Riding in France?

[nick1987]

i am planning a short shopping trip to northern Belgium and wondered if anybody could offer any advice on the rules/regulations specific to riding in France? (and a little bit of Belgium)

I have driven the route quite a few times but its a lot cheaper to take the bike on the ferry.

[CBRowner]

You'll need to have Europe on your insurance, make sure you ride on the correct side, the French are good when it comes to 2 wheels.

The best bet is to look on the AA's website as they offer useful info about driving/riding in Europe [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[ZZR600Dude]

Anyone fancy a trip to Belgium next June?
Heard they have some good beer festivals around that time.

[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[wiltshire builders]

A flashed headlight means "I'm coming through" not "After you".

When riding in rural areas some older drivers still adhere to the now defunct law that you give way to the right so be aware that drivers could pull out on you from right handside junctions.

You must by law carry copies of all your documents.

Take a strong elastic band and put it round your brake lever on the ferry. Also leave it in gear. It will stop the bike moving.

Very few petrol stations are open on a sunday unless you are on a motorway so plan ahead.

Kronenberg panache isn't a new type of lager. Its shandy!

[ro]

Riding on the right means your left hand is free for waving at oncoming bikes [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Car drivers seem very bike-friendly and often pull over to let you pass. Thank them by sticking out your right leg.

When riding in rural areas some older drivers still adhere to the now defunct law that you give way to the right so be aware that drivers could pull out on you from right handside junctions.

"Priorité Ã* droite" is still the general rule, though many main roads are marked with a yellow diamond meaning you have priority.

Very few petrol stations are open on a sunday unless you are on a motorway so plan ahead.

This seems to have changed for the better recently. The big supermarkets (Carrefour, Intermarché) are all over the place, not just big towns, and usually have pay-at-the-pump petrol stations open 24x7.

[igbell]

Some petrol stations and such are open on a Sunday but watch out and dont get caught out like I did, My umpteen cards worked during the week but did not work at 23:00 hours on a Sunday night at 3 stations, in the end I had to call on a local french man to use his card and pay him with cash.

I dont know if the new car rule applies to bikes but they have to carry a yellow reflective vest and a triangle, also an unopened first aid kit and bulbs.

Just a few more things to maybe look up before going.

[nick1987]

cheers for the advice guys, took the train over yesterday morning and back yesterday afternoon!

didn't have any trouble in france except for the wind on the way back and customs at the tunnel.

made sure i had enough fuel at Maidstone services and it was fine, only did about 80 miles on the other side.

it is a very different experience to driving over there, they all just get out of the way!


thanks again [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[Morticia]

A flashed headlight means "I'm coming through" not "After you".

Ahhhh, the french do it like the spanish then, which explains a lot to me now, LOL!

[Morticia]

Anyone fancy a trip to Belgium next June?
Heard they have some good beer festivals around that time.

[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

That'll be me then!