazing new Millau viaduct .

It really is a masterpiece of civil engineering.

From Millau follow the Gorges du Tarn

-50 miles of narrow canyon,

with narrow canyon roads to match .

(watch out for looney people carriers

towing racks of canoes)

Take a few hours to chill out.

The water is crystal clear and warm.

Florac to Mende,takes you up from the Gorges

onto the Lozere plateau .

Mende to Le Puy en Velay is another cracker

of a road.

Le puy features spectacular scenery

with 3 churches set atop volcanic plugs

dominating the skyline;

its wealth was built on lacemaking

and  the famous Puy(green)lentils.

Heading north towards Clermont Ferrand

you pass through volcano country

-a  10000 metre high plateau studded with

extint volcanic cones,

many with fairytale villages atop.

As you see the imressive Puy de Dome mountain group

on the horizon,

take a left and head for Mont Dore.

(thats it ,down there on the left..)

Here youll find a major winter ski resort

and Puy sancy,at Over 6000 ft;

the highest point in central France.

A quick motorway blast

through the Correze to Brive

and 1 hour nort up the A20

sees you back in Limoges.

A 4 or 5 day trip covering 1200kms

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Thanks all 5000 of you!

UNBELIEVABLE!

5000 visitors to the Peterbeta biker blog since its inception!

Over 50 visits a day and rising !

1000 visits in 24 days!!

I,d better keep writing!

I,m an eejit!

How long have I been biking?

How many bikes have I owned?

Youre never too old to learn.….

I,ve mentioned on several occasions

that I find the FZR6OO

very heavy handling at the front end,

not a sporty ride in fact.

Its extremely stable

but requires an inordinate amount of input

to turn into a corner .

Loads of countersteering

and pressure on the bars and footpegs

-not right surely?

Yesterday I rechecked the tyre pressures

with my new twin piston footpump

(4.99 euros from Lidl )

HEY PRESTO

the tyre pressure gauge

showed front tyre pressure of 15lbs !

My old pump clearly hadnt been working properly

-I,d assumed the gauge was accurate

and anyway the tyre FELT hard!

I pumped the tyre to 34 lbs

and took her for a spin

TRANSFORMATION

the bike now feels light ,

quick steering

-SPORTY!

I was a bit intimidated before,

now I am delighted.

A truly sporty ride,

just like everyone had told me!:P

“just popping out dear……..”

Mrs Betabiker was dismayed!

No beef for Sunday!

CATASTROPHE!

“No problem dear,despite it being Sunday morning

and we live in the middle of rural France,

I feel I can find a solution to the problem”

I fuel up the 2 FZRs,

Find the rucksack,

and with son John on board the FZR400

me on the FZR600

head off for Brantome,40 miles south.

Fantastic, quiet,sinuous roads,

virtually no traffic

and a sunny warm day-25 degrees.

We play tag -never less than 70mph,

never more than 100mph.

The 600 FZR pulls like a train,

with no discernible powerband.

When needed,

a shot of acceleration is easily gained

by shifting down a gear.

It does have to be said that the 600 demands some input

in the handling dept.

Whilst very stable,

its 189 kgs bulk requires

an involved effort to hussle through the twistys.

I was aware that I was “counter steering”

(turning the wheel slightly

in the opposite direction

as the cornering move commences.

It is normally an operation done unconciously,

but once you know about it,

you notice when you are doing it!)

ANYWAY

together with the counter steering,

I needed to “push” the bike down in the corners

pressing down on the inside foot peg

and applying pressure with the bum cheek !

Arriving at a very crowded Brantome,

we had a quick beer at a shady bar

overlooking the river

bought the beef joint

( and some nice lamb)

Togged up and belted back.

great run,only marred slightly

by me getting stung on my neck

by a wasp caught up in my “Buff”

Was the beef good?

Bloody marvellous!

Jumbo run -French Style(tous en side)

Several months ago

Ann and I got roped into swelling the numbers

at a “Jumbo run”

being organised by a French neighbour,

himself handicapped.

The event was organised by “TOUS EN SIDE”,

a Limousin sidecar club

at Vaulrey,

a small town in the Monts de Blond

near St Junien

(stratobikers favourite VTT spot)

In true French style a 12oclock

start was ordered.

we arrived on time

-the rest arrived by 1;30 to 2pm

After a “caisse croute”(quick snack

interrupted by a hasty trip to the bakers

since  only 4 baguettes were available for over 50 punters!)

at 2,30 we set off in 3 teams to have a wander around

looking for set clues

-a Treasure Hunt,in fact.

crypic clues in French-dont ask me!

Sidecars suitably loaded up with handicapped guests

women children and dogs,

Bikes ditto

he travels everywhere-zipped into the tank bag!

10 outfits and 15 solos.

We set off

and 2 hours later

-we had stopped 4 times

Stop number Four-5 kms covered;Where are the refreshments?

including a refreshment break

Wot-no wine?

and had only covered 10kms!

Yamaha GTS and Sidebike-he owns a GTS solo too!

The pace picked up a bit and by 6 pm we returned to base

60kms covered.

I managed to get split from the group.

I went tearing off after one of the outfits

-turns out he was a travelling marshall!

Waiting for the rest of the group-time to pose!

It has to be said-the scenery was stunning.

Beautiful far reaching views

off the top of the Blond Mountains

and the most adorable,ancient, villages en route.

washday red hands,ladies?

We passed through Oradour sur Glane(the Martyrs village)

and the beautiful Mortemart.

yet another stop,but what a beautiful place.

The company was excellent-very,very friendly

and full of good humour.

We left for home about 6;30 pm

as the bikers were having aperitifs,

followed by a five course meal

followed by more booze,

followed by more food….…….

Its the French way!:P

SERIOUS trail riding in Lozere

Whilst visiting the Gorges du Tarn

we stopped at a campsite

at the northern end of the Gorges .

“Camping delron”

Talking to the owner-Hervé Firmin

it transpires he organises trail riding trips

in the Gorges du Tarn/Lozeres area .

No problems with the locals-

Lozere is the least populated department in France

14 people per sqare Km!

(Paris by comparison is 25000 per sq km!)

He puts packages together for trial/enduro/quad

or just“rando” groups of bikers.

Having got several chalets

and mobile homes on the site,

accomodation is never a problem.

You provide your own bike

-he provides the rest.

He is too busy with the campsite

in July and August,

and starts his tours again

from October 08.

His new tariffs are available then.

100 to 150 kms per day

ALL OFFROAD

is the norm.

You can contact him through his website

WWW.camping-delron.com

or telephone

0675237499

(he speaks no English,but his wife does a little)

Looks serious stuff to me!

(check out the use of trials irons!!

mountain goat country?)

If I try a tour with him,

I shall Definitely be on the Beta Alp

NOT an enduro bike!:P