France 2024
Date: September 2024
Duration: 6 Days
Distance: 1,110 km
Within half an hour of leaving home, we are already in France, our one and only destination country on this tour. However France is a big place, travel across it and see.
For the first time, I am touring with a passenger. My partner Sam is riding pillion. He is a native from France and will be doing much of the talking for us both.
For luggage, we have two pannier boxes and a topbox. Sam uses one pannier, I use the other. The topbox contains a small rucksack, but when we’re parked up, I store my helmet in there. We use a cycle-lock to secure Sam’s helmet to the bike.
We bypass Strasbourg through the Vosges in the rain, arriving in Gérardmer slightly damp. There isn’t much of a bus or taxi service here, so it’s a 2 km walk in to town, in the rain.
The small guesthouse in which we’re staying offers an expensive breakfast, which we decline and instead go to a nearby bakery which Sam has found on the map. It’s more of a bakery café, where we sit on the first floor balcony looking down into the work area, watching the bakers at work.
From Gérardmer we head up through the trees in much improved weather, back into the hills of the Vosges. The views are fantastic, with patches of low-lying cloud in the valley below. We are almost alone here, as the bike effortlessly climbs, laden with us two and our luggage.
Today’s destination is Besançon, where I stayed one night during my first motorbike tour on the European Mainland in 2010. Our route there is almost entirely on quiet rural roads, passing through numerous small towns and villages, some of which we stop in and take a look around.
Sam has booked a boat tour for us in Besançon. Besançon’s old town is surrounded on three sides by the Doubs river, the Citadel protects the land access to the city. It’s clear to see why the Romans chose this location for the city. The boat tour takes us as expected on the river around the city, but also through the tunnel under the Citadel. We complete a loop of the city by water.
Sam has obtained a restaurant recommendation from the receptionist at our hotel, which serves regional cuisine – largely a cheese based dish.
Before we leave Besançon, we stop at a large out of town shopping center. Sam has left space in his pannier for a few items he intends to buy. I leave him to his shopping, and sit down with my book waiting for his return.
The bike’s Sat Nav is programmed to keep us off the motorway, and it also keeps us out of Dijon as we head towards the small town of Avallon, which has also existed since Roman times.
We stop for a break in Saint-Seine-l’Abbaye, where we grab a sandwich and take a wander, looking around the 6th century abbey.
We’re on our third day, and Sam has comfortably adapted to riding pillion. He usually has his ear phones in, and relaxes, admiring the scenery.
We have booked the Hôtel d’Avallon Vauban in Avallon, which has to be one of the quaintest hotels I have ever stayed in. The town has two main streets, one within the old city walls, as well as numerous alleyways.
The planned highlight of this tour is Guédelon Castle, a castle which has been under-construction since the 1990s, using technology from the 13th century. The castle is 75 km from Avallon, the first 65 km of which is on roads around 1½ car widths wide, through the fields.
After a full day looking around the castle and associated services, such as the blacksmiths, weavers, potters and allotments, we ride a further 125 km to Troyes. We have arrived a bit late in the day, and only really have time to find somewhere to eat. We take a stroll after eating, and by chance find ourselves in front of an art exhibition, lit only by the lights of your mobile phone. It’s an event run by the local university, and Sam gets us in.
The following morning we explore Troyes on foot. Sam visits a few bookstores, while I take a look around the impressively large cathedral and basilica.
Next stop on our trip back to Germany, is Vittel. Famous for the water, of course. However the public fountain is closed, and the town is quiet. Our return to Germany is back through the Vosges, this time in much more pleasant weather, and stopping at another bakery along the way.
