La Balade des Vieux Clous - Part 1
- Andy Marks
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
This year marks the 46th running of La Balade des Vieux Clous, or 'The Walk of Old Nails' in English. It's an annual rally held in northern France and organised by a classic motorcycle club based near Calais. This is to be my 10th Balade since 2012, my Dad has been doing them since the early 90's and my Granddad was doing them even earlier.
This weekend is very different to the trips I have written about on this blog before. As well as being on a 74 year old bike, I'll be riding in a group, following a pre-arranged route and there will be no camping involved. I handed over the money in advance and everything is organised for me from the 0740 ferry on Friday morning right through to the 1635 ferry on Monday afternoon. This has it's advantages and disadvantages which I'm sure you will see as we go.
As with my other blog posts, click on the images to enlarge them and see a bit more about them.
Day 1 - Thursday
67 miles
Hailsham to Dover
We're staying in Dover tonight so we can catch an early ferry tomorrow, it's only a couple of hours from home so there is no pressure to get going today. We've arranged to meet Ian at his place at about 3pm then carry on to Rye to meet the rest of the group we are riding down with.
The bikes themselves are ready so all we need to do on Thursday morning is pack and load up. After a couple of visitors drop into the workshop during the morning and we drink a lot of tea, it's suddenly 2pm and I haven't finished packing - I chuck everything in the cases, attach them to the bike and we're off. It's easier this weekend because we aren't camping, and all the meals are included so I have no camping or cooking equipment with me. I have my passport, wallet and phone - anything else I can work around!
We stop for fuel at the BP in Hailsham before going to meet the rest of the group. Ian is ready and waiting for us outside his house, so I don't even get off the bike before we carry on. Rye is about 30 miles from home, it takes about an hour on the scenic roads and we get there just after 3:30. We aren't the last to arrive!
Unsurprisingly Ron is on his hands and knees working on a bike already. Not his though, he is giving Johns Ariel a quick check over before we set off - and I though I'd left it late to get ready!
By 4pm, John's bike is ready, he's strapped his luggage on and everyone is ready to leave. Nine of us set off from Rye and it's a beautiful ride to Dover. We don't stop but it's easy riding as we weave through the countryside, it's all looking very green again after a bit of rain last week. Fortunately the sun is shining and although the temperature has dropped a bit I'm warm enough - just.
It's been a very hectic couple of weeks at home, and I'm glad to be away, I really feel myself decompressing as the bike thumps away and I settle into 'holiday mode'. I'm enjoying this and I could happily have carried on, but it's not long before we are riding into Dover. A quick stop to fill up with fuel, it'll be nice to start tomorrow with a full tank, and we pull into the Travelodge car park at 5:30. It's free parking after 6pm so we hover for a bit before checking in.
I didn't have time for a shower this morning so I have one in our room (I'm sharing with my Dad) before going back down to the bar to meet the others. We are joined by riders who have come for the same event and once everyone is ready we head out for our annual Thursday night in Dover. A beer in The Hoptimist before a Chinese meal. 18 of us enjoy the evening, some then go for a nightcap but I'm shattered so I join the group heading back to the hotel and am in bed by 11.
Day 2 - Friday
70 miles + Ferry crossing
Dover (UK) to Berck (France)
After a good night's sleep my alarm wakes us up a 5:50! Straight downstairs and onto the bike, we'll have breakfast on the ferry. I barely get the Norton into top gear and I'm slowing down to the first booth at the port before 6:30. No operation stack today, we're through UK and French border control and are all siting on the dock by 7am. Our ferry is at 7:40 so I have a bit of time to walk up and down, looking at the bikes and chatting to riders who weren't out with us last night - there's a group that are more local to Dover so come straight here in the morning.
22 of us board the ferry on 19 bikes and we sail on time. A small breakfast and a coffee on the boat is all I need after the huge Chinese meal last night! Before I know it I'm ridding off the boat at about 10:30 French time. There isn't much room to regroup on the way out of the docks so we agree to meet up in a town down the road for our first grand cafe au lait (large coffee with milk).
Dad and I are parked together on the boat so we leave together and I lead onto the motorway - it's not fun on and old bike but it's the easiest way out of Calais so we stay on it until the second junction before pulling off onto the D943 to Ardres.
I pull up to a set of traffic lights and Dad pulls up alongside me waving to pull over - I do so and find that the zip on his jacket burst open on the motorway. It's a good jacket but it's a few years old now and the zip wont stay shut. Fortunately there is a second zip for the liner, which he isn't using, and that will hold the jacket shut - it'll be fine for the weekend as long as it doesn't rain...
The two of us arrive in Ardres to find a row of bikes already parked outside a café and the riders milling around waiting for it to open. After another 10 minutes we discover it is closed all day, so jump back on the bikes and find another café in the centre of Ardres.
As we sit outside chatting I can't help but relax and appreciate being back in France on the bike. There's no rush, we are only a few miles from the lunch stop and have plenty of time. We see a few other old bikes riding past and I assume they are going to the same place as us.
Back on the bike we do the last few miles to Guînes for lunch at the fantastic La Ferme Gourmande. We've eaten here several times before and it's always a great start to the weekend. I get a cold drink from the bar and mill around in the square looking at the bikes coming in and catching up with French friends before heading in for lunch.
La Ferme Gourmande lives up to expectations with three courses, it's lovely but I eat way too much and am feeling slightly uncomfortable when I walk back outside into the sun. I sign onto the main rally and collect a programme which tells me there are 114 participants from 4 countries riding 94 motorcycles with 31 manufactures being represented - what a great mix!
Back on the bike we set off on the 45 mile afternoon route as a group of five. We usually split into smaller groups on the road because it's easier to stick together when the group isn't too big. Ian leads the way and I sit on the back of the group which I quite enjoy - I still follow the route sheet so I know where we are. I just love riding in France, the sun is shining, it's warm, there's hardly any traffic and no potholes.
It all goes well until we arrive at a roundabout where the exit we need has cones across it and the large sign - ROUTE BARRÉE. This isn't uncommon in France and you can usually sneak through on a bike. Far less common in France, the work force is actually in the road and there is no way through!
A slight detour with a bit of map reading on my phone and we get into the next town on the route, Montreuil, where we decide to stop for a drink. Time for our first panaché of the trip, it's like a shandy in the UK.
We bounce over the cobbled street, an interesting experience on a 74yr old bike with very little suspension, and find a parking space in the town square. There are other bikes parked up as well but with plenty of cafes and bars to choose from we end up drinking as our group of five.
I could sit here all evening but we need to get to our accommodation before long. It's only another 9 miles so we aren't in any great rush, we're never in any great rush at these events!
We stop for fuel, Rick and Julie who are riding with us weren't in the group coming from Rye yesterday so didn't stop with us in Dover. Although I don't need much I top up so, if we ride together for the rest of the weekend, we are all 'in sync' now.
We arrive at our accommodation, Chez Mireille in Berck-su-Mér at 7pm. We're amongst the last to arrive and most of the bikes are already covered up with just a few still on show. There are also a couple being worked on, one has a broken cable and another has the front wheel out for a puncture repair - it's a lovely evening to be outside so the owners don't seem to be too worried about working outside and the issues are nothing major so they'll be back out tomorrow.
We've stayed here before, it's pretty little site with room for camping, caravans and the rooms that we are all staying in. We laugh as we are looking for our room - we are in room number 142, we are in a row of six rooms numbered 141, 140, 142, 161, 160, 162 - in that order!
We have just enough time find our room, lock the bikes up and get changed in time to sit down for dinner at 7:30. I text Leigh to say we've arrived and I'll call later.
More bloody food, four courses tonight including cheese and biscuits, after three at lunchtime I really don't need anything else but it all tastes so good.
By the time we move into the bar after dinner I'm feeling quite uncomfortable so no drinking for me tonight, I sit and chat for a bit, but I'm in bed by 10:30 and fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow. I'll call Leigh tomorrow...
Day 3 - Saturday
100 miles
Circular route from Berck
I sleep soundly and, despite there being no need for an early start today, I'm up at 8 for breakfast. There are picnic benches outside but it's not really warm enough yet and breakfast is served in the same restaurant as we ate in last night. I only have a croissant, I'm still feeling full after last night so we are soon back outside and on the bikes ready to go.
We're doing a circular route today and will be back here tonight, so we can leave the luggage behind. After topping up the oil in my tank, I know it burns a little bit so I have some with me, we change our route sheets over and set off with the same group of five as yesterday.
My stomach is feeling a little uncomfortable again this morning, I promise myself not to eat as much today! I'm riding on the back of the group again, with Ian leading, and it all goes well for the first 10 miles. Then the route sheet just stops making sense, we get very lost, we use Google Maps to help us back onto the route, then get lost again. We see bikes passing in the opposite direction more than once, the riders just shrug or shake their head, it appears we aren't the only ones lost!
After what feels like hours, but was probably only one hour, picking our way around the French lanes, we see Mick and Frank outside a café. We're confident we are back on the route now so decide to stop and join them for a drink. Turns out they've been here a while and are just leaving. They tell us they have been lost most of the morning as well, and although they are a long way ahead of us, they lose all that kudos by virtue of being a group of two bikes now, despite setting off as a group of six - at least we haven't lost anyone yet!
We stop in the café anyway and after a hot chocolate, set off feeling a lot better. The sun is shining, the bikes are all going well and my stomach is feeling a lot better. What's not to like?
On the road again we ride past lots of campsites, fishing lakes, a water park and through a nature reserve with highland cattle grazing next to the road. I don't stop for any pictures, every stop takes twice as long when you're in a group and we're supposed to be at the lunch stop at 1pm so can't afford to many more setbacks. This is one thing I really do prefer about riding on my own, I can stop whenever I want, be stationary for 10 seconds then carry on again. That's not so easy in a group.
We do a bit more before realising we're lost again - this morning's route sheet really is useless! We pull over and decide the best thing to do is go straight to the lunch stop in Roussent and try again this afternoon. I plug it into my satnav (I saved all of our stops as favourites before setting off on Thursday) and follow D1001 there. We arrive bang on 1pm so I'm left feeling that the decision to come direct is justified.
I find somewhere to park and change the battery over in my onboard camera. I've filmed quite a bit the last few days! Lunch is another stew with a mixture of beef, pork and sausages in it. It may not sound much but it tastes fantastic, definitely the best meal of the weekend so far. Dessert looks equally good but I pass on it, I don't want to spend all afternoon feeling uncomfortable again!
The place mats in the restaurant show a map of the area, we recognise a lot of town names and, although it feels like we've been riding all morning, we've been going in circles and never actually gone that far from where we started. The main topic on conversation over the table is the route sheets and it doesn't sound like anyone else had any more luck than we did, it would also appear that the unmade road we came down was on the route - I don't think they've included one of them in the route before!
With a full stomach I could happily fall asleep now - I have to get up and leave the table before I fall asleep! Outside the sun is shinning and I get the chance to look at a few of the bikes again - we get a real mix at this event and it's nice to see more than the usual set of BSA and Triumph twins. This is when Ian realises he only put the morning route sheets in today - the afternoon ones are back in his room. No problem, I offer to lead and we set off.
Fortunately this afternoon's route sheet is a lot better than this morning's, and I only go wrong once - it was my mistake and we're all able to laugh at our opportunity to practice our U-turns after I lead the group up a dead end.
With the sun out and nobody in front of me I crack on a bit and just slow down from time to time when I realise nobody is behind me. This might have less to do with the speed I'm riding at than it has to do with the noise my bike is making. I've done a lot of work on my Norton to make it a very practical classic touring bike. It's quick when I want it to be, but the engine work has also made it very loud. I do have plans to try and mute it a little, but that's for another day. It's all exhaust noise so it doesn't bother me too much, I'm in front of it - but I do understand why people aren't keen on following me too close! I'll write more about my Norton another time - this is a post about la balade, so let's get back to it...
We haven't got too far to go back to the digs this afternoon but I crack on and don't stop until we are back in Montreuil. Mick and the group he has been leading are sat outside a different bar to the one we used yesterday so we join them for another panaché. It's only 3:30, it's warm in the sun and the very keen waiter is keen to practice his English (it's very good). He serves us while his boss leaves him to it and goes to have a look at our bikes lined up in the square.
We all leave together and, instead of turning my route sheet to the next page, I just tag onto the back of Mick's group. It's only a few miles and the same as yesterday so I remember most of it anyway and we get back the Chez Mireille in plenty of time to give the bikes a once over (all good still), have a shower and join the larger group for a drink before dinner (stew again).
Back into the bar for a presentation by organiser Jean-Paul and superbly translated by Yanick. We all get our souvenir, a rusty nail out of a 14th century French barn to tie in with the name of the rally and club, and the poster which is given out every year. We have over 20 of these hung up on the walls at home now so this one will get framed and added to the collection.
I'm in bed by 11, not quite as early as I'd hopped but we've had a great day and I'm already looking forward to tomorrow.
I hope you have enjoyed what you have read so far. In my next post you'll be able to read about the rest of la balade and our return home. Why not subscribe so I can let you know about this, and other future posts, as soon as they go live?
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