France Tour to the Millau Bridge May 2009

Never been to Europe on my bike before so decided it was time to do it.

I booked a tour with a firm called British Bike Tours ran by Peter Millburn. There were sixteen riders on this tour and Peter had a system where no one got lost on any part of the tour. Everyone were more or less had the same riding ability and I believe all but one were all northerners so we all got on very well.

The first thing you notice when you get out of Calais is the lack of traffic compared to British roads. The second thing you notice is how much better the condition of the roads are in compared to British. The third thing you notice is the lack of speed camera's. The fourth thing is that cars move to the side of the road to let you pass. You learn to lift your leg as a means of saying thanks and to say hello to other bikers.

We were taken on a good mixture of roads from twisty to bendy and plenty of straights. The sights and views were brilliant. The accommodation was spot on (we stayed in a different hotel every night) and the food was very good. There was no time for walking around towns as the brochure stated, it is a biking tour, you were riding, with breaks of course, for about seven hours a day.

The primary reason for me going on this tour was to see and ride over the Millau Bridge a truly amazing bit of construction and no photograph can substitute for actually being there.

I'm not gonna write anymore because it would take too many pages to write everything down. Give it a go. More pictures at http://www.britishbiketours.co.uk/html/gorges_du_tarn.html

Back