Re: [ST] French knowledge wanted

["Emile Nossin" <Emile@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: Gavin Lawrie
>>On 5 May 2006, at 09:47, darren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>> We are staying at Champagnole in the south east of the country
>But if you are so inclined, I would recommend you visit  
>Cognac and St Emilion (follow the Gironde to Bordeaux,

I wasn't sure where Champagnole was at first, but after checking
the map Bordeaux is in the south west while Champagnole is near
the French Alps in the east on the other side of the country, 600km
between them....

I have been to Cognac as well and did a tour there, pretty cool.
But I guess Darren will be 2-3 days of riding from there. I'm not
familiar with the city of Champagnole itself, although I must have
passed it on our way from the French Alps back towards Holland last
september. But I'm guessing the coolest stuff is in the French / Swiss /
Italian Alps, a few hours riding south east from there. If the weather
is nice, go do the cable car ride (either up from the French or the
Italian side) up the Mont Blanc. You won't really be bored in the
French Alps anway, so many cool roads, often used for the Tour de
France as well. Check out our pics from the Central Massif (more
towards the south and center) and French Alps during our MOTARD trip:
http://piloot.smugmug.com/gallery/828616
Pic 2 shows our route, if you have specific questions about pics
or scenery just ask.

Since it's hard to make fast miles in the mountains you might like
a nice B&B locally in the French Alps. We stayed at this one:
http://www.chalet.gite-de-montvilliers.com
The owner was brought up in the US, has lived all over the world,
meaning you won't have language problems. I can really recommend
that place, it was very relaxing, comfortable and cheap (very
important, since we're Dutch ;-)). Pics of that B&B here:
http://piloot.smugmug.com/gallery/828616/10
They primarily make money during the wintersport vacations, so
it's cheap and quiet in summer (great for bikers, like in Norway :-)).
It will provide a great base for one or two (or more) days of
riding in the French / Italian / Swiss Alps.

I've heard lake Geneva can also be nice, but have no personal
experience. Mountains have more attraction for me, but that might
be because we haven't got any in Holland (and water we have enough).
If you want more detailed info about the cable car locations at
the mont blanc or other stuff let me know (try to AVOID the mont
blanc tunnel, it is very expensive and extremely boring and smoggy).
Salut,

Emile
www.piloot.com

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