UK and Europe best routes?

Hi all,

Really enjoyed my first year of riding, wasn't a bad British summer was it? Now looking forward to doing lots more miles in 2019. I'm based in the West Midlands, so forward planning, if you guys had to pick one weekend away for riding in the UK and one week away in Europe, what would be your top picks?

A very open ended question I know, but I'm trying to take my mind off thinking about how long I have to wait for winter to be over and do some longer trips.

Cheers

Weekend in North Wales or Yorkshire Dale's. Week I Normandy or Ardennes.

In the UK the Lake District

Both the above and I'll throw in Luxembourg .

In the UK it would be the Lake District and Europe would have to be the run to Verbier in Switzerland for me "fantastic roads"

UK Isle of Man ( not during any events) & Eifel mountain region Germany

Weekend in North Wales or Yorkshire Dale's. Week I Normandy or Ardennes.

Fancy the Ardennes. Loosely planning a trip in May. Want to check out the wartime history in that area. Only went as far as Ypres on last trip.

Weekend in North Wales or Yorkshire Dale's. Week I Normandy or Ardennes.

 

Fancy the Ardennes. Loosely planning a trip in May. Want to check out the wartime history in that area.

There's a lot of history.. But Relatively little that had a British involvement except in a very minor way. WW1 it was the French fighting the Germans and it was a slaughter. In WW2 it was the Americans and the battle of the Bulge.

France and Paris if you want to play dodgems

North Wales and anywhere in Europe that's not built up.

France and Paris if you want to play dodgems

Any sane person on a bike knows not to visit Paris!

North Wales and anywhere in Europe that's not built up.

 

France and Paris if you want to play dodgems

 

Any sane person on a bike knows not to visit Paris!

+ 1 to what he said about Paris, Brittany or the Pays de Loire are good for long weekends

I can just imagine Balloo reading this and having a tantrum.

Lake district is too wet. Stick to the east for drier weather. Been through France a lot and always seem to get wet. Take a ferry to Santander and enjoy the spanish sunshine

Any road out of London or Leicester !!

Belgium is strictly 'alright'.. but be warned, the roads can be shockingly bad and that is an understatement... But carry on east and a bit of magic happens, you arrive at the Luxembourg border and there is a transformation.

And its not like you can get an idea from the road numbers, you cant. Some of the N roads are great. some of them are shit. as for the minor roads.. its pot luck and more often than not you will get the booby prize. This is fine on an Adventure style bike or a sofa on wheels that dont really care about road surfaces.. but on anything else you can expect.. occasionally a tooth chipping experience. maybe worse than that.. actual physical damage to your wheels. you think that sounds bad? it gets worse... dont be tempted by roads that look interesting that angle off into woodland... and no proper sign telling you where it goes. it can easily be the road to hell.

Use Belgium as a shortcut. stick to the Motorway.. but even there, always be alert for potholes or lost armchairs and wheelie bins cluttering up the carriageway. Keep going and head into Luxembourg.. carry on into Germany and paradise (for bikers) awaits.

https://www.adac.de/_mmm/pdf/TK_10_Eifel_%20Luxemburg_210807.pdf

Loads of great roads in the Ardennes. We stayed with

AE Aventures near Spa. Great English couple, great value and instructs at Spa and Nurburgring.

Loads of great roads in the Ardennes. We stayed with

AE Aventures near Spa. Great English couple, great value and instructs at Spa and Nurburgring.

I stayed there ... Neil and his Mrs

Local knowledge counts for a lot.. especially in a country with roads as dodgy as they too often are in Belgium.

From our base its fairly close.. but, lessons have been learnt. If I mention Belgium the guys make it very clear. NO.

But thats mainly because the Eifel.. the German part of the Ardennes Massif. is Sublime. As is the north end of Luxembourg.

This year.. one memorable event, bimbling down a country lane in Luxembourg and we reached the border with Belgium. on one side.. lovely, but ageing tarmac. on the other side.. a river of gravel.

we turned around.

North Coast 500 in Scotland and the Dordogne in France or any of the coastal routes in Norway.

One thing to consider if you are only going for a weekend in France is daily distances, and time in the saddle. It needs to be an enjoyable experience not riding for the sake of it, or sat on a ferry for 6 hours. Pick a place close to a port and explore, it’s quite surprising what you can discover.

UK: Scotland (anywhere except the midlands belt from Glasgow to Edginburgh), or as a second choice, Wales

Europe: The Eifel in Germany

I can just imagine Balloo reading this and having a tantrum.

There, you made me go all wistful and nostalgic.