Italy trip (or not?)
 

Ok, I'm a strange sort, I love the challenge of big miles in a short time, I don't have the luxury of being retired and having time on my hands, I can repeat this process of grabbing a long weekend of 4 days or so, but there's a certain urgency, which suits me. I like to get where I'm going, and I'm happy with big mileages, I managed 820 miles in a day when I had a CBR6, now I'm on an NC750X, so slightly easier.

I fancy Italy, I can start the evening before, and get to the tunnel easily, maybe progressing further if I get a good run, but......

If you don't have anywhere booked, where can you check in if its 01:00 ? Where is truly 24hrs ? And what can the real travellers here teach me about accommodation on the fly ? I'll have a tent, but wild camping is more risk that I would like.

I'm travelling alone, I've yet to search for someone with the same attitude, to press on hard with the miles is fine, but when the body give up, says you should stop, what tips can you provide ?

I'm not crazy, and I don't want to take risks of fatigue, or the fear of being stuck with nowhere to stay. Sure, some will say :

1, you're nuts, don't Rush, allow time, pre book your accommodation.

Someone else might say :

2, sure, I understand, here's how you deal with accommodation on tough long touring days

You want year's of my knowledge of traveling?


There a couple of way's that you can do it. The first one is book a hotel on line where you want to go to. That way they will give you a pass number to get by the door and in to your room. Or you can turn up blind. Wait at the door and ask someone who is going in. To book you in with their cc and pay them the money. Simple if you think about it. Both way's have worked for me.
John933

Re hotels, I've done 1.00am check-ins many times with Etap / Ibis budget. Our rough plan would be finish work at 5.00pm, leave at 6.00pm and get a 10.00pm ferry from Dover (ferry rather than tunnel because we could get something to eat on the boat). We'd book a hotel in Lille or somewhere an hour(ish) from the port (Calais or Dunkirk) because I know 2.00am is about my limit if I'm to be ok the next day. If we got on the road by 8.00am we could get to our flat in the Alps before the shops closed. Grab Ibis's listings book from reception and book the next one on line early afternoon when you've some idea how far you'll get. If you're going to Italy that should be enough.

I don't do wild camping as often these days as I used to but years ago it used to be our main way of spending the night on trips, particularly once we'd got into slightly warmer parts. It's never caused me a problem - just pick somewhere off the main road, behind a hedge or something, out of sight anyway. After all you're not going to be there long and if you don't stop until after it's dark nobody will notice you. You don't even have to put the tent up if it looks like a clear night - although you run the risk of the weather changing, particularly in northern Europe.

The biggest problem I've found is making the decision about where to stop when it's dark and you're tired; you can make some really stupid ones. We once spent the night on a rubbish dump in the Pyrenees and could hear rats scratching at the tent. It just seemed like nice flat ground in the dark. Or putting the tent up absolutely exhausted in a grass field in Italy only to find the local farmer ploughing it up around us in the morning. He just waved to us when we came out of the tent and we packed up and were gone in 30 mins.

You could get to Italy really easily via the autobahns - one overnight stop and the next day would do it. It's further than on the French motorways but it is a lot cheaper. You'd probably not see much beyond ribbons of concrete, warehouse like service stations and the backs of cars that pull out on you.

hey, just a couple of months back i popped over to rome from the north of england and, after 7 months came back again. on my way there it took me 4 days and it was a bit too much for me i think, the way back took me 5 days and was way more relaxed.

the way there was 1 day from cumbria to calais, all the way down england to the dover calais ferry on the motorway, not fun but the weather was poop.
the next few days were just heading to rome through germany (for the autobahn) then over austria to rome.

i diddnt have hotels or anything booked, and i managed to find plenty of hostels in germany on the way, but a couple of nights i just slept out anyways because i'm strange like that. (but mostly cos i got drunk with germans)

france has these unmanned cabbin things too, where you just use your card and sleep in a thingy like a static caravan, if you can find them they;re great.

i wasnt in any sort of rush, just bad weather forced me to keep riding rather than stop and have to retreat indoors.

but i would say its nicer to spend less time on the bike, too much time in the saddle makes my head funny.

It on ! I bit the bullet, and I leave today. I'll be back to report how it goes :)

Thanks for all of your advice

Nice weather window in France today. Good luck and enjoy yourself.

Well, I made it, all went well, 2800 miles in 5 days, ended up in Montepulciano in Tuscany, had an awesome trip including a bit of a heavy 940 mile day on the way back to Calais. Had a few 'moments' on the mountain switchbacks in the wet, managed to make it home before the speeding tickets too, awesome !

Paul

Glad you enjoyed it - what route did you take in the end?


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What did you think of Tuscany?

2800 miles in 5 days :eek3: Did you ever get off the bike? :biggrin3: Presumably your 940 mile day was mainly motorway?

What did you see/enjoy/savour/experience/remember even?

Hi Paul,

Been a while since you did this trip, I'm planning on London to Sorrento in July.

Would love to get your advice on how it went!

That said, I have been reading the forums and there does seem to be a great deal of good advice on here.

Cheers!

We did this again in 2017, went to Rome via Montepulciano, two up with girlfriend. The weather was awful, insane flooding, torrential rain in and around Rome, and the strongest gales I’ve ever ridden in on the way home, it was absolutely soul destroying, very mentally testing, not something I’d be looking to repeat ! Some day we were up at 05:30, and with delays, arriving at our hotel at 22:00 !
Bad planning, distances too big, and let rather unlucky with the weather

Paul

We drove down last year and stopped in a budget hotel in Basancon. It was a good midway point and the hotel cost the same as camping. It was a long days drive though. The year before we camped at Troyes which makes for a slightly shorter first day but the cost of the municipal campsite was ridiculous!!

I have also stayed, over night, at that municipal camp site and I don't recall it being ridiculously priced.
I do recall a basic meal with a few beers in the simple restaurant based on the site; all very welcome and reasonably priced after a long day on the road.
I think the beer was Grimbergen - always a decent one.

This is honestly a great story!

I've been looking to do a similar, spontaneous trip myself and can't help but wonder what routes people are taking.

It sounds like you had a ball - often, people are pretty skeptical about this sort of thing.

I think I may do a similar trip later this year, doing a little planning, but then being rather spontaneous too - hopefully planning to avoid bad weather like you experienced last year.