I don’t claim to be an expert, and i’m definitely not a lawyer but I’ve never heard of anyone being done for any of the various things that the MCN tend to report on, like breathalysers, reflective this and that, etc. I’m pretty sure that all French bikers ignore it anyway so personally I wouldn’t worry about it unless you like riding at 100kph through quiet villages and then flipping the bird at the gendarmes while singing god save the queen.

Although apparently there is a law in France that anyone overtaking a bicycle must leave at least 2 metres. Which they tend to do, from what I’ve seen…

Has anyone successfully mounted bike panniers to a motorbike? Got a trail bike so it’s fairly upright but would need to mount it somehow. Got a pair of awesome Ortliebs and seems a shame not to use them on the motorbike somehow…

If you’re getting a TomTom have a look at Tyre. It lets you plan your route on googlemaps and save it to the the gps.

As I said in my post, I’ve just got back from riding roughly the same route as the OP intends to do. I was whipped up into a frenzy by the list of things the Spanish and French old bill supposedly expect you to cart around with you and dutifully filled my tank bag full off it, for the first time I might add. I’d not bothered in the past and won’t again. I honestly think they’ve got better things to do than pull over foreign tourists and check they’ve got the right shade of flourescent vest or whether their warning triangle is equilateral or not. As for the helmet stickers, yes it’s been law for a while, but I’d say roughly two out of three French riders don’t have stickers on their lids so why would they bother us? Oh, and I think they’ve ditched the breathalysers too! They love bikes (powered or not) out there, just go and enjoy yourself.

They love bikes (powered or not) out there, just go and enjoy yourself.

Yeah, I was cruising at way over the limit and had two cops on bikes come past waving a foot as they went by.

One thing with the law.The other year prior to going to the Picos I got told the law had changed & you had to have a GB sticker on the number plate or one of those number plates with the country of registration on them.I got pulled for a roadside check in Northern Spain & had a GB sticker on the number plate,police were happy.
If you go on the Horizons Unlimited European forum there’ll be information on it all

It’s 1.5m on the open road and 1m en agglomération, and generally respected. There are other nice cycle friendly laws such as giving way to cyclists moving across to turn left, and not being allowed to overtake cyclists on hill crests and bends if it means using the other side of the road.

150cm² of reflective material is still law as far as I know. It’s cheaper than the fine if you get pulled over in a random check and might just mean a driver sees you even though they’re more interested in replying to a text from their lover after half a bottle of wine with lunch that means it’s really siesta time though in fact they’re rushing back to work.

I intend to put some reflective material on my helmet and a GB sticker on my plate, but to be honest I’m not going to bother with the rest of it. Top advice guys, I’ll let you know how I get on.

When I’ve toured abroad on the bike I’ve always worn a hi viz jacket not just to be seen but also to keep my jacket cleaner from road grime and dead flies.
I used tyre sealant which fixed a puncture that I didn’t realised I’d gotten until I was back home and noticed a blue line around the rear mudguard. Never tried the tyre plugs that someone else recommended but I would recommend some kind tyre repair kit.