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Grants
Touring Tips |
| Great to hear from Grant, who's
obviously done a bit of tripping around. Pease find below Grants tips for
a safe and sound trip - very humorous in places, but some excellent sound
advice. Over to you Grant............... |
| Hi, I go
round Europe every year with my best friend on one of my blackbirds. Have
picked up some useful tips from long experience |
| 1) Use french motorail to get to the south of France, Two bikes go for the price of 1 car. It saves tolls, petrol, wear and tear on brake pads and tyres. Plus 1 nights free accommodation and breakfast next morning. Bar on train, all passengers brit's. Get a good packed lunch as meals are rudimentary snacks only. Start your trip fresh with good profile on your tyres. I suggest one way and ride home |
| 2) Sacrificial clothes - Take old clothes and undies. When used just dump them. Why bring home smelly clothes. This way the clothes you buy on the trip can be stored on luggage later as you have made room for them |
| 3) Print and laminate very small useful phrases from internet - ie how to ask for food well done. The french prefer nearly raw meat (ugh!) |
| 4) Travel very light with only one bag, this means that when you get off of the bike you take all your valuables with you |
| 5) Travel in matched pairs of riders. Thus no one is bored by slowing down for a slower rider and no one has to ride faster than they are comfortable with - ie safer |
| 6) If you use toll roads - it is a total and absolute myth that you will be booked for speeding depending on the times on the ticket |
| 7) Avoid motorways if possible, Main roads in France and Switzerland are excellent. Much more pleasurable to ride than boring motorways. Never be tempted to save money on French free motorways ???!!! They are total crap. Worst maintained, dreadful surface, congested with cars and trucks too mean to pay tolls. If you pay tolls pay for two bikes alternately with credit card. |
| 8) Now pay particular attention to fuel, top up rather than fill up. There is a much lower density of petrol stations in France and they do not have our 24 hour culture. They Shut (particularly Sunday and French holidays) The locals use their credit cards to fill up in automated pumps. ****ONLY FRENCH CARDS WORK??!! Even if it says visa etc your card will not work. Always carry cash - it helps to pay frenchmen to use their card to fill up your tank. |
| 9) Signage is very erratic in France, a sat nav is recommended. By the way all french roads are multiply designated? and they are in the process of changing the naming of their road network. Your maps will probably be near useless |
| 10) Buy a silva compass, it helps to know what direction you are going in |
| 11) Vacuum pack your clothes in sets if you can. This minimises the space that they take up and means that you always have access to dry clothes. I work in a hospital and use a machine designed for storing bone marrow |
| 12)
Take spare keys for bike and locks. 2 copies for you and exchange sets with
tour friend |
| 13) Consider using ultraseal puncture sealant. If you get a puncture it will be in the pissing rain in the dark. £20 seems cheap as insurance against the inconvenience. Please note from personal experience, fill with ultraseal exactly as described. Incorrect amounts can cause a jackhammer vibration at about 110 MPH. Take bike out for a fast proving run before setting off |
| 14) Ride with headlights on all the times, roadside fines in France for not doing so, despite this your travel map may say this is not compulsory. It is! |
| 15) If you have booked a room in advance you are much less likely to be refused when you turn up sweaty and smelly after a days ride. Expensive hotels never turn you away, it is the cheaper ones that do. Get a list of formulae 1 hotels, they offer a basic bed and shower, unmanned, doors work on a credit card. You can book in at any time |
| 16) Take spare bulbs, I tape them inside my fairing. It is a requirement in most of europe |
| 17) Take lots of different spare fuses. If you have an electrical problem you will need loads to sort it out. |
| 18) Take condoms, you may just get lucky!! |
| 19) You will need waterproof clothing, two part will be much easier to get on and off. Or consider modern armoured goretex type kit, as it is waterproof. I personally prefer leathers as they don't flap around at high speed ruining the ride and are more abrasion resistant |
| 20) Take a selection of painkillers, They stop long distance aches and pains, 400 mg Ibuprofen is best, also take Paracetamol as they are more effective if you alternate them. If you fall off they will make grazes and strains less painful. |
| 21) shop around for travel insurance, I suggest the BMF. Make sure they know you are motorcycling. Many policies restrict cover for bikers |
| 22) Buy "Europe’s best roads DVD from e-bay before you go - it will help you to plan the best routes for riding pleasure. Don’t miss the roads around GAP and Sospeil in the south of France. The best in France that I know of. Route Napoleon is fantastic as well. Do not miss Swiss alpine passes. |
| 23) Carry a thermos with a wide neck, you can fill up with ice cubes and fruit juice at McDonalds etc. Midday heat in south of France in the summer is unbearable. Schedule rides in morning or afternoon / evening. At midday it gets so hot that sports tyres melt |
| 24) Plan a loss of contact strategy and test it before you are lost. It will happen. I suggest predetermined meeting points, railway stations are well signed and always have refreshments. Program each others mobiles for easy contact in Europe, this includes the foreign dial codes and test that they work before you set off in each country |
| 25) Take a spare set of brake pads, several days in the Alps will shag a new set to the metal |
| 26) We now use Starcom bike to bike intercom, reasonable price. Can’t recommend them highly enough. Buy radios that can be switched to "Illegal in Europe" high output mode. This dramatically increases range. It is often an undocumented feature, talk to your supplier. Most wasted time is due to missing signs etc, particularly if no sat nav. Two sets of eyes are much better. |
| 27) When you stop in Hotels, check out the weather forecast on the internet. We change our planned routes to avoid rain |
| 28) If considering sat nav consider Garmin Zumo, expensive but can save trips in google earth for the sad anoraks among us. |
| 29) Don’t duplicate unnecessarily, Plan what you take together |
| 30) Currently foreign countries cannot add points to your licence, speed traps and cameras are very rare in France. French drivers (cars as well) ALL flash their lights to warn you miles before. If you are flashed slow down. |
| Finally,
after 33 years high mileage 365 day riding. Consider fitting Avon Vipers.
The best tyres for a Blackbird bar none. Last reasonably well, fantastic
directional stability, feel safe and planted when leant right over. Head
and shoulders better than corsas, Brigestones etc
Enjoy! |