Club Arnage

This weekend, a few of my mates are taking our 2 wheeled pleasure toys to France to watch this race....


Anyone else want to tag along ?

Otherwise.....

IO have NEVER done Calais to Le Mans...

Whats the best rout...

Was going to try Calais - Le Havre - Peage Motoway, then pick up the N138 to Le Mans... If the weather good...

IS Rouen still a bottle neck ?

Hi Robbo,
Rouen depends on what time you are there, its the most direct from Calais, horrid in rushhour, depends how lucky you are at other times.
Last time I tried a alternative route, it was slower that banging through Rouen.

One alternative is to leave the A28 at J11, pick up the A29 to Le Havre, exit at J9 Yvetot and cross the Seine at the Pont de Brotonne, when you get down to the A13 you can either pick up the new motorway to LM, the A28, or carry on to Bourgthroulde on the D313 and pick up the N138.

Are you on the bike or in a car? Suspect the former, don't forget there are apparently no services/fuel on the new motorway yet.

If you want more details on the Yvotot route let me know.

Just reread your post and see you are on your bikes.
Only done Calais route by car.
Rouen shouldn't be a problem on 2 wheels, traffic jams? PAH!
It's the shortest route, so I would use that, and then have some fun on the N138. Fueling might be a problem depending on what time you are travelling, if you are giving it some stick it will be 2 fuel stops if you start full at Calais, presuming 130 miles per tank.
Never done the scenic non motorway routes from Calais to Rouen, but I think that our glorious global moderator has, so if time permits that might be worth investigating, but I think that even on a bike it takes a lot longer.

Have a good time, wish I could go as well. :(

 

Last year, with the caravan on, we went towards Paris from Dunkerque, then skirted Paris via Chartres. The route was mostly motorway so cost a  bit in tolls, and was probably longer than the usual way, but avoided the stop/start of all those N138 roundabouts after Rouen (which are a pain when towing). Small amount of congestion around Paris (this on a Sunday) but overall journey time was good.

It probably wasn't a "good" route for normal use but we enjoyed it more - towing a caravan is a pain at the best of times and at least that way we felt like we were bowling along pretty well.

Every year another couple of villages build bypasses, which have to have at least 4 roundabouts.  You just get up to speed with a 'van when you hit the next one.  Then there's about 3 steep valleys, which are always clogged with old overloaded trucks in first gear

However, the good bits are suberb.  This years problem is the A28 motorway.  Its straight and flat so is ideal for a caravan, but boring for a bike.  I'm thinking half and half

http://www.gpfrancemoto.com/

? I guess there has been a little "artistic" licence used here?

and if they use the same oneway system as the Moto 24 have fun...

Artistic - What you mean Rossi's front wheels not bouncing along ....


Barry - We are on bikes, but Steve's GSXR1000 doesnt do more than 100 miles oper tank, and my 600 struggles to keep up with them at the usual pace, so 100 miles is about ready for juice.

I think Auto route to LE Havre, then N138....

Roundabouts aer fun unless its raning

Apparently the Motorway is open all the way through now so no hole at Rouen.

So is there now a faster way round Rouen? if so please tell  :)

Andy

Sorry, you've had your hopes raised,  its either across Rouen as per normal or take the by pass route.  Have a look the LM guide Werner is putting together, route directions are there.

http://www.lemanszone.de/caguide2006.html

The motorway isopen all the way, with the exception of the run through Rouen. But the Rouen part is well signed, and you'd need to hit this evening's rush hour to get held up there.
Diverting via Havre adds 40 miles to the route, even if you avoid the town and take the Pont de Normandie. There's also a 5 euro toll each way on the bridge. Not recommended  ;)

Ah well i like to see the roundabout with the cows on, it makes me feel i am well on the way to getting there and my thirst starts to increase  ;D

Andy

A lot of HGV's on the 138, keep your eyes open for diesel on those roundabouts.

Have a safe trip, and enjoy the race.

Lots of tractors and cows too.  Look out for the brown sticky stuff too.

Whats brown and sticky?
A stick

Whats pink and fluffy?

pink fluff ;D











ok, i'll stop it now ;)

If the maps are right, the "rondpoint aux vache" has been bypassed.  The cows may have moved on

With the new motorway open, is'nt it likely that the majority of trucks will use that rather than the N138? (Ok, it only takes one to spill some diesel of course and tractors arent allowed on the motorway ???? are they ???) and will this make the 138 a much better route?

Although the motorway will take through traffic, a lot of the towns have industrial areas, in previous trips I have estimated that possibly 50% of the HGV's using the 138 were turning into the industrial areas of these small towns. That is still a lot of trucks.

 :o :o If that the case i will have to make a new point to start my thirst off, hmmmmmm i know Calais seems to be a good one!!

That's a touch unpatriotic.  Whats wrong with Dover?

I'm stopping over near the cows.  I shall make sure they're alright and report back

The cows are still there. You can either take the route past them or keep straight on over the Pont Mathilde and link up with the N138 via the Boulevard de Europe

Well the bikes ready, one lad dropped out already as its windy ?

If its dry, we'll do the N138 and play overtaking with the trucks. If its raining, we'll keep on the auto route.


For some unknown reason one of the lads, sold his Duke 996 and bought a PAN 1100 - WHY ?? Oh and he's taking his TOP BOX !!!


Aaaaarrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Thanks for ideas though.

OH MY GOD.  Sounds like he need exercisism. he is possessed.
you lucky b*****d, enjoy it mate. ;D

Hope its dry for you to play with traffic......... stay safe Robbo.

Well, we played on a few roads, but due to the TUNNEL BEING 90mins  behind time......

We had to run on the autoroute.

The new road to LM is good, but with NO fuel stops between Rouen and Alencon, it can be a bit of a long run on a 100 mile tank range.