This years Epic Summer trip

[Pudsey Bear]

They all spoke English, so it was put upon me to take the piss, so I did, we were in tears for a while, but they have all cycled most of their lives, glad I packed it up, they had lumps sticking out everywhere.

 

[barryd]

Well quite the day. We managed to wangle ourselves down the goat tracks to Beaufort when the road was shut and did get across the route road and then had a free run all the way up the main road up the mountain to Lac de Roselend at 5500ft which was of course empty. Plenty of people already up there though and a great atmosphere. This is one advantage over the professional race as there are so many taking part in this one and they are spread out so much you can see it more than once in more than one location, If (and its a big if) you can work your way around the road closures.

All very well organised and the Gendarmes were everywhere policing all the junctions. They stopped us a couple of times and on the way back but I just told them where we were heading and got a jolly "off you go! Have a nice day!"

As a bonus while up there we managed to get up to lac de la Gittaz. I didn't think it had a paved road but it did. The tunnel was rather scary as despite the photo even with the bikes headlight on you could see nothing. Pitch black until your eyes adjust.

Wouldnt fancy those steps down the dam! Well done to all who took part. What an achievement.

Few pics. I marked with an arrow the route up the Cormet de Roselend although you can't see the cyclists.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

We went through a wiggly tunnel, came out the other end a frigging coach was on the wrong side of the road. Words were said and arms were waved, not just by me; he just didn't have a clue where he was on the road.

I don't mind the well engineered tunnels, but not one like above, you have no reference point.

 

[barryd]

Mileage so far after one month. Its close

Hank 1051

Pig 1014

Generally the bike does way more miles than the van. Will be interesting to see who wins.

 

[barryd]

Well this is going to be fun. Last night and all night we have had biblical rain, thunder, lightening and even a bit of hail. The dinette window seems to have sprung a leak somewhere (Will investigate later) and its misty. Not the best conditions for navigating off a mountain this morning.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Well this is going to be fun. Last night and all night we have had biblical rain, thunder, lightening and even a bit of hail. The dinette window seems to have sprung a leak somewhere (Will investigate later) and its misty. Not the best conditions for navigating off a mountain this morning.

Same here, glad we're at the top of a huge hill, it was like a river, Liz was out in the garden, and she came in soaked, just a dleuge for hours.

We had a leaky window too last trip, one of the catches was badly fitted and wasn't pulling in the pain quite enough, I folded a bit of cardboard and stuffed it between the catch parts to pull it in more.

 

[barryd]

I need to investigate the window more today now we are settled.

Any road up. Here we are at Lac Bourget. It used to be a firm favourite in the old days as the ride around was spectacular especially on the quieter side where it goes up in the mountains. Every time we have come here its been scorchio but it was a pleasant if a bit stormy looking at times 25c when we eventually got here yesterday. Over three hours to go 58 miles. That included a French supermarket stop of course which as everyone know they just eat into the day. Then couldn't get LPG. The station I had earmarked had cordoned off the entrance and the exit with all the cars and vans trapped inside. Gave up on that and eventually arrived at the Camping car park Aire at Aix Les Bains.

The whole experience after nine days on our own in the stunning Alps around Beaufort / Areches area was a bit of a shocker. The Aire is ok as Aires go and to be fair everything worked as it should with the app to get in, decent hookup and services although I couldnt get my app code to work on the service point but a French man with the old style card sorted it. Riding round Aix felt like riding in London after so long away from large towns.

We had a ride up to the top of Mont de Chat at 4500ft which frankly was torturous. All in the trees until the top and freezing for half of it. I forgot that Bourget is lower than Annecy lake at only around 700ft so most rides up to high are through the trees. Boring and tedious. The lower altitude also meant a warmer night which was ok but verging on uncomfortable. Note to self. Follow your own advice. Elevation is Key!!

Will probably stay here another night but will check out some other possibilities north of the lake.

Lovely trees along the front where the Aire is. You can see "Laura Croft" on the left just about to take off through them to the horizon at a rate of knots.

 

[runnach]

Apologies for going off on a tangent, Barry. As I mentioned previous, your thread confirms a bike/scooter, is the way to go. Appreciate your thoughts on this bad boy capable of ripping up the mountain roads?

https://www.leboncoin.fr/ad/motos/3024528760

 

[barryd]

Apologies for going off on a tangent, Barry. As I mentioned previous, your thread confirms a bike/scooter, is the way to go. Appreciate your thoughts on this bad boy capable of ripping up the mountain roads?

https://www.leboncoin.fr/ad/motos/3024528760

Oh Blimey and then some! I have seen a few of those on this trip. If our 110cc 9hp Vision can get up to 6000ft+ (The old one managed 7200ft) then you will have no bother on one of them. I've often wondered what they ride like. I think you can ride them on a car licence but I might be wrong on that. I would say for the narrow roads, passes and switchbacks we tend to favour the lighter the better though I think. Ours would be perfect if it had say another 10 hp.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Could I ride this on a UK car licence or does it require a bike licence? Scooter mp3 400lt 2010

ChatGPT said:​

Yes—you can ride a 2010 Piaggio MP3 400 LT on a standard UK Category B car licence, provided you meet the age requirement.

Why it’s allowed:​

• Piaggio MP3 400 LT is classified as a motor tricycle, not a motorcycle, thanks to its wider front wheel spacing (typically ≥ 465 mm) pistonheads.com+11en.wikipedia.org+11kooloader.com+11gov.uk+2askthe.police.uk+2westyorkshire.police.uk+2.
• UK rules state that with a full Category B (car) licence, anyone aged 21 or over can ride a motor tricycle of any power westyorkshire.police.uk+2gov.uk+2askthe.police.uk+2.

What you need:​

• Over 21 years old
• Hold a full Category B licence
• That’s it—no motorcycle licence required for the MP3 LT version.

---

Summary​

• If your licence is Category B and you're over 21, you're good to go.
• No need for any A-category (A1/A2/A) motorcycle entitlement.

 

[barryd]

Been a superb day weatherwise. about 25c around the lake but still nippy higher up on the bike. Went north of the top end of the lake and checked out another Aire we might try tomorrow. We were going to leave here tomorrow but as it looked nice and there is new stuff to explore up there we might go there in the morning. Cracking trip round the lake and up in the hills on the quieter side. Found nowhere suitable to put the Kayak in so gave up on that. Walked along the front a bit here. Battled the rush hour traffic in Aix to a place that was recommended for food. Not sure whether we will go back out again or just chill here in the van tonight.

We have decided to avoid the Tour de France now so will hang around here a bit longer. I would have rather left and headed back into the Mountains but this is the plan at the moment. This was our first Camping car park aire. Can't say I like it very much.

Few more pics. The canal is a lovely place at the top end of the lake that connects the Rhone with the lake. The picture with an arrow points to Mont Chat which is the tedious climb we did yesterday. The hills don't look that high but to give you some idea of scale the tower under the arrow is where we rode up to at 4934ft. Ben Nevis is 4413ft.

 

[Stanski]

Dear BarryD,
So jealous, really enjoyed the story and your biking and kayak exploits.
Read majority of the stories over past few hours before the Euro semis.
Stay safe.

 

[barryd]

Left the Camping car park aire this morning. Played the service point shuffle before we left and the app worked spot on to get out. Got up to the aire we found yesterday and sorted by 11 am. Managed to get an end corner spot. Free this one. Nice little swimming lake next to it.

 

[runnach]

Oh Blimey and then some! I have seen a few of those on this trip. If our 110cc 9hp Vision can get up to 6000ft+ (The old one managed 7200ft) then you will have no bother on one of them. I've often wondered what they ride like. I think you can ride them on a car licence but I might be wrong on that. I would say for the narrow roads, passes and switchbacks we tend to favour the lighter the better though I think. Ours would be perfect if it had say another 10 hp.

When we visited B's uncle near Blesle, he has one of two front wheel jobs. Plan was to for me to try the following morning, but there a THICK fog enveloping the area, so I didn't bother. Small CC would do us, I need to look further into legal to drive on car license.

Looking at the images you have posted, and being able to do a recce, eg, to find the aire where you are now, is a huge bonus, for sure.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

???

 

[barryd]

When we visited B's uncle near Blesle, he has one of two front wheel jobs. Plan was to for me to try the following morning, but there a THICK fog enveloping the area, so I didn't bother. Small CC would do us, I need to look further into legal to drive on car license.

Looking at the images you have posted, and being able to do a recce, eg, to find the aire where you are now, is a huge bonus, for sure.

You really don't need anything too powerful I reckon. Those three wheelers are heavy though but tons of power. They look bizarre to me but I really would love to try one. One thing I will say though is I saw someone manoeuvring one the other day and the turning circle was dreadful. Definitely try before you buy.

When we first started doing this many years ago I was obsessed with finding the best wild spots and we would go off down all sorts of goat tracks on the bike and I would drop them in the sat nav as favourites (before we could drop pins on Google maps) and go back with the van later. Do you remember Leo (The Belgian) On here? Sadly no longer with us but we used to compete all over Europe to find the best ones and share them.

I remember finding this one in the French Alps about 5000ft up many years ago and I've been trying to remember where it was (long since lost the notes). We heard wolves howling up there in the middle of the night. I was thinking it would be great to replicate that pic with the new van.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I don't suppose you had location turned on when you took the pic, or timeline?

 

[barryd]

I don't suppose you had location turned on when you took the pic, or timeline?

I have found it Kev. Its here

Street View of 44°34'18.5"N 6°22'17.6"E · Google Maps

44.571806, 6.371556

maps.app.goo.gl

Had a little ride out earlier up the Col du Grand Colombier. Another notorious and steep Tour de France route. However we only did a bit of it to get a view of the Rhone and the top end of the lake. The weather today is now not as good as expected and its a long long hard ride through boring trees for the bit after the view point. So just sat on the bench about 2500ft and enjoyed the view.

The narrow and very tight twisties and switch backs reminded me a little bit of the Hardknot pass in the Lake District. What a giggle!
We managed to show up a couple of guys on humongous BMW GS1250s with all the luggage on. They were struggling on the bit below on the satellite view and we left them for dead as the little bike flew round them like a gazelle.

 

[barryd]

The last day here has been a pretty relaxed affair. Hours spent planning routes and rides of course but a solo trip out this afternoon up a mountain and then up to a viewpoint at a lovely restaurant way above Lake Bourget. Michelle fancied a lazy day reading and sunbathing. Hope the bike is ok as on the way back into our village I either hit something in the road or it got flung under the bike by another vehicle. Felt a jolt and a clatter. I was doing about 55 mph. No idea what it was but tyres checked and the underneath and it seems ok.

Early start hopefully to Vercors as we desperately need LPG, Diesel and a few other bits.

Few more pics

The mountain with the red arrow on it is where we sat yesterday up the ridiculous narrow hairpin bends.

 

[yeoblade]

/
We managed to show up a couple of guys on humongous BMW GS1250s with all the luggage on. They were struggling on the bit below on the satellite view and we left them for dead as the little bike flew round them like a gazelle.

Those GS 's are great adventure bikes, for motorways, top heavy, too heavy, too big for fun though. I was thinking of getting one, until I had a test ride on one .