Routes required, Caen to Cannes, along with the usual...

Wapping

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Cut from a thread about French emmision stickers...

Wife and I going to south east France in mid May, she'd love to experience snow capped mountain passes but we might be to late by then. Can you perhaps suggest a scenic route from Caen to Cannes? We are looking to avoid major roads and motorways, I like the idea of a route following a river, with some fantastic picturesque views.
 
Accepted.

First take yourself first to RiDE's website where you'll find excellent biker friendly routes that'll answer your question exactly. Then take yourself to a half decent bookshop or online sales outlet and get yourself a map.

Got a link, mate?

http://www.ride.co.uk/magazine-routes/routes-from-ride-magazine

http://www.mapsman.com

https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops

https://www.dauntbooks.co.uk


As for a route from Caen to Cannes to take in snow capped mountains and following a river, with fantastic picturesque views, whilst avoiding major roads and motorways... How long have you got to bimble / hoon from Caen to Cannes (and I guess back) in May?

Direct, taking in motorways, missing the Alps and not necessarily following rivers is about 750 miles. Add say 50% or more to avoid the main roads and motorways, then add some more to bring in the Alps (most of the best passes will still be shut but the main motorway passes will or should be open) and God knows how many more miles besides to follow rivers, all whilst pausing to take in the views and press wild flowers.....

Caen to Cannes... It has a certain peoetic ring to it, I must say.
 
Accepted.

First take yourself first to RiDE's website where you'll find excellent biker friendly routes that'll answer your question exactly. Then take yourself to a half decent bookshop or online sales outlet and get yourself a map.

Got a link, mate?

http://www.ride.co.uk/magazine-routes/routes-from-ride-magazine

http://www.mapsman.com

https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops

https://www.dauntbooks.co.uk



Thank you for your help Mr. Wapping. Sarcasm as usual, but I am used to it. I starting to believe that you are great fan of paper maps? I've got a European road atlass from 2005, this should do the trick.


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I starting to believe that you are great fan of paper maps? I've got a European road atlass from 2005, this should do the trick.


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Well worth taking to avoid falling foul of Nutty's law :eek:
 
Well worth taking to avoid falling foul of Nutty's law :eek:

Hahaha! I shall purchase some maps but I can use my phone with google maps wighout additional charges in France and some other EU countries. I have unlimited data allowance with 3 so it will always be an additional back up choice too.


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Start to think outside the box, too.

Have a look at:

https://bikeridesmw.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/from-caen-to-cannes-channel-to-the-med-2013/ to see what these bods managed without the aid of UKGSer to do it all for them.

Have a look as well at:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showth...ine-Route-Napoleon-and-gorges-Eight-day-jaunt

And at:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/405985-France-en-velo-Book?highlight=En+velo

If this lot married to post #3 has not created your route to follow with your road atlas and Google mapped phone, I don't know what will. You'll need at least access to some Garmin software to open the GPS files or maybe some kindly fecker will cut them into Google maps, as I can't be arsed. They are though .gpx files, so they might open up in all sorts of other GPS orientated software mediums. Give it a go, you can't break it.
 
thus link does not bring up anything other than error page.

Works for me. It should take you to a UKGSer thread, entitled:

Ride magazine - Route Napoleon and gorges - Eight day jaunt

It's in the French section so a search or a trawl down the section should find it.
 
Works for me. It should take you to a UKGSer thread, entitled:

Ride magazine - Route Napoleon and gorges - Eight day jaunt

It's in the French section so a search or a trawl down the section should find it.

Sorry should've been a bit more clear. I'd dies not take me to ride magazine page for that route. Takes me just fine to ukgser page but not ride.


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OK, that's because RiDE have changed the website it's hosted on. It happens, from tome to time, rendering old links invalid.

You can still find it though. See if this works:

Go to: http://www.ride.co.uk/magazine-routes/routes-from-ride-magazine

Scroll down to December 2014

Click on: Gorgeous gorges - riding out
Day One Day Two Day Three
Day Four Day Five Day Six
Day Seven Day Eight
Download the route

You'll need to adjust it as you are starting from Caen but that should be easy enough. RiDE did do an article on various destinations in France, starting from assorted Channel ports. It's out there somewhere, I'm sure.
 
if it was me i would be doing rivers and stunning places going down and mountain passes, views and more stunning places coming back, of course this would depend on available traveling time(how long you have to get there and back).
 
if it was me i would be doing rivers and stunning places going down and mountain passes, views and more stunning places coming back, of course this would depend on available traveling time(how long you have to get there and back).

We are away for 9 days leaving Portsmouth on Friday and back home mid afternoon the following Sunday. Rivers, gorges and mountain passes is ideally what I'd want to do. Arsey's recent trip to Castelane was something along the lines of things I'd like to do and see. Depending on weather conditions we might be camping an odd night here and there but likely be staying at biker friendly B&B places.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OK, that's because RiDE have changed the website it's hosted on. It happens, from tome to time, rendering old links invalid.

You can still find it though. See if this works:

Go to: http://www.ride.co.uk/magazine-routes/routes-from-ride-magazine

Scroll down to December 2014

Click on: Gorgeous gorges - riding out
Day One Day Two Day Three
Day Four Day Five Day Six
Day Seven Day Eight
Download the route

You'll need to adjust it as you are starting from Caen but that should be easy enough. RiDE did do an article on various destinations in Franc, starting from assorted Channel ports. It's out there somewhere, I'm sure.

Lovely. I shall have a look! :thumb


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I agree.

The problem the fellow has is that he is going in May. I've been stuck in Barcelonette in May in snow and frozen in the high middle of France, too. Other years, scorchio.

The high 'must do' Alpine non-motorway passes will almost certainly still be shut, unless he is very late in the month. Even then, many will not open until early to mid-June.

We know the total jaunt is nine days but that assumes he gets to Cannes and just turns around again. It also assumes he does not want a day off anywhere else. Not knowing how much saddle time riding / distance(s) in a day bods do, makes it so hard. 250 miles a day on genuine French D roads is a good distance for most people. That's four days to do 1000 miles. 300 a day is three days or near enough. Drop or increase the time, depending on time spent looking at stuff (not going forward) and on start / end times / time spent at lunch.

If we had a clue at how long he's got for his outwards journey (Caen to Cannes) and the return it might be easier. But, as it's over 1000 miles, if he intends to do it all non-motorway and see things along the way, I hope he's got more than one morning starting late.

Not surprisingly perhaps, most of the scenic non-motorway routes Caen to Cannes run roughly NW to SE on the diagonal. That's probably the way to go.
 
My advice would be go later, such a shame to do that Journey on a bike and not be able to follow some of RDGA.

I do not know much about anywhere West of Paris as we always cross to Calais, but the Morvan National park is a nice way to dodge some Motorway and not too far off route, then go past Vichy, Thiers, Le Puy and run along Vallon-Pont d'Arc - this is a route we used heading to the Vercors last year and was very pleasant, AFAIK unlikely to be a problem in May - and Pont d'Arc should be pretty deserted. From here again I cannot help as we then turned directly East at Orange.

Could be done in two long days or three easy ones - maybe run past Le mans and skip the Morvan as there looks to be lots of other "Parc" areas which I would assume will be pleasant enough and then pick my route up around Vichy
 
I agree.... The way to go.


Ok Just to give you some information.

We are starting nice and early at 8am from Caen on May 20th. heading in a general direction (diagonally) towards SE France. Cannes was a choice of a general travel direction, rather than a destination. I've done a trip last year over 8 or 9 days (can't remember exactly) to lake Garda with fellow tossers (hmm) averaging 250-300 miles per day. My wife would like to see the mountains and catch some of the southern sunshine at same time. we are planing a couple of days off the bike on each leg of the journey, if we do not get to see the mountains or beaches of south of France, I shall not loose sleep over it. I rather have a 200-250mile jaunt a day, set of in the morning before 8:30am, stop for some lunch around 12:30-01:00pm, look up a place to stay and be off the bike by 5pm latest 6pm. Go out to town for some dinner and evenings sightseeing, or if we are camping then cook up something and then head out for a little walk in the area. and so it goes. Wife will be touring with me for the firs time but she certainly isn't a newbie to riding pillion for long period of time, we have had a number of long trips over the years, ranging from scooters to motorcycles. However I wouldn't want to have pissed off wife on a bike because we are "going for it" covering 400 miles a day, that is just madness in my humble opinion.We are going to spend on average 6-7 hours a day in the saddle with a couple of short breaks (cuppa and a toilet breaks) and a lunch stop. What we are after is, a relaxing holiday away on the bike without madd rush or having a specific place to get to just to turn around and get back home having to need a holiday from holiday. We are going to stay the night in Caen area upon return journey before boarding a vessel bound for Portsmouth. once we back on home soil, we shall stop for lunch in our favourite put in Hampshire and then be back home by 5pm on Sunday.

N and D roads are of preference and as such we are going to tread carefully before having a temptation to get on a toll roads and so forth. As mentioned before, in an I deal world, we would like to pick up a river and ride aside of it, until it turns away from our general direction of travel. Ride through national parks and the likes of Vercors would just be fantastic. o to conclude if we just get to Auvergne or Rhone-Alpes. that will be just fine. My wife, she just loves Provence and she would love to visit the area.

I hope this does help you to suggest a thing or two.


Many thanks

EV
 
My advice would be go later... up around Vichy

Go later would be lovely but dates and ferries are booked long ago and chopping and changing it now is not as easy as one would love it to be. Wife can't take holidays without at least two full months notice and because of the very small team that she does work with it is all been prioritised well in advance.

Thank you for your suggestions though, very interesting and helpful.

EV
 
so you are away for 9 days can we assume thats 4 days down 1 day in Cannes and 4 days back, would this include your travel from the uk to Caen, as Wapping has said a little more info will help, can you and your other half cope with 200, 300, 400 mile days wich one, you say you maybe camping, do you plan to break camp early doors or 10am, do you mind pitching your tent in the dark, all this will impact on what advise or route people may suggest.
We are all different and what suits on may not suit you.
 


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