Born again Biker Goes to the Vosges.

 Back in to bikes and the urge to re-live the long lost dream of touring abroad was too strong. This dream was from way back in my twenties but now in my forties I was determined to make it happen.

What bike for the trip? After many weeks of studying bike specifications and forums I settled on the Honda VFR750. Picked one up fairly cheap and the Honda engineering didn’t let me down.

What tour? Waded through all the online tour companies and decided the best value for money was a 4 day tour to the Vosges Mountains with a British tour company.

Preparation: serviced bike myself, picked up Givi topbox & side panniers from Ebay and also a Baglux tankbag. Fitted new touring screen from Skidmarx. Wired the bike up to take my car TomTom Go mounted with a Ram Mount device.

The tour would leave from Dover on a Friday morning and return on Monday afternoon.

The first day of the tour was described as being heavy on the miles in an attempt to get across France quickly, consequently I wasn’t keen on an additional 150 miles getting to Dover from Southampton before the tour started. Decided to go to Dover the night before and stop in a B&B which had a garage for secure parking. Unfamiliar with anybody on the trip I booked a single room which cost a bit extra but it was still good value. When I arrived, there was already another biker in the same B&B who was on the same tour, turned out to be quite a character!

The trip was at the end of September and luck was in my favour as the weather turned out to be glorious.

Day1: Up early to get the bike ready for the tour. Some excitement/anticipation kicking in at the prospect of meeting up with a group of bikers I’d never met before. Company of bikes turned out to be VFR800vtech,VFR750, Pan European, Blackbird, Fazer600, Fazer FZ1 & CBR600.

Getting the bike stored on to the Sea France went flawlessly, they have special motorcycle stows and they strap the bikes down securely in seconds. The boat trip over took about an hour or so which gave just enough time to gather thoughts and break the ice with the other guys on tour. Once off the boat it was straight on to the roads, out of Calais and the pace picked up on to the French autoroute (motorway). The tour leader kept a steady pace of about 85mph on the autoroute and on the B-roads clearly left some of us hanging back a bit. (I felt folk were a little hesitant to do too much too soon, me included) 

1^st stop was at Cambrai, really bustling historic town centre, for a coffee break and then onwards for a long ride to Verdun. Following a brief stop at the Verdun cemetery we soon arrived at the picturesque Pont-a-Mousson where our accommodation was in a fantastic Abbey. Great evening out in local restaurant, keeping the group keeping together meant for some good banter over several beers.

Day2: Next day took us in to the mountains. Scenery was superb and the twisting mountain roads were a real challenge culminating with a climb up to the top of le Grand Ballon. Coming down from the mountain the group got split up/lost and fortunately the chap with the Pan volunteered to follow his Garmin to the hotel address, my TomTom wouldn’t find the address. A good satnav is definitely a must have.

That evening was at a hotel in Mulhouse, complete with a pool although I didn’t make it in it as I was too knackered after the days ride. It’s not just the mileage it’s the concentration required on the twisting roads that gets you. The tour guide had from experience reserved a room for us away from main restaurant guests as the conversation tended to be lively, understandable after a few beers!

 Day3: After a heavy evening I was feeling a bit delicate with all the travelling and French bierre. A refreshing shower and Paracetamols put me on track.

The morning ride took us out of the mountains and starting to head back across France on the old Roman roads. Got some speeds up here on some very long gently sweeping roads. The chap on the vfr800 boasted he hit 140+mph recorded on his Garmin; I was somewhat more conservative and briefly hit 130mph.I should just say that these speeds were in no way encouraged by the tour leader and were brief moments without him being aware(catching up). Eventually got to Reims where we stopped the night in a comfortable Motel place. As it was our last night, in the champagne capital, we shared a few bottles over dinner to help wash down the oysters.

Day4: Following continental breakfast it was really just a ride back to Calais but still quite a few miles. Soon on to the motorway at which point the group seemed to get split up, partly because of the wet weather that had moved in but mainly because some people were over keen to get to Calais as quick as possible. About 30miles out of Calais and stuck between services my bike went on to reserve, unfortunately the reserve didn’t work and I ground to a halt on the side of the motorway. The chap in front of me hadn’t noticed until it was too late and I was on my own. Suddenly realised I didn’t really know where the hell I was and being back marker that day I was at back of group. After much swearing and ranting I calmed down, a look in the tank realised that there was a little fuel still in there. Tools out and found that the valve rotation mechanism had come loose, fixed in minutes with pliers. Just prior to this moment a very welcome and helpful motorway rescue truck turned up, gladly I didn’t need their help.

The engine fired up again….sounded wonderful. Straight off the motorway at the next Peage. A little panic set in, only for a moment, then programmed TomTom to find nearest fuel station, just 0.4 miles away. Found the fuel station which was unmanned and only took cards, managed to get a full tank…what a great feeling! Re-programmed TomTom to Calais.. on to the motorway and rode like the wind to catch up and not miss the boat home.

Made the ferry, got round of applause from the guys for fixing the bike/making it. Chilled out on the crossing before having to face the 150 miles back to Southampton. The ride back was not pleasant, back on British roads in the rush hour.

To Sum Up. Exciting trip , some daunting roads in the mountains, very tiring, no time for sight seeing, great company, fast paced, not for the novice. Well worth it, definitely do it again. Didn’t need half the kit I took. Tip: Don’t go touring without satnav.