Keen to start the
holiday as soon as possible, Eamonn met with Alex for lunch in Burghfield. A
relaxed lunch break and final checking/packing was completed by early
afternoon.
Alex and Eamonn then met up with Brian and together rode
south to join Simon who was waiting en-route for us. The group of four
continued on to our meeting point of the Coach and Horse in Portsmouth where we
could have a meal before embarking on the overnight ferry to Le Havre.
As we were arriving at Portsmouth, Mike I and Tracey
(pillion) caught up with us – video on YouTube : https://youtu.be/Jk1fEC6MOlA
Boarding the ferry: https://youtu.be/3cK9Heiybow
Once aboard, we found our cabins, claimed our bunk beds and
headed swiftly to the bar! Following one or two beers (J), we retired for the night and set our alarms for 6am ready
for the early breakfast before disembarking the ferry.
The next morning the alarms rang out, fuzzy heads cleared and
we went to find breakfast – there was no-one around other than one or two other
fuzzy headed people. No breakfast, so signs of any officials, nothing…..
Then someone pointed out the small print at the bottom of the
breakfast timing notice – the times were local and not British Summer Time, we
were an hour too early…. After the inevitable recriminations we settled down in
a lounge to wait for the breakfast staff to appear.
Le Havre to Mont St Michel
Breakfast was consumed, bikes loaded and off we went through
the non-motorway routes to Mont St Michel.
Top priority was a coffee break, Mike E leading the group
found a superb bar at Les Tilleuls, La Croix d'Heuland.
After refreshments, Brian and Simon headed off separately to
meet up with some friends who lived nearby and would then join us later in the
evening at Mont St Michel. Waving “au revoir” to Brian and Simon, the rest
continued on our way to find a lunch stop.
Lunch stop at Brasserie Du Centre, Aunay-sur-odon
During lunch, we received a text from Simon saying that as
Brian had quenched his thirst a little too much, they were going to stay at
their friend’s house overnight and would meet us in the morning at the cemetery
near Gold Beach.
After the lunch break, we set off for Mont St Michel. Mike E
had booked the hotel and explained that in order to get into our hotel we had
to pass through a security gate which required a pass number – the hotel had
given him the number so everything was in order….
When we arrived at the security gate, Mike E entered the
number whilst Mike I waited to ride through. The gate rose and through went
Mike I. Next rider approached the gate and Mike E entered the number again…
this time it failed. Retrying didn’t resolve it. Asking for assistance from the
security guards didn’t help either. A queue of traffic was building up behind
us so we pulled over to the side to check with the hotel again. Mike E spoke to
the hotel staff who explained they had given him a number for one vehicle…. we
had seven!
After the hotel gave us a new set of numbers we passed all
bikes through the gate and found the hotel. After checking in, shower and
change we set off to walk over the causeway to have an evening meal on the
island.
During our exploration of the island we split into two groups
and so ate in different restaurants. No problem, we arranged to meet up in the
hotel bar later in the evening.
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We walked
along the causeway to the island for an evening meal.
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The streets
on the island are very narrow, probably unchanged since medieval times.
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Prices on the island were high! A large glass of beer was 9
Euros – more than twice that found on the mainland.
Mont St Michel to Rouen
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After
breakfast we left Mont St Michel heading for Rouen with a plan to meet Brian
and Simon at Gold Beach around lunch time.
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First stop was for coffee at a small bar called Juin Manuel
in Pontaubauit. It was too hot to sit directly in the sunshine (even
mid-morning), so we squeezed around a small table with umbrella. With our caffeine
levels topped up we left for Gold Beach.
On our route we passed by the Bayeux war cemetery, so we
stopped for a look.
After spending more time than we really should have, we
headed off and found a lunch stop at a restaurant called Le Sexton Cote Mer in
Ver-Sur-Mer.
We were later than we expected to be and so had missed
meeting with Brian and Simon. We arranged to meet them when we got to the hotel
in Rouen.
Shortly after leaving Ver-sur-Mer we came across some slow
traffic at Epron. As we were preparing to filter through the traffic, Eamonn
slowed and Alex who was behind Eamonn and checking the traffic around him,
nearly hit into the back of Eamonn. Unfortunately the emergency braking locked
Alex’s front wheel and he slid off. A few scrapes and bruises but otherwise OK.
The other motorists were exceptionally helpful both at the scene of the
incident and in letting the riders in front know what had happened.
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Initial
assessment of what needs to be fixed
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Getting the
gear lever repositioned
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The effect of the crash was that Alex’s gear change lever was
broken, left mirror broken, both left side indicators were smashed and the end
of the clutch lever had been snapped off. We all chipped in with some emergency
roadside repairs to see if we could get the bike rideable again, meanwhile
Tracey tried to contact a nearby Harley Davidson dealer.
The HD shop in Caen didn’t answer the phone – it was July 14th,
Bastille day – trying to find anyone open was going to be a challenge. Another
bike shop was found who was open, but they couldn’t help as all their spares
were for metric fittings and the HD was definitely not metric! We decided to go
to the HD shop in Caen as there was a small chance they just ignored our phone
calls…! When we arrived the shop was closed, but there was a general bike shop
next door that was still open. We asked the shop assistants for any help they
could provide and fortunately a mechanic was still on site who offered to make
up a temporary gear change lever using the damaged item as a basis. With the
purchase of a set of general purpose indicators and the modified gear lever we
were able to resume our journey to Rouen.
Of course by this time we were much later than originally
planned… but at least we were still all riding.
We navigated to the Ibis hotel in Rouen only to find there
were two Ibis hotels and the one we had stopped at was the more up-market
version… ours was the “economy” Ibis hotel and further mile or so out of town.
As we had arrived at the hotel late in the evening, Brian and
Simon were already booked in and had walked into town for a meal. However since
it was Bastille day, the town centre was packed and all restaurants were fully
booked. Whilst Brian and Simon embraced the celebrations in town, the rest of
the group walked to a local grill for a meat feast (apart from Mike I and
Tracey of course!).
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The group at
the Buffalo Grill – Brian and Simon were in the centre of town.
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Simon enjoying the Rouen town centre.
At breakfast we were re-united with Brian and Simon, the
group was one again!
Following breakfast, we set to work on attaching the new
indicators to Alex’s bike and repositioning the gear change lever to make it easier
for Alex to use. The gear change was difficult to pull off its splines as it’s
designed to be a good interference fit. On a nearby building site, Simon
helpfully found one of the biggest iron jemmy bars one can get – fortunately
for Alex’s bike, we didn’t have to use it as the lever had been prised off with
a more appropriate sized tool.
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The front of
the Ibis (economy) hotel
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Eager not to
be left out, Kenny checks the coolant level of his R6.
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Final
touches to a bodge job of replacement indicators
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The gear
lever before it was repositioned slightly lower to make it easier to use.
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With the indicators now working by courtesy of lots of sticky
tape and temporary wiring joins and the repositioned gear lever, the HD was
ready to roll again. Since Alex was one of those who were staying until the
Wednesday it was important to make sure the bike would be operational for the
extended trip.
Brian offered to ride the HD back to England himself and to
give Alex use of his bike for the rest of the holiday – a truly generous offer
that shows the camaraderie between them both.
As Alex was confident in riding the HD the group left the
hotel and headed towards Le Touquet.
Rouen to Le Touquet
With the group together for the last full day, we set off
from Rouen to go to Le Touquet. With Mike E leading the group, he found a cafe
at Londinieres for our mid-morning break.
After coffees, we pressed on to ensure we would arrive in Le
Touquet at a reasonable time. It was a Sunday, in France, very little in the
way of restaurants open. By 3pm we were getting anxious that we should be finding
somewhere to eat – the final resort was a McDonalds in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.
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With the
forthcoming football final between France and Croatia, the face painting crew
were busy marking up anyone who came near them with the French tricolour…
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The final part of the ride saw us arrive in Le Touquet at Le
Grand Hotel – did we really book this place? Would they honour the
booking once they’d seen us arrive on bikes? It was certainly higher quality
than we were used to…! Facilities include:
swimming pool, sauna, massage, golf, tennis.
After a short discussion with the staff, our bookings were
confirmed and our rooms allocated. These high standard facilities were most
welcome and after a shower and change of clothes we met in the hotel bar.
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Brian
enjoying the luxurious hotel facilities and looking forward to Simon
returning from his shower…
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How many
people can we get into this small lift space?
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With the bar prices reflecting the quality of the hotel, we
decided to move into Le Touquet centre. We had been recommended a particular
restaurant by a friend so that’s where we were headed.
On arrival in town, it became clear the place was packed due
to the football match that was in progress. We found a restaurant (La Taverne
Royale) with an empty table, quickly occupied it and ordered our drinks and
food. Inside the bar, whenever the French football squad scored a goal the
restaurant erupted with cheers, shouts and applause. It all made for a very
lively evening!
Once the match had finished with France being the winners (4
– 2) the whole street became a mixture of everyone celebrating with flares,
chants, singing of the "La Marseillaise", waving of flags, etc. These
celebrations continued all through the night – at least until 1am when we left
town to return to the hotel.
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At the
restaurant
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Evening meal
on the night of the football final. With France winning, we had to join in
the celebrations as evidenced by the bill for just 6 people!
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After the evening meal, we decided to take a walk down to the
sea front – it seemed like a good idea at the time…
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What were we
doing here?
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Good mates
always support each other when attempting to walk after a night out
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Today the group splits into those returning to the UK and the
four who are continuing on to Belgium.
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Those
returning to the UK headed northwards to the Eurotunnel.
Roger didn’t
really enjoy the return to the UK….
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The four
remaining (Alex, Eamonn, Mike I and Tracey) enjoyed a walk into Le Touquet to
the sea front and to have a relaxed breakfast at La Taverne Royal (breakfast
in the hotel was an extra 25 Euros each!).
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Today’s ride was to a chateau in Vermelles, Mike I took on
the lead rider responsibility and after a couple of hours riding we stopped at a
small bar in Le Vincennes. The bar was occupied by a couple of locals and
no-one else, it didn’t serve any food and looked like you’d expect a traditional
English drinking saloon to look! The locals didn’t speak any English, so Eamonn
practised his best (O level) French to order some coffee. One of the locals
clearly detected Eamonn’s skill in the French language and continued to have a
lengthy conversation in French with Eamonn. It was somewhat one sided, but we
all parted great friends and the two locals came out to see us off.
With a few dark clouds in the sky we pressed on to hopefully
avoid any wet weather. It was getting late in the day and we decided to stop
for something to eat. We found a small restaurant (Le Clos Du Roy, Haveluy) and
pulled in, it looked very quiet and would provide a very nice location to sit
outside for a meal.
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However, as
we walked into the building it became clear that there was no-one about! We
found the owners son who was a South African helping his mother in France
before returning to South Africa. He explained that they had closed an hour
ago, but was happy to serve us some local beers and offered to drive down the
road to buy some bread and make us some sandwiches – how could we refuse such
hospitality!
The
sandwiches were excellent, the beer even better and feeling fully refreshed
we loaded up and went on our way. As we were leaving, the whole family
(proprietor, his wife and his mother) all came out to wave us off on our
journey to Fourmies.
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The road to Fourmies was through some forestry areas and
proved a good road with a mixture of scenery. It was humid and the clouds
threatened thunder, but we stayed dry all route.
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 We arrived in Fourmies and found the chateau (Hôtel Château de
la Marlière.) – a large mansion that really didn’t
look like a hotel at all. It was more like a town hall! We went in the front
entrance and was greeted by a lady who we later found to be the owner of the
chateau, she booked us in and showed us to a set of new buildings beside the
chateau that had the residential rooms as well as a large hall suitable for
weddings and large parties. We appeared to be the only guests. The annexe had
only been completed the previous year and so was new to having guests stay,
it looked like the income from the new building was being used to fund
restoration work on the main chateau.
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The rooms were all very new, but there was no air
conditioning and after a hot journey we really could have done with cooler
rooms. Opening the windows didn’t help as it was still hot outside, however we
found some large fans near the stairwell and we “borrowed” these for our rooms.
As Eamonn jumped into the shower and turned the water on it
sprayed directly into his face and in his reaction to turn it off he knocked
the glass soap dish off the wall and onto the shower base. Of course the glass
shattered into pieces and this had to be cleared and removed from the shower
before moving. With the glass cleared and safely put in the bin, Eamonn
continued with his shower. Afterwards Alex noticed that the bedroom carpet near
the ensuite bathroom was wet, it turns out that the shower was clearly a
beautiful French design that really didn’t suite being actually used as a
shower! Not only was there glass soap dishes, but the shower floor was
completely flat, not a tray format as usual, and that the base of the shower was
10 cms higher than the bathroom floor. This meant that any water that didn’t
find its way directly to the hidden plug hole would dribble down the side
forming a puddle in the bathroom that ultimately drained into the bedroom
carpet…
We wondered if these rooms had ever been used before as there
was clearly some improvements that could be made!
The chateau had no evening meal facilities, so we walked a
mile up the road to a grill restaurant called La Petite Ferme – primarily a
grilled meat restaurant but at least there were some vegetarian options on the
menu.
Having finished the meal, we walked back to the chateau and
relaxed in the garden chairs outside as it was still very warm and there was no
bar to make use of.
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We spent
many happy minutes (hours?) identifying the bats that were flying overhead
around the chateau.
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Loading the
bikes ready to depart the chateau.
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Fourmies to Saint Omer
Breakfast at the chateau was a real treat, the meal was
served in a large dining room in the chateau – clearly one of the rooms that
had been renovated. There was a good selection of the usual continental
breakfast items, but the lady of the house came out of the kitchen and offered
to cook us all a fresh omelette!
After the excellent breakfast, we packed up and left on our
way to Saint Omer with a stop at three World War 1 cemeteries on the way.
The first morning break was (yet again!) a McDonalds in Caudry
– we were getting used to these French style McDonalds.
The first stop was at a Canadian cemetery,
Beaumont Hamel. One of the main features of this
location was that it had retained the original trenches from WW1. It was only a
brief stop so after a short walk through the remains of the trenches, we
resumed our journey.
The next stop was at Thiepval where Alex’s Great Uncle has an
entry on the monument for those who were killed but never found during the
battles of WW1.
We were offered a guide from a Wargraves Commission trainee
who was eager to help out – we gratefully accepted her assistance and later
found out she came from Reading and was on a 6 month transfer to Thiepval. We
found the inscription relating to Alex’s Great Uncle, took the photos and
resumed our journey to a small cemetery at Warlincourt Halte a British cemetery. The significance of
this cemetery was that Alex, Mike E and Paul Burt (a previous “Old Git”
participant) had once spent the night sleeping in the cemetery entrance as on
that journey they couldn’t find any rooms to stay in!
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Alex’s
overnight bed!
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The cemetery
at Warlincourt Halte.
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After looking around the site, we headed off for Saint Omer.
Yet again, we left it very late for a lunch stop and had to resort to having a
meal at McDonalds in Dainville. So much for experiencing the French cuisine….!
With our hunger satisfied, we continued our journey on to
Saint Omer. As we travelled the remote country roads, some of them seemed
familiar – perhaps we were getting used to the French countryside. Mike pulled
over and after checking gave us the news that he had programmed the SatNav to
go to Thiepval rather than Saint Omer – an easy mistake that had lead us in the
wrong direction! Alex had noticed we were traveling in the wrong direction
earlier and had tried to make us aware, but everyone ignored him thinking his
gesturing meant something else…!
With a reprogrammed SatNav, off we went again this time
taking more major roads to save time as it was getting late in the day.
We arrived in St Omer and found our hotel for the night - Hotel
Ibis. Parking spaces were in the hotel car park and there was already a few
other bikes in the car park.
The usual quick shower, change and out for an evening meal at
Le Gardian in one of the side streets off the town centre. Of course this was
followed by a couple of beers and a walk around town before returning to the
hotel.
The above photos are of
the St Omer cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de
Saint-Omer) illuminated by the night time flood lights.
St.Omer to Folkestone
Morning breakfast in the Ibis nearly failed completely – an
official looking person tried to inform us that we couldn’t sit in the
restaurant for breakfast as it was all reserved. A second member of staff
indicated we could sit down but only in a certain area. It turned out that
there was a pre-booked trip for a number of elderly people who were not staying
in the hotel but were having breakfast!
After the standard continental breakfast, we took a walk into
town to have a look around.
During our walk, Alex and Eamonn were approached by two young
boys who were part of a larger school trip. The boys greeted us and introduced
themselves in their best French language – it was clear they were English!
The look on their faces was something to be remembered when
Alex greeted them back in perfect English. Of all the people they chose to
practise their French language skills….
Following our morning walk around the town, it was time for a
coffee at Le Spey River in the town square before we embarked on the last part
of the ride to the Eurotunnel port.
The short journey to the Eurotunnel port was a leisurely ride
through some forestry park land arriving in good time for our train to
Folkestone.
On arrival back in the UK, it was time for lunch…
We stopped at the services on the M20 at Junction 11 for a
simple meal – at least it wasn’t McDonalds…!
After lunch, Mike and Tracey split off to return home in North
Kent, Alex and Eamonn headed up the M20, M25 and M4 before splitting to their
respective homes.
--== The End ==--
Introduction
