foreign trip

[loverobot]

need advice from anyone who has done similar

am thinking of going to the ducati factory (in italy) surprise surprise by bike
want to take in twisties and good roads

seemed to me best route would be from bilbao / santander and then across top of spain then down into italy
could do it in 2 days solid
3 days taking it easy

anyone got experience of this ?

would probably try get a ferry out of italy somewhere and back to blighty

thinking next summer ish

any help or suggestions?
thanks in advance

 

[MartinH]

Top of Spain down into Italy? Theres France to cross first before you get to Italy! You also have to bear in mind the long ride down to Plymouth/Portsmouth and the 24 or 36 hour crossing to northern Spain. I am a big fan of the Hull to Zeebrugge route, you turn up in Hull late afternoon get on the boat have a nice dinner and a few drinks watch the entertainment go to bed and ride of the boat at 8am the following morning. Theres a few ways to get down toward Italy from Belguim/northern France. Depending what type of roads you use you should allow 2 to 3 days to get there.

Rather do it that way and do most of my riding on the continent than having to potter down to the south coast in the uk and spend a day or a day and a half on the boat.

BDG will be along with his reccomendations any minute now.

 

[Gizmo]

i'm with Martin on this, the Bilbao ferry is a good way to get home after a long trip in Europe but it takes 36 hours, you can cover a lot of distance in that time. i'd head down to Dover, A26 to Reims, onto the N roads towards Chaumont then either Bescancon and round east of Geneva into the Alps or down towards Aosta, then head towards Italian Lakes and then down to Bologna depending upon time available. you can work a route out that will give you an autostrada option should you run out of time but other than that try and stay away from them. Come back north into the Dolomites via Terentino AIR ( sorry ain't got my europe map handy) then into Switzerland ( avoid motorways unless you want to buy a viginette) and then through the Jura. might find time to sort the roads tonight.

we came back from ther old Laverda factory in 2 days, it was hard going with not many stops!! better to allow 3 days.

 

[borderduc]

Not sure if you have accommodation booked in Bologna but if you want one right beside the factory try the Hotel de Borgo. I stayed there a couple of years back and can recommend it, though there's not much nightlife in that part of town. I booked it online through www.inthotels.com although it's probably listed elsewhere too.

If you take in the Dolomites en route you'll find them stunning. Again I can recommend a super little biker-friendly hotel in a picturesque village called Misurina, which is near Cortina d'Ampezza. I can't remember the hotel name but it's on the north side of a small lake and is quite small. You can't miss it. We didn't book ahead but if you want to you'll probably find it in an internet search of accommodation in Misurina.

Have a great trip !

 

[BDG]

If you're gonna do Northern Spain to Italy and do the multitude of good roads i'd allow a week, if 2 or 3 days you'll waste it on auto(bollocks)routes.

Martin and Gizmo have got it right me thinks, go via Hull and make a beeline for the Jura region of France and the Alps, then come back via the Riviera and up ze Route Napoleon.

I love the Pyrennes but wouldn't use those roads for going to Italy, most of the roads go north/south across the mountains from Spain to France for obvious reasons, and the roads like the N260 (i think, no map to hand) following the border are fun but slow going.

 

[Ray]

If you are gonna go the long ferry route I hope you are Sea worthy. It can get very rough in the bay of Biscay at any time of year if you use that route.

I know some say stay off the autoroutes but you can cover a lot of miles in one day. Again it depends if you want to take the twisties that are enjoyable but can be very tiring and low average speed or the auto routes boring but quick then enjoy the twisties in the destination area.

You can try some route planning on www.viamichelin.com or the AA website.

If your ultimate destination is the Factory are you going to combine it with a WSB round or even WDW? That might open other options up. Maybe freight the bike and fly in a la Ducati Leeds, various other trips might be on offer. Think thats missing the point, well maybe, but it can save a lot of wear and tear on both bike and rider, it can even work out cheaper.

If you get the chance to hook up with Team Pompone Italia take it, the main man Maurizio made a group of us very welcome on a trip in 2001.

Done Italy/WDW/Factory/ Misano WSB a couple of times, once riding there and back, once vanning the bike down. Must admit you get a sense of achievement riding there and back.

Did the South of France last May

There is some fantastic scenery and roads to be enjoyed, some see the Route Napoleon as a destination itself, spending a few days thrashing up and down!!

Ray.