Normandy Trip Sunday 5^th July to Saturday 11^th July

Well, the forecast looks absolutely brilliant for the next week – shall I pack the wet weather gear or not? I’d better because if I don’t it’s bound to rain hard. It’s now 4am Sunday morning and its time to get ready for the 25-mile ride to the Eurotunnel terminal. We are going to get there a bit earlier than they say on the ticket in case EES is in operation – having all arrived in a timely manner, and the EES is not operating, its time for a group photo, comfort break and coffee (Not necessarily in that order of course)

The departure board has now called our train – but what a shambles, the traffic is queued right back to the terminal buildings, stop start all the way to passport control and the departure time for ‘our train’ has now gone – but no matter everything is delayed, and we are even sat in the departure lane for 20 minutes before getting split up and put on different trains.

Fortunately, we agreed to meet at the service station on the exit road as you leave the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais in the event of this happening – but you would not believe it but this was shut as well – no petrol, no facilities, it’s got to get better than this – PLEASE.

Anyway, we all eventually meet up (except for Malcolm who is meeting us at the hotel as he lives in France) and the best bit he is going to pay before we arrive so check in is easier – thanks Malcolm.

It’s a quick blast down the A16 to the Aire de la Baie de Somme where we all stopped to cool down (as it was now 32°C ) and have a cup of coffee and a snack (well actually cold diet Coke for me). Although this was effectively all ‘Motorway riding’ because the roads are so much better, and there are no potholes, we decided that this was the best way to get to our hotel in a sensible amount of time, rather than using all the coastal route and then being late reaching the hotel, and then possibly missing dinner.

After our coffee stop we rode for about another 1½ hrs before we stopped for another break, and fuel, at the Aire de Belleville.

After which it was a ride over the River Seine using the impressive Pont de Normandie Bridge. From there it was a quick blast to the ’Logis Hotel de la Place’ which I am pleased to say we actually found without any trouble, and for once ‘TomTom’ and ‘Garmin’ agreed. As we arrived Malcolm must of heard all the bikes and came out to show us how to get to our private parking area (under the arch in a private gated and locked area), of course Malcolm having arrived earlier had the obligatory  glass of wine in his hand while directing the bikes.

A very quick shower to cool down and then it was down to dinner as we were already later than we expected to be. Dinner was a really nice cold Chicken buffet which went down very well after the long hot day, and there were 6 bottles of wine on the table (2 of each – White- Red – Rose) as well as a couple of bottles of ice-cold water all of which was really appreciated. And the best thing about all this was that the evening meal was included in the price we paid – so a very good deal. All in all, a very good day, and on the plus side everything went to plan. The hotel itself is on the outskirts of Aunay Sur Odon and is very well appointed – and the staff were extremely welcoming a very good choice.

So, after another cool shower before breakfast as the rooms were hot (No air conditioning but it was being installed while we were there) Its forecast to be hot again today but it was off down to breakfast, where I am pleased to say they had catered for my wheat and Gluten allergy (Coeliacs), and the days destination was discussed.

Eventually we decided that we would go to Le Mont – Saint Michel, its only 66 miles by the direct route so that would give us plenty of time to cross the causeway and visit the Abbey itself. What a nice ride down, although it was very hot. We all arrived safely and found that there was dedicated parking for motorcycles, which was very nice.

So after shedding our jackets (and in some cases trousers (for shorts I must add) it was off to the entrance to the causeway – where some of us decided that as it was a long walk (the notice board advised 35 minutes I think) and especially as the temperature was now showing 39°C, that we would catch the bus along the causeway to the Abbey itself. The bus was free so that was a bonus, although we later found out that the bike parking was 9€ and they had ANPR in operation. When we arrived at the Abbey itself we were quite Surprised to find how ‘touristy’ it was, with the inside of the Abbey itself full of gift shops and cafes. And of course, it being so hot, some of us just had to have a cold drink – or in some cases an ice cream before we started to climb all the steps to the top of the Mont itself.

When we arrived at the Abbey itself we were quite Surprised to find how ‘touristy’ it was, with the inside of the Abbey itself full of gift shops and cafes. And of course, it being so hot, some of us just had to have a cold drink – or in some cases an ice cream before we started to climb all the steps to the top of the Mont itself. So now it was time for us to get climbing all those steps – I never counted them – but it felt like hundreds before we got to the top of the Mont, but when we got there we were well rewarded with the view.

After taking a breather, we all started to descend the steps- or in this case the slope back to the bottom of the Mont – it was a lot easier than the climb up I must say. The trip down was broken up by several of us looking in the numerous gift shops for something to take home to our other halves. It was back (via the bus of course) to meet up with the others who had decided not to take the trek to the Mont itself. Having met up with the other guys and found that they had found a nice ice cream shop, we promptly left them again and had a superb ice cream in an air-conditioned shop – and boy was that nice.

         So it was back to the bikes ready for the trip back to the hotel, none of us were particularly looking forward to the return as the temperature was now 39°C – far to hot for those of us who were riding without the benefit of Air Mesh jackets. Firstly, though we all had to queue at the ANPR payment machine to pay our 9€ parking fee – yes its not free for bikes. Anway we got it paid, but now very hot, we set off. I have to admit at this stage I was struggling to get enough air, so we stopped I sought out some shade where I had to sit down. I have to say a very big thankyou to Keith now as it was he who looked after me as I really was not feeling too well, also a thank you to Andy who popped into the Carrefour to get some cold water to enable me to cool down. After Keith’s assessment he decided it was not dangerous to cool me down using the cold water, and I’m sure Andy and Keith really enjoyed ‘drowning’ me in the stuff – although I have to admit it did the trick and I was eventually able to proceed, albeit with my jacket a lot more open than previously…….Once again I want to say a massive thank you to Keith for looking after me.

So safely back at the hotel it was time for us all to have a quick shower (we were later back than we had expected to be) before we came down to the evening meal. An excellent meal again with a nice salad starter, followed by Guinea fowl and chips (a real nice change as I had Gluten free rolls as well). As previously there were generous amounts of wine and ice-cold water on the table. We also decided that we would go to Pegasus Bridge the next day as it was not to far, and then depending how hot it was and how we felt decide where we went from there.

Tuesday morning arrived and after a great breakfast it was time to get ready for the days ride.  So, it was off to Pegasus Bridge for a coffee (and croissant for some) as well as the obligatory photos. While we were sitting down enjoying our coffees a gentleman and his wife came over and introduced themselves – turns out he was Andrew Whelpton. Now forgive me if I have got this wrong, but I think he is the chairman of the Somerset Branch of the TOMCC. It was great to meet him and of course if we are ever down in his part of the world he would be happy to meet and great us. It’s a small world when you ride a motorcycle.

Having finished our coffees, and had a comfort break, we decided that because of the heat we would continue our planned ride to our lunch stop in ’Thury Harcourt’

It was a nice ride there, but it was incredibly hot. We all manged to park opposite a café called the ‘Sportsman’ where we were really looked after with a nice lunch, outside under the parasol – at least there was a little breeze there. During lunch it was decided that several of us would be going directly back to the hotel to try and escape the worst of the heat – so we all put our gear on and off we went. 5 minutes into the ride at the first ‘second man drop off point’ we realised we were missing Paul and Tony. It transpired they had parked in the road behind where most of us parked and didn’t realise we had set off. So, a quick stop and a phone call was made – and yes they were fine and would make their own way back to the hotel.

Well, the main group obviously went the scenic route back, and I must say it was a very nice ride, because when we got back to the hotel Paul and Tony were both there having taken the more direct route. The main thing was we all got back safety. So, after a nice shower, and in some cases an afternoon siesta, it was down to the bar area (outside) for a cooling drink and a bit of banter. By it was dinner time – much discussion as to what it would be – it turned out to be a nice salad as a starter, followed by (in my case) hake and a risotto with the sweet a blackcurrant panna Cota. Again, a very nice meal with the accompanying wine.

So, the discussion turned to where we were going Wednesday. The weather was forecast to be very hot again so we decided to leave the hotel a bit earlier so we would have longer before the heat of the day. We decided we would take the ‘Suisse-Normandy’ route that we had already planned and then review how we were doing at each stop. The scenery was excellent on the ride, as we had been promised from all the stuff we had previously read, and we all arrived safely at our first stop in ‘Putanges-le-Lac’ where we manged to park on the pavement opposite the ‘Au Pont de l’Orne’ café we were going to have a drink at, and right by the river.

A nice place to stop for a quick refresh before we decided to continue the ride and head for Pont d’Ouilly’ which was, we had been told, a lovely place to stop and chill out beside the river. It was here that the group made a split decision – some wanted to have something to eat and some of us just wanted to get a drink, chill out and sit in the shade. It was so peaceful although the river was very low and I guess the canoeists using the river were only in about a couple of feet of water. Keith and I were lucky to be able to find a couple of chairs along the riverbank and under a weeping willow tree. From here we were able to watch the canoeists compete with the cormorants and very colourful dragonflies for there stretch of the water. What a lovely way to spend a short while watching the world go by – or not!!

There was a lot to see in the water with several fish moving about – all very clear in the crystal-clear water, and I’m sure some of us were tempted to have a paddle to cool down as it was now very hot.

After being fed and watered, and sufficiently cooled down, we decided to head back to the hotel rather than continue for a lot more miles as the heat was still building. We all arrived back safely and again decided a cool shower was the best way to cool down (oh and maybe a quick Siesta again) before we headed down for dinner.

Dinner itself was again going to be a very pleasant affair as the TV in the outside area would be put on so we, and other guests, could watch the world cup game featuring Brazil. Mind you it was still hot in the outside dining area with the temperature being recorded at 34°C. The dinner was a really nice fish Terraine started followed by a superb beef steak with dauphinoise potatoes. The steak was so tender it fell apart when you touched it (or was it Horse – some debate around this while we were drinking our wine). Followed by a nice fruit salad – very refreshing just what was needed when it was so hot.

Again, our thoughts turned to where we were going on the Thursday – eventually it was decided that we would have a bit of a shorter ride and visit the Overlord American museum at Omaha beach.

So again, Thursday dawned bright and clear with the promise of another very hot day. So, it was time to saddle up and head off to Omaha beach and the Overlord Museum. Well, what a very well kept and run museum, the sheer size of some of the exhibits was spectacular with a lot of the larger vehicles in a running condition, and all in a very realistic WW11 setting, the information boards were also very revealing as to the true human cost of the war to both sides as well as to the resistance and civilian population – a sombre moment whilst reading. After having spent a while in the museum we all wandered round to a café adjacent to the museum building itself, and while they were not actually serving lunch when we got there, they were quite happy to serve ice cold Coca Cola and hot coffee which is all that we really wanted anyway, and it was air conditioned – Result!

Now its time to go back to the hotel, it was a nice scenic route back – more for some of us than for the other as this was the first time that the second man drop off failed, so the group got split up. After 3 crossroads with no marker, it was time to stop and make a phone call – yes fair enough we had got split up so it was two smaller groups that headed back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel several members decided that they fancied a pizza as they had not had a lunch at Omaha – of course me not being able to have one said I would be quite happy just to have an ice cream. Well, we wandered the town adjacent to the hotel and eventually found a café that purported to serve pizza and ice cream. Bad news they didn’t have any pizza left and because of my allergy I was unsure about the ice cream so did not have one. Never mind a drink outside on the hotel terrace, with a few (a lot) of complementary peanuts which solved the hunger pains before dinner. It was a bit cooler than the previous night, now its 33°C. Dinner turned out to be a pork starter followed by Salmon and salad main course. Wrapped up with another refreshing fruit salad (although the rest of the guys had something else, but I cannot remember what it was) (Nothing to do with all the wine I assure you!!) Of course, we watched the world cup on the TV again – I think France were playing – but we all went up to bed before the match ended. But judging by the noise from the café over the road I guessed France had won.

So, it was back to the discussion about the next days ride, and after various proposals it was decided we would ride to Arromanches and see the Mulberry harbour and the excellent D Day museum they have there. (you can blame me for this as I was going to go on my own but everyone else decided to join me – so much for a peaceful day !!)  So it was off again on the Friday morning, with an early start again to avoid the hottest part of the day, although a couple of the guys decided to have a rest day and did not join us.

Arriving at Arromanches we found that we could no longer park in the square where we had parked on a previous visit, so we had to go round the main square area and out to a dedicated motorcycle parking – all of 200 yards from the square!. Adequate parking here for all of us but I imagine if it got really busy there would not be enough space, and the car parks had a sign prohibiting motorcycle parking – so watch out or be fined. A lovely lady took a group photo of us (see above) and we thought she was a professional photographer as she knelt and found the best shot, then adjusted and tried again, not bad from a phone camera.

As there is a very nice museum in the squre several of the guys decided they would visit that, especially since the view from the open rooftop terrace looked to be spectacular. So while they went off to the museum several of us went to ‘Sergent Wiilys’ to get some food and drink, and of course in my case an Ice cream….. Honestly it was only 4 scoops.                                            

Having been fed and watered most of us went for a wander along the front to admire the engineering, and sheer complexity and scale of the Mulberry harbour. Several casemets of which are still floating perfectly well today. Andy of course felt he had to go down on the beach and have a closer look at the large piece that was right on the shoreline. It looked pretty spectacular from where we were sitting (and from where we took the photo) and close to it was even more impressive. You cannot help but admire the engineers, constructors and the army and navy personnel who towed these casements all the way across the channel and then fitted them in position to form what we know as the Mulberry Harbour. It obviously was a huge undertaking – and to be honest I have to wonder if we would be able to do it now?

So now it was back to the bikes to get ready for the trip back to the hotel. It is very hot, and what a pain Tony’s bike did not want to start. It turned over and over but did not fire. Despite the fact he kept trying, so it was time to investigate. A strip down under the battery compartement was now being done to see if any of the fuses had blown, but they were all ok so a call to Gavin at J.S Gedges who was very helpful and offerred a few suggestions, none of which unfortuanetly worked but we were able to eliminated a couple of things. So now Tony decided to remove the connectors on the ECU and re-attach (it was very dusty around that area)  and try again. Great news it fired, but did not start, so again it fired but would not run. Third time lucky and away she went – thank heavens for that. There was a thought that as it was so hot the fuel might of airlocked, hence only firing and not running until more fuel was pauule through. But whatever it was a quick re-assembly and off we went with Tony vowing to investigate further when he got home to the UK.

We all fueled up ready for the trip home the next day, and yes Tony’s bike started ok, befoere we got back to the hotel for a shower and a nice Duck and dauphanise potato dinner, follwed by , in my case, a fruit salad – again.

Saturday morning dawned bright, and you guessed it, HOT. So we left a 8 am to try and ride in some of the cooler part of the day. We decided to go the direct route to Honfleaur but we had not bargained on Barry (as the leader) taking us through what was a hole in the hedge out onto the main road. The look on the faces of the people opposite as all these bikes popped out was priceless!! We all parked up at Honfleur and walked over the bridge to a café, where even though it looked quite a classy food restaurent, they were happy just to serve all of us with coffee and cakes, and of course some ice cold water and coca cola.

Andy had a wander and ended up chatting to the fishmonger next to the restaurent who was busy ‘shucking’ oysters. He also had a Triumph bike so they had quite a lot in common. So after having cooled down, had a drink and comfort break it was off to the petrol station on the road out of Honfleur to fill up before the final leg of the journey back to the Eurotunnel terminal. We all agreed that with any luck we would be able to catch an earlier train even though we had a planned stop at the Aire de la Baie de Somme for a quick Starbucks and a break..

But first we had to get over the magnificent Pont de Normandie bridge, where fortunately motorcles do not pay a toll as there is a dedicated motorcyle track to the right of the main toll booths. So off we rolled, and yes it was very busy at the toll both, so much so that we took a bit of a liberty and went down the cycle path on the  right hand side and straight through the toll area.

So now it was just a straight, boring, hot run the the next coffee stop, only broken up by a couple of ‘peage’ where we stopped to re-group after all paying, and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs and give our bums a rest!!

As we approached Calais we all noticed a major drop in the temperature, where it had previously been around 32° to 34° C now it dropped to 22°/24° C, a very pleasant change from the very hot weather we had been having. Mind you none of us were complaining as it had been dry and sunny, great weather for our trip.

We all arrived safely at the Eurotunnel terminal, and yes we were all booked onto the earlier train at 17.20. Great. Time for a quick break before boarding. WRONG – the departure board now showed our train leaving at 17.50, and then a few minutes later 18.20.

Time for a rethink – we all decided just to try to get on the next train and see if we got pulled up. The Eurotunnel staff did not even bother checking our boarding details and of course passport control were not interested in that – just who you were etc (and they sure took their time doing that with large queues of cars and bikes building up. But eventually we were through, and we all got on the same train.

So, it was back home to good old Blighty – what a great trip and great company. Thankyou everyone.

Finally got home with a recorded mileage of 271 miles for Saturday and a total of 943 miles for the week. Far shorter than we had planned due to the extreme heat, but the main point is that we all got back safely.

Richard