Spares ?? Whatfor??? John I would never carry any - BUT - I have too because in Switzerland and in most european countries it is compulsory to carry a basic set of replacement buls and fuses, and although not a spare as such a first aid kit. If the local plod stops you and you do not have these then your wallet will indeed become very much lighter!! Speaking of plod and your destination france - le flick are now on an official "productivity" drive to raise cash for loads of unnamed charities. They are now super keen on speeding/overtaking/noise and drinking - so do but just a little more alert for them than before. And yes there are more of them - the government has funded another 4,000 for the roads!!! Finally ferries were mentioned in one post - I came over to Blighty last year and used Norfolk Line because they were dirt cheap (Euro30 single) the loading crew were real gents and put me on and off first, and they provided and did the tie down with huge cushions so as not to mark the bike at all. To top that they have a max space of 12 bikes on the ship I was on, each in it's own specially marked out parking bay. Finally the bar/cafe was big enough for all those on board to strech out in. It's not a first class cruise ship as it's for truckers, but it's the business. |