Report from my trip.....
11.05.02 - 21.05.02
Day 1 : Derby to La Rochelle - 3am start for 7am ferry Portsmouth to Cherbourg - 550 miles - 5:30pm end. Nice town for a stop-off.
Day 2 : to Cahors to sidestep rain moving up on Bordeaux - hit a bird (splat!). Stayed in a hotel on river. Nice but quiet & yes it all shut at 10pm.
Day 3 : to Luchon. Brill sunshine. Excellent ride. Beautiful mountains. Nice town - but again all shut by 10pm, except 1 bar (guess where we were). Cable-cars didn't start 'till following weekend for the season.
Day 4 : up-&-over to Ainsa on D173 (all passes open) brill sunshine. What a road! Then headed for the coast - Salou - not my cup of tea but Mo wanted her day on the beach, so I conceded. Went from throwing snowballs at her at 11am, to on the sand by 4pm.
Day 5 : full day on the beach - 0 miles. Hot & lots of wobbly bits.
Day 6 : to Barcelona. Arrived midday - 30 degrees. A few bars - some tapas - & off to Gaudi's Cathedral. Hotel just off La Rambla. Parking was dodgy - but since mine was the only bike secured to anything (most just had disk locks) & looked like a bag of sh*t (bugs & feathers) I think it was safe enough. Had a snooze & got up about 9pm to meet friend. Dinner at 11:30pm. Bed by 4am.
Day 7 : my head hurts. Intention - Andorra or Foix. Actual - Ax les thermes. Tried for ages to leave Barcelona in suicidal traffic with no road signs for anything other than local tourist sites. Eventually went out in wrong direction but didn't care. Head sorted - right road to Rippoll. Then the high road towards Andorra (N152). Rough isn't the word. It was ripped apart by this winter's ice. The only other things moving were 4x4's & a couple of GS's. Amid all the twists, turns, ups, downs I get a tap on the shoulder & pull over to let Mo be sick (still suffering) & the bike rolls off the sidestand. Argh! Another sick stop & we decide not to go into Andorra but head for the nearest civilisation - Ax. Book into 1st hotel & Mo gets her head down while I have a beer & muse over the incredible roads I've just ridden (N20). Thermal springs - bloody hot swimming pool in the town square - just right for tired bikers pinkies.
Day 8 : the 1st rain. Head out on the twistiest route I can find 'cos it's my last chance to enjoy these mountains. Over to Carcassonne & onto the Peage (rain stopped) to Toulouse, Cahors, Sarlat. It's a bank holiday & we try 5 hotels before finding a room. Nice old town full of Restaurants & Bars. Recommended.
Day 9 : to Saumour. Busy with Brit bikers from the GP up the road. OK for a stop-off.
Day 10 : to Cancale. Busy with French tourists. Choose our most expensive hotel yet, overlooking the harbour, €60. Seafood extravaganza. Expensive town. Bike gets covered in sand overnight (looks even worse now).
Day 11 : to Cherbourg for 11:30 crossing. Jag driver tries to kill us on A38. Home for 4:30. 5pm Pub.................................
Day 12 : my head hurts again. Back to normal - ah well....
Total mileage 2450.
France - open from 12-2pm & 6-9pm
Spain - open from 2-4pm & 9-4am
Strange.......
(Everywhere in France was very quiet except for the Bank Holiday.)