here are my pics from the trip.
i was lucky to be there as only a few days earlier my hand was swollen like a well puffed up marigold after a wasp sting and it was looking quite dicey that i'd be able to ride at all. luckily it cleared up ok and i was good to go
had to be some of the best riding i have ever experienced. mostly long days of endless corners. it was great
the protagonists:
trip organiser - 2 wheel humvee
Darkhorse
Oscar
Gerry
(photo - 2 wheel humvee)
and not wishing to miss a chance to use humvee's great picture of myself and mrs cookie
(photo - 2 wheel humvee)
first night - Annecy
2nd day on the road & it's frequent photo stops. i don't usually bother with this, but i have a new camera, so have to make the effort. not that much though apparently, as i can't be arsed to get off the bike within half a mile of leaving the hotel
of course, with a pillion, you don't always need to stop.
but sometimes you do. skiers might like to know that is Tigne's Grand Motte Glacier in the centre of the pic.
a chat with the locals
much phone fiddling was apparent, or "fuffing" as gerry assured us it was called these days.
Castellane
we avoided larger roads if possible
some stripey french rock
mrs cookie rocking the burka look - me rocking yet another creme brulee
their idea of what to put in a glass
mine
Mont Ventoux
the main drag in our fortified home, a lovely auberge inside a louis XIIII fort
the easy way in and out. you should have seen the track we mistakenly took when arriving. the fort's on top of a large hill and we must have come up the semi off-road back way. mrs cookie was not happy with the drops.
sheer drops abound
just about the only rain i saw, and it fell overnight
off to Buis le Barronies and a two night stay at Thornley's lovely maison. this isn't it.
while the other 3 went off to orange to explore the glories of ancient rome. mrs cookie, gerry and i took a day off the bikes and went for a walk to meet some of the locals.
oh dear. looks like it's about to attack. with a handbag maybe?
it was hot - low 30s, but john (Thornley on here) told us it was abnormally cool year. thank fuck for that!
mrs cookie not too keen on being near that edge
she's fine with everything else though. the perfect pillion
Col Du Tourmalet
the place is overrun with MAMILs, but this lady proved you don't need all that lycra and fancy kit. we found her cycling up quite happily on her shopper bike in a summer dress, with her dog running alongside, or in the basket when he got tired.
the french were operating some kind of time system for letting people up and down this side of the mountain. there was a bloke waving his hands and shouting something or other, but fortunately i don't speak french so just carried on and saved myself an hour or two. huge devastation from the recent floods was very much apparent.
had a great pizza in a restaurant come bowling alley down here
time to go home. Bilbao harbour
the last supper. gerry really shouldn't have moved
the travelling bridge.
nope. i have no idea what gerry is doing either
Santander and our transport and home for the next day.
it was a great trip, and much thanks due to humvee for his organisation and to all other participants for their great company as ever
ps. biggest regret of the holiday - trying to stay in front of these three. i gave it my best shot for a couple of corners, but frankly, i was just embarrassing myself so i waved them past
(photo - 2 wheel humvee)
they came past me in a blink in very tight formation. it was like being overtaken by the red arrows
i was lucky to be there as only a few days earlier my hand was swollen like a well puffed up marigold after a wasp sting and it was looking quite dicey that i'd be able to ride at all. luckily it cleared up ok and i was good to go
had to be some of the best riding i have ever experienced. mostly long days of endless corners. it was great
the protagonists:
trip organiser - 2 wheel humvee
Darkhorse
Oscar
Gerry
(photo - 2 wheel humvee)
and not wishing to miss a chance to use humvee's great picture of myself and mrs cookie
(photo - 2 wheel humvee)
first night - Annecy
2nd day on the road & it's frequent photo stops. i don't usually bother with this, but i have a new camera, so have to make the effort. not that much though apparently, as i can't be arsed to get off the bike within half a mile of leaving the hotel
of course, with a pillion, you don't always need to stop.
but sometimes you do. skiers might like to know that is Tigne's Grand Motte Glacier in the centre of the pic.
a chat with the locals
much phone fiddling was apparent, or "fuffing" as gerry assured us it was called these days.
Castellane
we avoided larger roads if possible
some stripey french rock
mrs cookie rocking the burka look - me rocking yet another creme brulee
their idea of what to put in a glass
mine
Mont Ventoux
the main drag in our fortified home, a lovely auberge inside a louis XIIII fort
the easy way in and out. you should have seen the track we mistakenly took when arriving. the fort's on top of a large hill and we must have come up the semi off-road back way. mrs cookie was not happy with the drops.
sheer drops abound
just about the only rain i saw, and it fell overnight
off to Buis le Barronies and a two night stay at Thornley's lovely maison. this isn't it.
while the other 3 went off to orange to explore the glories of ancient rome. mrs cookie, gerry and i took a day off the bikes and went for a walk to meet some of the locals.
oh dear. looks like it's about to attack. with a handbag maybe?
it was hot - low 30s, but john (Thornley on here) told us it was abnormally cool year. thank fuck for that!
mrs cookie not too keen on being near that edge
she's fine with everything else though. the perfect pillion
Col Du Tourmalet
the place is overrun with MAMILs, but this lady proved you don't need all that lycra and fancy kit. we found her cycling up quite happily on her shopper bike in a summer dress, with her dog running alongside, or in the basket when he got tired.
the french were operating some kind of time system for letting people up and down this side of the mountain. there was a bloke waving his hands and shouting something or other, but fortunately i don't speak french so just carried on and saved myself an hour or two. huge devastation from the recent floods was very much apparent.
had a great pizza in a restaurant come bowling alley down here
time to go home. Bilbao harbour
the last supper. gerry really shouldn't have moved
the travelling bridge.
nope. i have no idea what gerry is doing either
Santander and our transport and home for the next day.
it was a great trip, and much thanks due to humvee for his organisation and to all other participants for their great company as ever
ps. biggest regret of the holiday - trying to stay in front of these three. i gave it my best shot for a couple of corners, but frankly, i was just embarrassing myself so i waved them past
(photo - 2 wheel humvee)
they came past me in a blink in very tight formation. it was like being overtaken by the red arrows
