Macclesfield to Monaco

[pkcoms]

Hi folks,

I'm Paul, 38, from Hazel Grove in Stockport. I was introduced to Honda C90's many many years ago, mostly riding round fields as a kid as most of us did.

It wasn't until recently that I rediscovered how much fun the Honda C90's are. I purchased my E Reg Cub from an old boy called Gordon up in Colne, near Blackburn for just £450. It's an absolute minter and hasn't missed a beat since the day I got it. Gordon owned it for 19 years but had to sell it because his eyesight was fading. I felt quite guilty driving it away, but promised him I'd take good care of it.

The reason I purchased the C90 is simple. Starting on 8th of May, three mates and I are riding from Macclesfield near Stockport, down the A & B roads all the way to sunny Monaco in time for the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. We reckon on approx 1100 ish miles and approx six to seven days travelling. We have a website setup if you want to see some more information www.macclesfield2monaco.tk

We also have a charity donation page if you feel you can spare £1 towards Cancer Research. www.justgiving.com/macclesfield2monaco

I've already committed to keeping my Honda C90 for ever. It will never be sold and will always be minted up. These fabulous machines are stylish, comfortable, reliable and an eye turner. Wherever I go on mine I always pull a smile or a laugh, but mostly admiration for one of the most successful modes of transport ever built.

Over and out.

Paul

[Pjam]

Welcome to the Club PK, glad you came back to the C90 Somehow they never quite leave you!

[aliengravy]

Hello and welcome! We have an awful lot of people doing big journey this year! Its going to make for some very interesting reading!! Dont forget to take pictures and report back

[Newtsalad]

Over, & OUT????????
Please don't go, we want to hear of the adventure! We want to hear of the preparations of the bike! We want you to hang out here and become addicts like we are!

I do hope you'll pop in from time to time, welcome to C90club!

[pkcoms]

WE DID IT !!!! just over 1100 miles in six very long days, but what a journey! Twelve months ago, we sat in the pub and talked about it, we mulled it over and dreamed about it. But what good is dreaming about it, if you don't actually do it...... Macclesfield to Monaco 2010 on Honda C90's, we lived the dream!

We left the Dirtbike Den in Macclesfield just after 9am on the Saturday morning and arrived in Canterbury (12 miles from Dover) at 8:30pm the same day! It rained most of the way, but it didn't dampen our spirits. We all had a fantastic first day on the mopeds and knew it was the start of an epic adventure. It was late in the day when we reached Canterbury and we struggled to find a Campsite to pitch our tents. We did manage to get two rooms at the Best Western Hotel though.

A quick ride to the the Ferry Port at Dover the next day and a smooth millpond crossing set us up for a leisurely jaunt from Calais to Saint-Quentin. It was late in the day when we arrived at Saint-Quentin and we struggled to find a Campsite to pitch our tents. We did manage to get three rooms at a B&B, there was no way I was sharing a room with Phil Guy again, he snore's like a Cow! Rick and Tim were more than happy with their double room again though.....

An early start again, because Saint-Quentin to Dijon was 240 miles and it was raining! The sunshine eventually burned through the rain and clouds to dry us out in the afternoon. It was full on comedy though, the chatter on our radios and Facebook updates/messages were keeping us going. It was late in the day when we arrived in Dijon and we struggled to find a Campsite to pitch our tents. We did manage to get three rooms, Rick and Tim continued to share, in a back street hotel but it had private parking for our dream machines and was close to the pubs and bars, not that we were out boozing.....

Dijon to Solaize, just south of Lyon, was our target for day four. It was our smallest mileage of the week at just 160 miles, but we set off early in the sunshine so we could look for a campsite south of Lyon. We rolled into Lyon centre at 4pm ish, took a few photo's and had a brief stroll round the City square before heading carrying on our journey. It was late in the day when we rolled into the sleepy little village of Solaize and funnily enough we struggled to find a Campsite to pitch our tents again! We did manage to book into The Soleil et Jardin hotel which was easily the best hotel we had stayed in so far.

After a quick shower we nipped across the village square into the only pub in the village the Duplex Cafe and were soon having the craic with locals Aldo Roberts and his mates. They laughed at our scooters, but bought us all a beer and took our photo's. We asked Aldo if there was anywhere local for something to eat and he kindly offered to take us to his Father-in-laws Restaurant. We got in his Transit van, me and Phil riding shotgun, Rick and Tim in the back, and mooched half a mile into the village to the Pizza Restaurant. There we were introduced to all the family and were treated like royalty! Aldo's folks were amazing and the food was absolutely fantastic! We couldn't thank them enough for their hospitality and they even gave us a lift back to our hotel after our meal!

Day five we decided on a route from Solaize to Aix-en-Provence, 210 miles of winding roads surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery. Our Honda C90's struggled a bit up some of the hills, but into the bends and out onto the straights they were simply magnificent! It was late in the day when we arrived in Aix-en-Provence and we struggled to find a Campsite to pitch our tents. We did manage to get three rooms, Rick and Tim continued to share, at The Arc Hotel which had private underground parking for our bikes. A quick meal at a restaurant round the corner and a few beers in the hotel bar and it was another early night, Monte-Carlo or bust tomorrow!

Day 6 and we had just over 140 miles from Aix-en-Provence through Frejus, Cannes, Nice and then Monaco! Team Morale was on a high today, exactly as it had been on each day! The roads and scenery were just breathtaking, long winding curves, short sharp steep bends, it was the Honda 90 TT round the mountains of southern France! We stopped for pictures at the top of one of the many hills through Forets de Communales de Frejus and then set off down the hillside towards Frejus and our first glimpse of the south coast and the sea!

We stormed through Frejus zipping along the coast into Cannes in no time! Cannes was absolutely mental! It was packed beyond belief, not because of the the film festival, but because news had broken that the Honda C90 boys were stopping for a Panini in the harbour!

No sooner had we left the bright sunshine of Cannes that the skies became black, thunder and lightening was rocking the mountains behind us as we tried to out run the storm that was swiftly drenching the towns we'd passed through! We ripped through Neice, only just keeping ahead of the biblical storm behind.

Our final push for Monaco, we were minutes away! I could hear my phone receiving message after message as we got closer and closer! There were so many people sending messages who were following us via the live GPS tracking on www.sequar.co.uk as we came to the end of our journey!

I had a tear in my eye as we rolled into Monaco, gutted that our epic adventure was nearly over, but proud that our team had acheived our dream without any problems. We made it through six long days using the belief in ourselves, the bikes and the support from our friends and family to keep us going. It was an unforgettable journey and we are really chuffed that so many people got involved, followed us and supported us. Thanks to you all, it was amazing, we are overwhelmed by your support!

Later that afternoon we met a bloke called Chris who owned Galaxie Limousines in Monaco. Chris is definitely the kindest and most down to earth person you could ever wish to meet. He took us out round Monaco, showed us round all the bars, took us to La Rasscasse and gave us an incredible fairtytale few days to celebrate our epic journey.

A huge thanks must also go to Craig, Bex and Marcus for driving out in a van to pick the bikes up. They stayed with us in Monaco and we laughed so much those three days with Chris and our friendship will never waiver.

Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles and the look of astonishment that we were riding 90cc mopeds from Macclesfield to Monaco! Every village, every town, every bar, every restaurant, every hotel we had the luck to find were just brilliant. It took us a year to plan and everything went to plan, and then we were blessed with the good people we met along the way. It really was a perfect adventure that we will never forget! Well, apart from the 21 hour drive back from Monaco to Macclesfield in the back of a Fiat Ducato van with our bikes and no windows.....

We almost hit our £5000 target for Cancer Research, just a couple of hundred quid short. More than worth all the effort though don't you think?

Bfn,

Paul
"Keepin it 3rd Gear Pinned"

[herrod]

bloody hell that sounds amazing!great story.congratulations for raising the money too

[Rickster]

Well done guys. Sounds an epic trip. I would love to see Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman do that on a stepthrough. Thinking about it a trip like that would make a lot more interesting tv than some of the stuff they put on.

[ianofbhills]

Souunds like a great time was had and a great write up too.


Congratulations to all involved and well done chaps.

[BUSTER65]

Thanks for the interesting travel saga I look forward to some more write up's soon.