@Cycling_Ashley

AshleySage

@Cycling_Ashley

I have been keen to travel since a trip to spain years ago. Since then I toured France twice on a bike, once around Normandy and then From south to north. I have also Flown to Iceland to drive round for two weeks. At the beginning of 2012 I prepared my truck for a four week trip to Morocco in September 2012, since then I been twice.



Europe » France » Midi-Pyrénées » Boutx July 23rd 2018

The journey to Cabrispine May have been 200 miles, but it had gone smooth, and due to it not raining or being cloudy, it was still light well after 9 pm, so I could pitch easily. The first layby I stopped at, I was unsure about, as it didn’t seem clear enough for me to pitch. Then while I stood pondering, a motorhome full of kids parked up, and reversed pretty much into the back of my truck, so that decided that, and I moved on. The spot I did stop at was perfect, as it was on the inside of a switch back, and was only big enough for my truck. Of course, what I didn’t realise was that above me was another, bigger lay-by, which filled up in the morning. Again I will say ... read more
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Europe » France » Languedoc-Roussillon » Carcassonne July 23rd 2018

After parking on the descent of the Col de Bisanne with the truck, I was then able to actually park on the climb of the Col de Madeleine. This wasn’t easy as I was late to the party, in terms of Tour parking, as some of these motorhomers get to a named climb well in advance, but my ace is the truck. Where these big lumps of plastic need a bit of space, I just need a car parking space so long as it’s got grass/dirt to peg into. But, this being said, I can’t be too picky, otherwise I’ll end up without a place, so opposite a set of road works, there was a dirt lay-by that was long, but just wide enough for my truck. The downside was the angle I was parked at, ... read more
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Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Arras July 18th 2018

The next day started off really well. It was nice and cool and traffic was light, but then after covering 80 plus miles, we stoped to fill up. It was here that I realised I didn’t have my phone, nor the cards that are in its case. Dad then tried to call the B&B but got no answer, so I used his phone to track my phone with the finder app. This confirmed it was back at the area we had stayed, and when we got through to the owners they confirmed they had it. They were going into a city that was on our route, so agreed to meet us there. Though this saved us 40 odd miles, it did mean we wouldn’t catch the race that day, so we headed straight for the last ... read more
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Europe » France » Pays-de-la-Loire » Challans July 18th 2018

Well after a busy thursday, packing bits into the truck and the bike bags, and fixing the truck (ish), we were on the ferry Friday morning, heading to Calais. For the next 10 days, Dad and I would ride our motorbikes from B&B’s, to see the first part of the Tour de France. This year it would be starting on west coast and then making its way back towards Roubaix along the north coast. Our first stop would be in Challans, around 440 miles from Calais. The route was fine traffic wise, but it soon got very hot, and the distance was taking its toll, not helped by the sat nav having issues with the power cable, meaning it would shut down just before a turn or middle of a city. By the time we reached ... read more
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Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Calais July 11th 2018

The next day we took a leisurely morning packing up, then headed to Velha again for a few supplies and a look around town. By the time we were done it was super hot again, so found a campsite early, preferably with a pool and a bar. The original plan from here, the next day, was to attempt a really long track which would take us almost to the end of the Pyrenees, but then Mark noticed an abandoned village he had wanted to see was just south of us. So we booked one more night and left my truck all set up, and jumped into Marks and went to find the village. It was an impressive place to see and gave me a chance to play with the drone. Though on the first flight, it ... read more
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Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Calais July 11th 2018

The next day we headed from the campsite back towards Carcassonne to try out a track and test out the Wikiloc app, which shows you all the off road tracks that are around. The first track failed as the entrance was now too overgrown to drive down, so we headed off to find another. This one went well, and had some amazing views as well as not being very taxing on the trucks. By 6pm we started looking for a campsite. The first one was nothing but a field, but the next three were all closed down. This was tiring me out, but it did have the benefit of taking us through a bunch of local tunnels, until we finally found an open site next to a river. As we carried on towards Andorra on day ... read more
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Europe » France » Languedoc-Roussillon » Carcassonne July 8th 2018

Over a week has past on this Pyrenees trip, and so far we’ve spent two days in the Pyrenees, and have now split from the rest of the group. Mark was one of the guys with me on the first Morocco trip, and he come across some guys on Facebook organising a trip to the Pyrenees. When he suggested it, I was all up for it, as it was timed well, and I had nothing planned for June. On previous trips I'd done a ton of research of routes and places, but as this wasn't my trip I naively assumed I could just follow along and enjoy. Day one was an easy one for me, as Dover is just down the road, where as the rest were driving down from Doncaster. At around 1, everyone began ... read more
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So again, here I am with a long time off to enjoy the sunny weather of any country but the UK, as the UK seems to have not paid its sunshine or heating bill this year! First trip this year is the Paris Roubaix cycle race, and from the start everything went well. Last year I had the little camper, this year I’m joined by Steve, who has a converted VW van. So while he slept in his van, I chucked the roof tent on the top of it with the room underneath for me to sleep in. This worked fine, till one of us woke up, then the other would be woken up by the swaying of the van moving around. Next time we use this setup, I’ll grab a couple of bottle jacks to ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Kent » Ashford July 12th 2017

The campsite in Orchamp was expensive for what it was. It had the bear essentials, like showers, loos and fresh water, but was quite run down. But this was irrelevant, as it sits on the Euro Velo 6 cycle route that will take me straight into Dole. I set off at about 9:30 as it was about an hours ride into town, and the heat was already sweating me out. I had moved the bike into the shade of the van to clean the chain, as after the wet ride in Germany the gear set was pretty clogged up. But even here the heat was building, so I made a start along the cycle route. It runs along side a large canal with a couple of locks along it, with trees and cliffs to make this ... read more
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Europe » France » Burgundy » Perrigny-les-Dijon July 7th 2017

When the promo caravan had arrived, it was still quite quiet, far quieter than I had expected it to be. A couple of French guys had parked their motorbike in front of bob, and with a mix of broken French and a translation app, we just about managed to converse. So much so they bought me a waffle with chocolate and cream on, and in return I made them a cup of coffee, as it seems that you can only buy beers at these kinds of local events. After the promo lot had finished throwing their stuff to us, the Belgian guys walked over and there was a bit of trading between us all, with packets of sweets going to the boys and sun shades going to the vans, and hats shared out. The finish line ... read more
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