Biking in the Cote d'Azur ???

[J.P]

Came across an advert in the back of Bike magazine this afteroon for a company called,
http://www.columbus-international.com/pricing/
Based in Cannes and offering a variety of Ducati motorcycles for hire.
Prices seem to be about 145 Euro's to 200 Euro's PER DAY for up to a week's rental.

Just thought I'd put it out there as I do a fair amount of riding into Europe and I do love the Cote d'Azur. It's not cheap, but then again, nor is crossing the channel, wear & tear, petrol at 1.55 Euro's a litre in France, hotel accommodation & food along the way. :)

It's about 850 miles from London to Cannes, that's about 150 Euro's in petrol each way, total 300 Euro's.
Cheap Hotel on the way down about 40 Euro's, total 80 Euro's.
Food per day & a hearty dinner 40 euro's, total 80 Euro's.

So you've spent 460 Euro's for your return journey, PLUS you might have Tolls too.
Take into account the wear on the tyres and it really isn't that bad an option....:biggrin:

[bigredduke]

Or you could take your bike on a trailer & have the use of a car as well:biggrin:

[SunEye]

I was down Cote d'Azur way a few years ago with some friends. We were riding about 350 miles per day, staying in 3 star hotels and eating in resturants. It cost us about £1000 each for the week.

The Columbus Cote d'Azur week on a Monster costs over £2500. I think I'd rather DIY a trip like that. 100 Euros could get you a room, breakfast and dinner in a 3 star hotel with Michelin star food (I only paid 75 Euros for that last week, but that's because the girlfriend likes a good haggle).

I do love riding in France. Was teararsing around Limousin on the Monster last week. Even during the school Easter holiday there was nobody in the countryside. At times I was riding for miles without seeing another vehicle.

[DaffyDuc]

Blimey, just logged on and found this thread.
we are on the Cote d'Azur area at the moment, in a town called Vence. Chosen because of the proximity to the roads up in the hills. Trailered the bikes down. The roads are amazing, up in the gorges it's constant twisty's, we have done most of the route Napoleon. you need a head for heights though. The traffic is light as it's only May. On the coast it's very busy,loads of traffic but we're told June to August is gridlock and parking is a nightmare. We've eaten quite cheaply so far but we do tend to head for the restaurants where the locals eat away from the main tourist areas. I'd recommend this to anyone. Weathers good as well, not too hot and cool enough at night to sleep.Oh yes and not yet high season so accommodation is cheaper.
Not sure about hiring, on some of these roads I'm glad I'm on a familiar bike, knowing it's been maintained, how it reacts, that the tyres are good, chain well oiled etc.

[SunEye]

Yeah the coast around there is just a big car park in summer. I was down there last August. The 15km from Sainte Maxime to Saint Tropez is solid with cars all day. If you could be bothered it would take between 1 and 2 hours to drive between the two. The French like to go to the coast for their holidays. Go 15km inland and it can be quite quiet even in August. In fact there are more tourists from the Netherlands than from France in the hills and mountains in the south of France in the summer.

Although I like the Route Napoleon my personal favourite road for biking in that area is the northern side of the Grand Canyon du Verdon. It can get a bit busy immediately around the gorge in the summer, but only because of the number of motorhomes and caravans meaning that for cars overtaking is nigh on impossible on such twisty roads. I drove to/from Sainte Maxime to the Grand Canyon du Verdon in mid August and between the two it was quiet enough to have a pee at the side of the road between cars going past you (it's what the French do, I was just being like a local). Personally if I wanted to ride around there I'd go in May/June or September/October.

I'm lucky enough that my girlfriend has friends in Vidauban, Sainte Maxime and Antibes who we can stay with. Our friend in Antibes rides so next time I'm down there (hopefully next year) I'll take the bike. Last year I drove so that on the way there/back we could park in a field (one was a vineyard - apparently that's ok with the farmers in France) and sleep overnight in the car - who needs a camper van when you've got an air mattress a Mondeo Estate with blacked out windows and a camping stove?

[LVC]

I do love riding in France. Was teararsing around Limousin on the Monster last week. Even during the school Easter holiday there was nobody in the countryside. At times I was riding for miles without seeing another vehicle.

That's cos the only thing in Limousin is cows and they don't drive - not very often anyway ;)

[SunEye]

That's cos the only thing in Limousin is cows and they don't drive - not very often anyway
That's not a very nice thing to say about my girlfriend ;)

You are right though, Limousin is the most sparsely populated part of France. Less densely populated than any county in England and three quarters the size of Wales. That does help to make it good for biking. I particularly enjoyed the D940 from Bourganeuf to St Cere (about 100 miles).

[LVC]

Just watch out for the cows (or rather the "poulets") with the radar guns - they've been out in force around Le Mans these last few weeks (lead up to the GP me thinks) ;)

[SunEye]

Poulets? We call them les couchons. They seem to come out in force on bank holiday weekends in France.

I was stopped on the edge of Limoges after riding all the way from Dieppe and was only 5 minutes from my destination after 6 hours on the bike. They wanted to see my bike's documents. I don't tend to keep my documents in the bike or on me when I'm touring. They stay safe and dry in my luggage. I wasn't too happy about having to take my luggage off to find my documents for plod to take a look at them and blatantly not know if what I've given him is what he wants or if they are even real. They didn't even check them against the registration or the frame/engine number or even check my personal documents to check that I was the person named on the documents.

I did feel like popping down to the police station and complaining that if you're going to stop a foreign biker know what you're looking for and if you don't just let them go on their way instead of pretending to read a document that you don't understand. However I did think better of it.

[DaffyDuc]

today we did the Col De Vence (D2) wow,what a road. Sort of wended our way back on more incredible roads. As it's Sunday there were dozens of bikes out enjoying the roads and weather.
Anyway I've decided to scrap all the bikes and get a ......scooter!! They're constantly pulling wheelies, their lean on bends rival Rossi and you can't shake them off on the mountain roads- ok I'm not particularly fast, but the bike shifts when you open the throttle and they're still on your tail!!

Will bear the limousin in mind, it's nearer home so could ride there for a long weekend.
i'll get amap out and have a look.

[SunEye]

When I was down that way we we really enjoyed the twisty roads inland of Monaco. I seem to recall us riding the D2566 which goes north from L'Escarene to the Col de Turini and then heads back south via Sospel to Menton, and the D2204 that goes from Sospel to L'Escarene.

In the Alps I didn't like the Col de la Bonette (up the north side and down the south). The road on the ascent just didn't seem to flow like some of the others e.g. Col de l'Iseran, Col d'Izoard (if my memory serves me correctly).

It all depends what sort of riding you like. I like 2nd and 3rd gear twisty stuff, not hairpins, I never seem to get them right. Also the faster sweeping stuff, but that's potentially not good for my wallet or my bike if Les Gendarmes spot me. 50kph over the speed limit can get you a very big fine and your bike impounded.

[J.P]

I'm down in Antibes from Mid-June, after riding there on myMultistrada.
I'll definitely be taking the Route Napolean on the way down and depending of what we fancy doing, my wife will join me for a day trip or two out into the hills while we're in Antibes for a week.

[J.P]

SunEye, that D2566 looks a great road up into the mountains.

[SunEye]

La Bollene to Sospel (D70, Col de Turini, D2566) is a stage of the Monte Carlo rally. If you want to see what the road is like there are lots of videos on YouTube. It's quite a twisty one. I rode it in the last week of October a few years ago. Temperature was above 20, sun was shining and there was one car every 5-10 minutes.

On one of the roads in that area my friend managed to not avoid a rock in the road and significantly damaged his front wheel. At least the tyre didn't deflate. We had to limp to Nice and the next morning he found a local Triumph dealer who sorted him out with a brand new wheel.

[J.P]

Yep that looks great

[Dukedesmo]

Just watch out for the cows (or rather the "poulets") with the radar guns

Yes they can be keen at times, I got stopped about 10yrs ago at just over 200kmh on the motorway and they relieved me of £200, I didn't have enough local currency so they escorted me to a bank.:cry:

But I understand that the fines are much higher nowadays... :eek:

[SunEye]

For foreigners caught speeding in France I believe that the on the spot fines are as follows:

Speeding by less than 20 km/h (12 mph) - 45 Euros [except if the speed limit is lower than 50 km/h (31 mph) in which case the fine is 90 Euros].
Speeding by between 20 km/h and 50 km/h (12 mph to 19 mph) - 90 Euros.
Speeding by more than 50 km/h (31 mph) - up to 1500 Euros and they may impound your vehicle and can ban you from driving in France for up to two years.

In 2007 Lewis Hamilton was caught doing 43mph over the limit. He got a £430 on the spot fine, they impounded his car, took his driving licence and banned him from driving in France for a month.

I always make sure that I have a spare 90 Euros in cash on me when riding in France.