I have just returned, a little broken, from a 2 week, 2400 mile, no motorway motorbike trip through France with my good friend Joe Harris. My first long motorbike tour of this kind.
Three bike drops and one slow speed crash, endless quiet country roads and my own body weight in cheese!

Cambridgeshire, Dover, Calais, Enquin-lez-Guinegatte, Lalobbe, Neuilly-l’Évêque, Les Ancizes-Comps, Chanas, Broye, Mailly-la-Ville, Giromagny, Hambach, Haybes, Fiefs, Calais, Dover, Home!

I am leaving some notes on my thoughts about the trip here, for future me who wants to do this sort of thing again and for anyone else who might find them useful.
If that’s not interesting to you, you could watch the video above or look at the photos here :)

The first (and last) days were by far the most punishing. Cambridgeshire to Dover avoiding motorways is a long enough slog in itself, but add to that the ferry crossing and then a further 1 1/2 hours to our first night’s stay in Enquin-lez-Guinegatte and you have a recipe for total exhaustion.
I had my first bike drop of the trip in Folkstone as a car appearing out of nowhere on a blind right turn at a T junction had me slamming on the brakes, the heavily laden panniers, a weight I wasn’t used to, causing me to topple over, catching my leg on the footpeg as the bike went down and taking a nice chunk out of my left calf.

The first few days it became apparent that my Vstrom 650cc and my lack of skill as a rider were actually a good match for Joe’s Royal Enfield 350cc and his considerably more experience and skill.
I couldn’t keep up with him through the twisty bits but a quick twist of the throttle had me easily catching him on straighter sections.

There was an unfortunate incident where I slow speed rear ended Joe’s bike at a T-junction on Day 2.
My fault entirely.
Bike drop 2. Shit.
No damage to either of us and only a slight dent in Joe’s left side pannier. It did lead to us discovering Joe had a flat front tyre, a Sunday morning disaster averted by the lovely mechanic and his wife, just 8 slow, careful minutes away.
The takeaway lesson – offset more when approaching your motorbike buddy at a junction so if they do change their mind you aren’t directly behind them!

There was a couple of days period of negotiation and compromise finding out how each other liked to ride 200+ mile days. I really need to stop for a rest and a stretch every hour to hour and a half, whereas Joe could happily ride for 3 to 4 hours without stopping. We soon found a rhythm that whilst a compromise seemed to work for both of us. It’s definitely worth discussing this before you leave.

That first week was also around 38 degrees daytime temperature, thank all the deities for AA rated mesh motorcycle jackets!

Our original plan had been to ride to Merigar Dzogchen center near Grosetto in Italy but it quickly became apparent this was not realistic given our roughly 2 week time constraint.
Joe had a birthday party to attend in Chamonix so that became our destination point.
However a few days before I had decided not to go all the way to Chamonix. The weather forecast didn’t look good, my confidence was a little dented from the 2 drops and all those switch back turns on the map were giving me palpitations. Besides I wasn’t invited to the party.

We took a slight detour West to visit a friend of Joe’s as he was ahead of schedule to arrive in Chamonix. A lovely couple of days with family hospitality, swimming in lakes, crepes and 9% beer.
Thanks Angelic and family!

One further day south to Chanas (my furthest southern point on the trip) we parted company. I decided to head to see a good friend, Arnaud and his partner, a day and a half’s ride away in Mailly la ville.
I was still a little nervous about riding on my own and my total lack of French language skills, but as soon as the wheels started rolling, I was fine.
Meeting up with my dear and respected friend Arnaud was 100% the right choice.
I had a bloody lovely time!
(Thanks Arnaud and Joelle)

After a couple of days Joe and I met up again, my nervousness gone I could happily have continued on alone but it was much more fun to be back riding with a friend.
Rain stopped play for a couple of days in Giromagny, where we had an awesome Air BnB which weirdly had 5 robo-vacuums on the ground floor alone. Films were watched, cheese, beer and wine was consumed.

Apart from a strange shuddering on one day (chain was a little loose and once tightened things seemed fine again) my V-strom was rock solid. Joe’s Enfield, however broke down on a number of occasions.
I was in quiet awe of his ability to diagnose and fix problems by the roadside. Carburetors dismantled, points adjusted, rear brake stripped, cleaned and reassembled.
I didn’t need his skills for my bike but it felt very comforting to know at least one of us was good for more than just tightening and oiling a chain.

It is a good test of a friendship to spend 2 solid weeks with someone day and night. There were definitely times when we annoyed each other, inevitable I think. Thankfully we are both pretty good at bringing up annoyances in a way that allows them to be discussed and worked through without too much conflict.
Travelling together is always a compromise but for me the benefits far outweigh the downsides. Hopefully after a fortnight with me Joe feels the same!

I owe Joe a huge Thank You for his gracious and patient dealing with my lack of experience and for compromises he made to his usual way of doing things. Thanks bro!

Overall I had a total blast, it scratched some “adventure” itch I had and it was wonderful to meander through rural France and experience the kindness of the French people.

I’d do it all again in a heartbeat, but maybe next week when my muscles have stopped aching!