'Nuffsaid
Registered user
Am booked onto the HUMM event- am looking at transporting the bike(s) down to somewhere near - has anyone got any ideas as to how I can do this - Van, train or similar ?
CliveS
Registered user
Summer temperatures
hi
During the day it can be hot in the mountains but it is a dry heat, not humid and the nights are cool enough for blankets. We are at 1200 meters
CliveS
Safe Riding
hi
During the day it can be hot in the mountains but it is a dry heat, not humid and the nights are cool enough for blankets. We are at 1200 meters
CliveS
Safe Riding
To be honest , the weather in the Pyrenees can be so changeable that it is hard to say.
in July 2006 it was an average 38 degrees and 98% humidity on the low slopes, in the western Pyrennees on the French side.Hotter on the Sapanish! . So take a hydration pack in your tank bag and top it up every time you stop.
That was also the year we did Roscoff down to a village called Maslacq near Orthez to see some of the other halfs family. It took 3ish days due to overnighting in Roscoff and the difficulty in adapting to the sudden heat wave we rode into south of Huelgoat! Started in 20 degrees and drizzle and ended the day south of St Nazaire suffereing heat exhaustion as it went up to 36 ! So expect two hard days, as it is around 700 miles, and getting out of Brittany is a slow process, if you don't stick to the boring roads - the centre bit is amazing, good tarmac, excellent views and an urge to keep stopping to take piccies
In the west of the Pyrenees if you are riding the higher roads ( I recommend following the Ossau-Iraty Route d' Fromage) fill up whenever you can as petrol stations are few and far between!
And water always make sure you have as much as you will need in a day for drinking and cooking.
Apart from that , enjoy fantastic scenery and not too challenging. A pleasant weeks riding.
in July 2006 it was an average 38 degrees and 98% humidity on the low slopes, in the western Pyrennees on the French side.Hotter on the Sapanish! . So take a hydration pack in your tank bag and top it up every time you stop.
That was also the year we did Roscoff down to a village called Maslacq near Orthez to see some of the other halfs family. It took 3ish days due to overnighting in Roscoff and the difficulty in adapting to the sudden heat wave we rode into south of Huelgoat! Started in 20 degrees and drizzle and ended the day south of St Nazaire suffereing heat exhaustion as it went up to 36 ! So expect two hard days, as it is around 700 miles, and getting out of Brittany is a slow process, if you don't stick to the boring roads - the centre bit is amazing, good tarmac, excellent views and an urge to keep stopping to take piccies
In the west of the Pyrenees if you are riding the higher roads ( I recommend following the Ossau-Iraty Route d' Fromage) fill up whenever you can as petrol stations are few and far between!
And water always make sure you have as much as you will need in a day for drinking and cooking.
Apart from that , enjoy fantastic scenery and not too challenging. A pleasant weeks riding.
How about riding it down like we intended to do with ours? Can't get any time off that week so will have to miss it this year.
That is odd! The first two weeks of July 2006 I was messing around on the N260
up to Ainsa before dropping back into France. Glorious weather, don't think it ever exceeded 26c or I would have noticed.
bladerunner
Registered user
Nope, checked it on the Meteo site when we got back - most of the time it was low 30's and the one day that stands out where the glue melted in one of the helmets in the top box was in St Jean Pied Port. That was the really hot one, we had parked in the shade and had a long lunch to escape the heat, when we got back the bikes were in full sun. Other riders coming over from Spain were all suffereing heat exhaustion after they hit the French side. I think it traps a lot of heat and humidity in that region based on the spectacular storms I have seen around there.
It seemed to be in a strip down the West coast , starting at the loire. We had very hot and humid weather and nightly thunderstorms for about 5 days or so. we enede up doing the Ossau-Iraty run to get into the cooler weather on the higher roads on the French side.Been in the same area in February when the air temperature was 32 C and 37C in direct sunshine!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scouseandjules/406098642/" title="France 2007 - Lindt factory, Oloron St Marie by Scouse_and_Jules, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/406098642_a734e374f7.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="France 2007 - Lindt factory, Oloron St Marie" /></a>
It did get distinctly colder when we headed east towards the Dordogne, that was around mid 20's. After a week of 30 plus made it refreshingly brisk.
Didn't get that far last year but might this, if it is that hot then there will be a plan B! Last year we did the Med to Ainsa and this year plan to do Ainsa to the Atlantic.
It's well worth it on the Frenchside , not the dramatic peaks of the Med side or the Spanish side, but I much prefer starting in Val d'Ossau up and over the Colle Marie Blanche , over Colle Iraty and down past the source of the Nieve into St Jean... just follow the brown Route d' fromage signs.
It's not always that hot BTW but can suddenly get into the 30's with very high humidity in the valleys on the French side at that time of year.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scouseandjules/212595524/" title="France 2006 Ossau-Iraty Cheese Run by Scouse_and_Jules, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/212595524_d284d227e2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="France 2006 Ossau-Iraty Cheese Run" /></a>
peter wallis
Registered user
just a short answer to these various threads,just got back from pyrenees, its not to hot,dont go to andorra youll be lucky to get past all the french looking for cheap petrol and last but not least spanish side best
It's all down to personal choice.... and does the spanish Side have a Lindt factory shop ? ... I should...cocoa
Anyone in that area head for Oloron St. Marie and follow your nose. They do "grab bags" in a thick cardboard box of 10 bars of Lindt for 4 euros. Great for the choccy fans, and the box insulates them pretty well.I like the French side spent a few visists there and prefer the greenery and the lack of other peeps on the tops during the week. Less touristy and a lot more friendly.
Harv
Registered user
Are you still looking......?
We are taking 6 bikes down in a van and box trailer ..... but we have a second van and bike trailer available too..... its a bit pricey though.... first week of school hols and ferries aren't cheap.... add the current price of diesel and its working out at about £200 per bike .... by the time you got a cheap flight out you may prefer to ride!
This lot are doing it on a 'proffessional' basis:
http://www.biketruck.com/
Either way....see you there!
Terry NW
Registered user
just came back from france after spending 5 days in the Pyrenees.
it was ok on a hot day if you try and stay at a higher level rather than spending time in the vallays in mid afternoon( the hotest part of the day), we tended to have a picnic besides a nice river or steam in the hotish part of the days if we was not bove a few 1000 feet,
the same goes for the ALPs which where much hotter over the last week or so.
it was ok on a hot day if you try and stay at a higher level rather than spending time in the vallays in mid afternoon( the hotest part of the day), we tended to have a picnic besides a nice river or steam in the hotish part of the days if we was not bove a few 1000 feet,
the same goes for the ALPs which where much hotter over the last week or so.
hughguzzi
Registered user
July trip to pyrenees
I just got back from the S. france / pyrenees / Andora / Spain, went 11 - 20 july. lovelly weather, yes quite hot but certainly not unbearable - still wore my (2 piece) leathers and full face and only a bit uncomfortable at times (but I quite like my skin where it is), during the worst heat in spain we just parked up and went for a swim in the med !
My mate on his r.s. wore combats and long sleeved shirt which was a lot more than most others on bikes in the area. Just glad he didnt take a spill and leave some of himself in spain !!
We went down from Le-harve to Clairmont sf, down the Gorge du Tarn and over milau bridge. On to Perpignan and up into Prades and mountains. Andora, (off main roads and up into the mountains its lovely and petrol is only 1.16 euros a litre, (1.35-1.60 euros in france) loads of rides up into pyrenees and into spain along south coast. Back up through Dordogne (cant spell it) and up to Aromaches then back to Le-harve. 2500 miles total and about 220 litres used . No probs on my black 01 / 1150 gs just an adjustment needed on pivot bearing at back end and a service. Funniest bit ? .....being overtaken by a nutter bicycle racer going down a windy mountain road around a blind right hand bend.
Fully expected to find his remains at some point later but he was gone !! Going again next year so planning starts soon !
I just got back from the S. france / pyrenees / Andora / Spain, went 11 - 20 july. lovelly weather, yes quite hot but certainly not unbearable - still wore my (2 piece) leathers and full face and only a bit uncomfortable at times (but I quite like my skin where it is), during the worst heat in spain we just parked up and went for a swim in the med !
My mate on his r.s. wore combats and long sleeved shirt which was a lot more than most others on bikes in the area. Just glad he didnt take a spill and leave some of himself in spain !!
We went down from Le-harve to Clairmont sf, down the Gorge du Tarn and over milau bridge. On to Perpignan and up into Prades and mountains. Andora, (off main roads and up into the mountains its lovely and petrol is only 1.16 euros a litre, (1.35-1.60 euros in france) loads of rides up into pyrenees and into spain along south coast. Back up through Dordogne (cant spell it) and up to Aromaches then back to Le-harve. 2500 miles total and about 220 litres used . No probs on my black 01 / 1150 gs just an adjustment needed on pivot bearing at back end and a service. Funniest bit ? .....being overtaken by a nutter bicycle racer going down a windy mountain road around a blind right hand bend.
Fully expected to find his remains at some point later but he was gone !! Going again next year so planning starts soon !
Terry NW
Registered user
I just got back from the S. france / pyrenees / Andora / Spain, went 11 - 20 july. lovelly weather, yes quite hot but certainly not unbearable - still wore my (2 piece) leathers and full face and only a bit uncomfortable at times (but I quite like my skin where it is), during the worst heat in spain we just parked up and went for a swim in the med !
My mate on his r.s. wore combats and long sleeved shirt which was a lot more than most others on bikes in the area. Just glad he didnt take a spill and leave some of himself in spain !!
We went down from Le-harve to Clairmont sf, down the Gorge du Tarn and over milau bridge. On to Perpignan and up into Prades and mountains. Andora, (off main roads and up into the mountains its lovely and petrol is only 1.16 euros a litre, (1.35-1.60 euros in france) loads of rides up into pyrenees and into spain along south coast. Back up through Dordogne (cant spell it) and up to Aromaches then back to Le-harve. 2500 miles total and about 220 litres used . No probs on my black 01 / 1150 gs just an adjustment needed on pivot bearing at back end and a service. Funniest bit ? .....being overtaken by a nutter bicycle racer going down a windy mountain road around a blind right hand bend.
could of been you i saw then coming over the mountain into Andora a few weeks back
we only saw Brtish bikes once , then not until we was about 200 miles away from Calais friday . this was taken as you just about go ver the Top back into France , and nice and cool it was too
could of been you i saw then coming over the mountain into Andora a few weeks back
Might have been me if it was a Black Gs solo rider. I passed a couple as I was climbing the hill towards Andorra through the tunnel on the D road into France. I only saw one bike the whole trip across the national park and that a 2 on a GS.
santrix
Registered user
Im there right now on the HUMM and its feckin hot.
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