Best routes crossing Pyrrenees?

[Kropotkin]

GSers,

In a couple of weeks time, the missus and myself will be riding down to Spain from Holland. First, we will be going to the Basque coast (close to Bilbao) then heading across to Morella (inland, halfway between Valencia and Barcelona).

This means that we get to cross the Pyrrenees twice, lucky old us. Obviously, I want to make the best possible use of this opportunity, so I would like to know the best, prettiest places to cross between Spain and France.

So far, I have planned to cross into Spain via the Port de Larrau, then head over to Pamplona. And on the way back, I have a route planned through Andorra, out over the N22 / Pas de la Casa.

Are these the prettiest routes? Any other suggestions?

Ta,

David

 

[fritz]

I can vouch for the Larrau. Cycled it in a 'race' coupla years ago. Isaba, St Michael (or similar) into France (oh what a down hill ) and back to Isaba over Larrau. Larrau is STEEP (on a push bike ) Isaba is a lovely town, have a snoop about, there is a m/c hillclimb on the Frnch side in Sept (same for cycle race). Local to Isaba sre some lovely villages. Roncal home of a fine strong cheese and many others. Hecho gorge and valley.
I can confirm that the 'round' above is very fine. TdF has only gone over Larrau once. This is a lovely unvisited (comparitively compared to Tourmalet etc) area of Spain.
Love it
(PS there is a forest track that takes you to the mast outside village - scared me sh*tless when I got to top on GS a few years back, steep, steeper, bloody steep, then stop and scare yourself looking down. No 'no entry' signs, can find if you like (not fully loaded !)

 

[Kropotkin]

(PS there is a forest track that takes you to the mast outside village - scared me sh*tless when I got to top on GS a few years back, steep, steeper, bloody steep, then stop and scare yourself looking down. No 'no entry' signs, can find if you like (not fully loaded !)

Glad to hear I am on the right track with Larrau. Thanks for the offer of the off-road track, but I will have wife plus 3 weeks camping luggage on bike, so I think I will pass it up this time...

 

[Sherringford Hovis]

Did almost this route across to take advantage of the little roads, all paved.... can't get viamichelin to do the exact route.. but it's the little wiggly road with the 13% on it and the barrage! Interesting. I did it by Suzuki GT750, two up.....

 

[Kropotkin]

Thanks Mr Invicta Hovis,

I actually looked at crossing via the D933 af first (hmm, pretty), but that would have meant taking the N10 most of the way from Bordeaux, which I am lead to believe is a mind-numbingly dull stretch of tarmac. So I'll probably be hitting the Pyrenees slightly to the east. But I shall keep this as a backup, and try to remember it's the wiggly one.

Cheers,

David

 

[Sherringford Hovis]

I went down across the Landes and not on the N10 at all but the D932... and yes the N10 is very boring sub-motorway dual cariageway....

 

[Kropotkin]

My plan too, cross the Landes. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[sixfootandstocky]

Just to the west of Bagneres de Luchon is the "Tunnel de Bielsa".

Stunning!

Bonjour.

 

[Kropotkin]

The route we chose

Well, I'm back, and as I asked the question, I suppose I ought to report my findings.

We rode through western France (well, west of Paris, anyway) on the way down, and came down through Landes to Oloron Sainte Marie (SW of Pau), where we stayed overnight. It's a lovely town, with the backdrop of the Pyrenees.

We left the next morning, to cross the Pyrenees by the Port de Larrau (the D26). On the French side (the D26), the road is pretty narrow, and the tarmac is in pretty poor shape, but it's a fantastic, twisty road, with good views, which winds its way up through woods, before reaching the summit.

Halfway up:

When you reach the top, you are presented with spectacular views.

Looking north (with sheep):

(with fewer sheep):

(without sheep):

Looking south into Spain:

Entering Spain:

The road on the Spanish side (the NA 140) is in much better shape, the tarmac is excellent, and looks like it has been resurfaced very recently. The road is also much wider, making pillions feel much more comfortable, I am told.
We then quickly turned east, but staying on the NA 140, towards Uztarroz and Isaba. This was a narrower road, winding through woods, but still well surfaced. After the NA 140, we turned onto the NA 137, which comes down from the Col de la Pierre St Martin, later turning onto the NA 176 towards Anso. This road was much narrower, and in worse condition, but still beautiful:

We then headed south on the HU2021, which was terrifying, as they had just covered the road in grit, so the road surface consisted of hard tarmac covered in tiny ball-bearing sized gravel. Two-up, fully loaded, it was not as enjoyable as you might think.

We ended up in a fantastic campsite in Gavin, just outside Biescas, along the N260. I can strongly recommend the N260, for the following reason:

We met some other Dutch bikers who had ridden the N 260 all the way from Figueras, a couple of hundred KM to the east, and they said it was fantastic.

In part two, the return journey, through Andorra.

David

 

[Kropotkin]

And back again ...

So we decided to come back through Andorra. I was labouring under the illusion I had been there with my parents as a child. In my memory, this was a small, charming town, with wide roads and plenty of space.

We rode towards Andorra over the C 14, with much anticipation, as I could see the Pyrenees looming up ahead:

But as we approached La Seu d'Urgell, on the N145, our enjoyment began to waver. The scenery was still magnificent, but the first of a very long line of roadworks started. What's more, they were roadworks of the saddest kind, that is, ruining roadworks. They are straightening out the roads, removing the twisties, and replacing a large section with a long tunnel, to make it easier for the lorries, of which we encountered a surprisingly large number. So, get there while you can, in a year, the twisties will be gone, and the road will be a less exciting, straight-ish road, full of lorries and caravans.

We arrived in Andorra, to much disappointment. Andorra, at least at eye level, is awful. It is one long shopping street, full of row upon row of hypermarkets selling tax-free booze and fags and expensive cars (at one spot, there were two Porsche garages opposite one another). It's only saving grace was the bike shops. I have never seen so many motorcycle shops in my life. About one every 50 metres or so.
The scenery is also magnificent, but you can't see it, because of the high-rises blocking the view.

Andorra (or rather, the towns Sant Julia de Loria and Andorra La Vella) were both right in the middle of major roadworks, and as it was hot, crawling along between giant lorries full of rocks and gravel seemed to lose its glamour.

We stopped in a small town further along the CG2, called Canillo. Accommodation was expensive, but the scenery was fantastic (behind the blocks of flats and cranes):

The next morning, we set off towards the Pas de la Casa (carefully avoiding the tunnel). The road is much better here, there were no more roadworks, the road surface was great, and the roads were lovely and twisty:

At the top of the pass, I was in for a surprise, as I thought the border would be at the pass, but it wasn't. There was a spot by the side of the road where you could stop and admire the view. Which was definitely worth admiring:

After passing through customs, we rode down towards Ax. Shortly after crossing the border, we had a choice of roads, either carry straight on, on the N22, or turn onto the N320. We stayed on the N22, which was the right decision, as most of the traffic in front of us turned off onto the N320, so we had much more space to actually enjoy the winding roads, and the view:

The N320 and N22 joined up again later on, so no problem there.

In conclusion I would say that I would definitely use the Port de Larrau crossing again, and I'm glad we went through Andorra, just to have seen it. But I don't think I would want to pass through Andorra again, except perhaps very early on a Sunday morning.

Ahh, what a trip.

 

[fritz]

Glad you enjoyed the Larrau - it was a bugger to cycle up, but oh the descent ! 50+ mph...heaven !

 

[Kropotkin]

Fritz, you cycled up? Huge respect! Too steep for me...

 

[fritz]

Too steep for me too - just too emarrassing to get off ! Hardest (physical) thing I've done..........to date..........note still panting hours later !