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Post Info TOPIC: Off on another jolly! Trail riding in France.


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Off on another jolly! Trail riding in France.
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Just a quick heads up. I am off to France on Wednesday night with my bro' for a 10-day trail riding and sightseeing holiday. Staying 3 days with Ridelimousin and also covering some other areas around Limoges.

I will keep in touch via the interweb and Trish will be at home looking after the eShop wink

Brian



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Sounds ace mate, have a good un. Don't forget your camera now smile



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Yeah have fun Brian! Riding a TTR too! biggrin Yes some nice photeys and vids of French green lanes will be great! biggrin



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Pete. South Somerset, England.



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Have a good time Brian!

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Thanks guys - not long now till ferry time. Just hope the sea has calmed down a bit after the gales!

NB to eShop users, Trish is looking after Totally TTRs business whilst I am away but is having to travel to London to attend an Aunty's funeral so any orders placed this weekend and Monday will be posted on Tuesday. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Brian



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Have a good time and let see a few pics on your return..

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Just changed the oil and filter on Trev's TTR and spotted that the rear sprocket isn't looking too good - with only a few hours to go before we load the TTRs for the ferry no

Just as well I can grab a new one of the shelf biggrin

Brian

Trevs rear sprocket.jpg



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Yeah quite well worn there. New chain too?? Nice to be able to pick parts off the shelf huh! smile



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Pete. South Somerset, England.



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I guess you'll be there now Brian, hope you are having a great time!!!



-- Edited by Baggers on Friday 5th of June 2015 09:17:38 PM

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Thanks Richard!

We have put in our first day's trail riding using Ridelimousin as our base and an excellent route supplied by Torsten.

Got lots of pics and perhaps a video or two. Not so easy to process them here but just to prove we have been out on the TTRs here are a couple...

6 June 2015 009.jpg

6 June 2015 014.jpg

6 June 2015 025.jpg

6 June 2015 027.jpg

6 June 2015 032.jpg



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Looks nice and green out there, hope you lot are having a good time. Not to hot by the look of it.



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Looks good but no pastie stops ! Hope your having a good time .



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Great pics Brian. Patisserie stops instead huh! Pain au chocolat or a financier...

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Pete. South Somerset, England.



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Lush and green - nicest countryside I think I have seen with lovely granite houses and barns - to die for!

Nearly 100 miles today. Got a bit hot (around 30 degrees) after midday but not enough to spoil the great riding.

We didn't find any lunch stops on either day but had such a good full English breakfast provided by the lovely Rowena that, oddly enough, I didn't miss it! Mind you the 4-course evening meals, accompanied by unlimited beer and wine, seems to fill the void biggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrin

We were joined on our run today by Lynn and Paul, friends from Devon who are staying nearby in their camper van.

Trev lead from another of Torsten's great routes installed on our SatNavs and did a brilliant job - especially bearing in mind the sun on the screen.

7 June 2015 005.jpg

Not long after we got back to Ridelimousin HQ, Rowena came out with a  couple of mugs of tea - how's that for hostessing eh?

7 June 2015 009.jpg

 

 

 

 



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Lovely views. 4 course meal and unlimited beer sounds good biggrin



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Pete. South Somerset, England.



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Mucho verde, cerveza ilimitada, Rowena, amigos y la querida ttr!!!, se puede pedir algo mas?

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You can order whatever you like in heaven...

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Pete. South Somerset, England.



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Our first days trail riding from Le Mas de Forsac and it was a cracker!

Temperature a bit cooler so not so tiring. Stephen Dunne our host took us out for a "wobble", as he called it, around his manor but it was far from that! Got a few videos and photos today.

The amazing thing about our trail riding in France is the proportion of unsurfaced to tarmac roads. I reckon it was only about 5% tarmac today.

We are getting into the French way of life and had an hour and a half lunch stop with a 4-course meal 

9 June 2015 030.jpg

9 June 2015 007.jpg

9 June 2015 020.jpg

nk emoticon



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Looks great fun. Cool little ford vid. Great action shots. Lusheous greenery. Nice update. smile



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Thanks Pete biggrin

Forgot to say but we have only met one quad on the lanes in 3 days of riding! Maybe pass two or three cars all day on the tarmac roads. Rural France is empty! Anyways up we are riding quiet TTRs so don't disturb anyone wink

Had overnight rain and still mizzling so nice and cool today. Maybe we will get to wear our riding jackets today to justify bringing two each!

Brian



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Update - mizzle has changed to heavy rain cry



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Although the weather didn't look too brilliant today, the rain just settled the dust, softened the lanes a tad and didn't get us wet!

First stop of the day was at the memorial to Violette Szabo (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violette_Szabo ) to pay homage. Stephen brought her story to life by showing us the actual places at which  things happened prior to her capture.

What followed was another epic trail ride led by the master. We rode a few beautiful sunken lanes and Stephen even found some mud and ruts to remind us of home.

Spoilt for choice on lanes in this area - 6 leading off from one point! 

 

The sign says it all wink

Note4 620.jpeg

 

A fantastic old sunken lane not unlike one I recall back home.

10 June 2015 003.jpg

 

We rode a real mix of lanes. Part of this lane ran along the edge of a field. Not unusual here.

10 June 2015 008.jpg

 

This lane was hard work! Turned out we had gone the wrong way so didn't struggle for too long biggrin

10 June 2015 009.jpg

 

Enjoying a well-deserved break after a hard days trail riding:

Note4 625.jpeg

 

TTRs at rest in front of our cottage.

10 June 2015 010.jpg

 

Off to Rocamadour sightseeing tomorrow and maybe another days riding if Trev's body can take it wink

Brian

 

 

 

 



-- Edited by TTRfan on Wednesday 10th of June 2015 11:38:28 PM

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That really looks fantastic, and loving the sign! biggrin

 

Like the look of the tank bag you have there Brian as I was looking for something similar. Can I ask what it is?



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Hi Nigel.

We are in the process of packing up ready to move on but feeling very tired and moving slowly this morning cry

Sad to leave this trail riding Nirvana!

I don't like carrying anything more than a bladder pack on my back on the lanes so the Wolfman Enduro tank bag is a godsend for me. Unfortunately my supplier is having difficulty getting stock from the States but let me know if you want a quote for when he has them back in stock.

Brian



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More fun looking lanes biggrin Nice lake, I see you had almost downed your beer Brian, whilst he had merely taken a sip! biggrin



-- Edited by peteBLUEttr on Thursday 11th of June 2015 10:09:38 AM

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I could easily have downed a couple of pints in the same time wink

It was our fifth and last day of trail riding in France and Trev's 60th Birthday Bash!

We are stayed in Rocamadour as we had been given a recommended route by a good friend along with large scale mapping to run on our GPS) which took in the lanes in the area.

What a fantastic route it turned out to be with a wide range of lanes that made us smile, pant, think and panic!

Some steep rocky climbs and descents, a couple of lanes where we got into 6th gear and one fabulous single track lane that was nearly 3 miles long (this was one that Olly was keen to show us and we fully understand why).

All in all another bit of trail riding heaven biggrin

 

 

 

A pic of me at the start of a narrow single-track trail. Had to duck and dive under the trees and overgrowth from time to time. Seemed to go on for ever. Loved every bit of it! Checked it on the GPS tracklog afterwards and it was nearly 3 miles long biggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrin

12 June 2015 001.jpg

A view of Rocamadour from across the valley.

12 June 2015 005.jpg

 

The first time we came across gates and fences but worth the very brief hold up. Lovely leafy lane, but with the odd hidden stone to keep you alert

12 June 2015 008.jpg

 

Unbelievable what you find out on the trail!

12 June 2015 009.jpg

 

On our way back home now with a couple of overnight stops on the way to check out some more French cuisine wink

Brian



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Woah a cave brick home thing, cool as. The trails are really pretty over there, it definitely tempts me to go.

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Trish said "That house rocks!" no

Here are some short vids from the day:

 
 
 


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Nice descent brian! smile



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A trip to cherish mate, absolutely superb stuff smile



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Nice report Brian some real nice look lanes

Pug

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Yes it looks a fantastic place to ride. Do they not have any ROW laws like we have over here ?

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Great pics and vids thanks for sharing who knew the flintstones had retired to france ."that suspension needs an overhaul " biggrinbiggrinbiggrin classic.



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Back home now. Just finished my second big mug of tea. Can't seem to get proper tea in France. Nasty surprise first time I bought some as, after I added milk and tasted it, turns out the lady had used Liptons Lemon Tea bags no

The Row situation in France is interesting. I won't go into full detail now but, basically, you can ride anything that hasn't got a prohibition sign or is marked as private - or at least that was the general idea in the "communes" we rode in. There isn't a readily available version of our UK "List of Streets".

There are literally thousands of miles of lanes that hardly anyone is using. We saw no evidence of horse use, only a handful of walkers and no tyre tracks although there were a few berms that can only have been created by bikes.

We managed 5 days of trail riding in 3 different areas and it was truly fabulous. A holiday to remember!

Rural France was virtually empty of people and traffic confuse

Brian



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In that case the french would have to put no entry signs everywhere at the start of every track going, so your saying pretty much everywhere is available to ride?!..

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Not quite the case. Some communes have sold all their lanes and have nothing left.

Brian



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Fantastic report, Rocamadour is stunning. Me & Mrs loved that area on our way to the Pyrenees. The memorials in the villages and towns to the Nazi victims were very moving.

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Great stuff Bri

Love the house that rocksbiggrinbiggrin

Trev doesn't look a day over.................. Happy belated birthday to himcake.gif

Great video's, well donesmilesmile



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Did ye ride the bikes over to France or take them in a van?

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We were initially planning to take three bikes in our mate Olly's van but, when he dropped out coz of poor health, we went with Trev's Passat estate and two bike trailer.

Leaving Dunneys.jpg



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At the risk of being boring, I wrote up the holiday for the Devon TRF Group newsletter.

See:

Trail Riding in France - Part Une

and 


Trail Riding in France - Part Deux



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Thanks for the interesting and detailed report, Brian.

Green with envy doesn't cover my feelings - I loved the food detailing and trail descriptions.

Are Devon pasties now relegated second to duck's innards?

No faults reported with the bikes so I presume you had no screaming clutches/gearboxes or punctures.

Martyn



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I would like to try a duck's innards pasty Martyn biggrin

I had a problem starting the TTR on the first day. The bike had spent the previous day in the trailer in the sun and it turned out no petrol was getting through as the pressure in the tank had jammed the one way valve shut no 

Easy fix once I sussed why no petrol getting through!

Did get one puncture towards the end of a day's riding. Not a problem as I snoozed in a meadow whilst the lads went and got the trailer so we could get the TTR back to base and fix the puncture in the cool. It seems that the French have blackthorns also cry

Puncture.jpg



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You are luck being able to just ride/drive to another country & go riding...
living on a island makes it so exspensive to do it...

O well still lots of places here I have not riden yet...
most of the North Island is still new ground to me...





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I think Brian does live on an island ;)


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ridelimousin wrote:

I think Brian does live on an island ;)


 LOL.....

Not quite the same as NZ 

Unless someone has put in a tunnel I don't know about...

 

 

.



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My write up (or at least Part 1 of it) is in this month's TRF magazine (pages 15-20)  wink

See https://interactivepdf.uniflip.com/2/83020/300983/pub/



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That B&B near La Souterraine looks good ;)

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On his return, Brian told me personally that if it wasn't for Rowena's coffee he wouldn't be going there anymore. wink

Martyn



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Cubber wrote:

On his return, Brian told me personally that if it wasn't for Rowena's coffee he wouldn't be going there anymore. wink

Martyn


 

I went in June and loved it! Torsten and Rowena are great hosts, strongly recommend, thumbs up!

 



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