Last September, I ventured back to Spain for a couple of weeks
Leaving the rain in Plymouth over the Bank Holiday weekend............ I landed to 35c in Santander on the BH Monday
We were delayed in the hold, due to some dodgy goings-on with the Guardia Civil - god knows what was happening but it was a hot 1 hr in the cargo hold
Finally got off and out of Santander by 2.30pm and quickly headed south towards Burgos..............the plan was to ride Sout East over 2 days to Moraira, near Javea/Valencia to meet the rest of the family who had flown out to a friend's villa for the week
Boy was it hot......... even using the Camelbak, my thirst was getting tough & stopped just north of Burgos 2 hours later, rang my partner who said they were nicely settled in the Villa, after their early morning flight and now enjoying the Pool..................lucky sods
I reprogrammed the GPS and it said I could be there by 11pm - 6 hours for about 500 miles of motorway - good job I was on the Gentleman's Express
At least it was cooler to ride during the evening, a mere 25c…………………got there by 11pm, these GPS’s are pretty accurate and was met by an expectant family and after a quick drink, I stripped off and jumped straight into the Pool…………BLISS…….to be cool
This was home for the next week……………the bike never turned a wheel
Some of the vista’s in the local town of Moraira
After a very pleasant week, relaxing and chilling out, it was time to leave early on the following Monday and head off up North. I took a route inland, up into the Mountains, via Guadalest – but progress was slow……………painfully slow in the overbearing heat.
So I made the decision to cut to the Motorway and head up to Madrid, before heading off in the direction of Zaragoza and Rioja country to meet up with friends on 12GSA’s @ a prebooked Hotel in Soria
As I left the Motorway and headed up into the hills towards Soria a thunderstorm ensued and was it welcome……………..I actually opened my Streetguard jacket to let the rain in and cool down……………..a 1st for me
We arrived at the hotel within 10 minutes of each other, despite having travelled from completely opposite destinations…………..must have been fate
Steve and Richard had had a good crossing and trip down from Santander and we dined well on local fare, washed down by a good bottle of Rioja and retired early to bed
Next day dawn heralded promise of another warm day
After a very light breakfast, we headed off towards Pamplona and into the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees
Morning Coffee, in a typical Spanish Pyrenean Village
Good local produce in the shops
Lots of beautiful Spanish villages in the foothills
Definitely now in a Catholic country
We now climb into the Spanish foothills of the Pyrenees and the views just get better
We slip back down into France and the countryside gets definitely greener and more cultivated by French farmers……………….time is now approaching late afternoon, so we decide to start looking for a bed for the night……………..but most in villages draw a blank – hotels are either full or closed
So we head up towards the Col de Portalet and at the top we find a super hotel. I’ve always wanted to stay on the top of a mountain pass and that we did………….nothing but mountains and cows – great stuff
Next morning……………we set off and up over the Col D’Aubisque
Some big bikes up there!
Next it was onto Col de Tourmalet
That night we pitched up in Foix, but most hotels were full with business travelers, so we had to make do with a bar, which had rooms above and on street parking……………
and despite France playing a World Cup Qualifier that night, the bikes were safe enough – despite some late night revelry…………….although we got little sleep. However we had eaten well and joined in with the football celebrations
Today was Thursday and we headed up to Millau to see the famous bridge, which was truly spectacular and worth seeing. However it was very hot again and we decided to head up the Tarn Gorge towards Florac, finding a super B&B in a little village called La Vignes
La Vignes was such a great village and the B&B was excellent we decided to stay 2 nights and have a ‘rest day’ on the Friday, so we could explore the Gorge
St Enimie
Saturday came all too quickly and we rose early to get on the road in good time for the long ride towards Caen, where we had a Sunday ferry booking
Rising out of the Gorge in near darkness, we soon saw the most brilliant dawn above the Gorge…………..then it was time for the motorway north for 3 hours, before turning off to cut along through the Loire and we found this beautiful lunch stop, adjacent to the road and next to a canal……………..superb
We stopped just outside Caen in a busy Campanile, ready for Sunday’s ferry. Temperatures were much cooler in Northern France than we had experienced and we welcomed that
So 3500 miles on a 14 year old bike, in temperatures of over 30c every day and many motorway miles............ completely trouble-free and without any drama……………..my kind of trip
Leaving the rain in Plymouth over the Bank Holiday weekend............ I landed to 35c in Santander on the BH Monday
We were delayed in the hold, due to some dodgy goings-on with the Guardia Civil - god knows what was happening but it was a hot 1 hr in the cargo hold
Finally got off and out of Santander by 2.30pm and quickly headed south towards Burgos..............the plan was to ride Sout East over 2 days to Moraira, near Javea/Valencia to meet the rest of the family who had flown out to a friend's villa for the week
Boy was it hot......... even using the Camelbak, my thirst was getting tough & stopped just north of Burgos 2 hours later, rang my partner who said they were nicely settled in the Villa, after their early morning flight and now enjoying the Pool..................lucky sods
I reprogrammed the GPS and it said I could be there by 11pm - 6 hours for about 500 miles of motorway - good job I was on the Gentleman's Express
At least it was cooler to ride during the evening, a mere 25c…………………got there by 11pm, these GPS’s are pretty accurate and was met by an expectant family and after a quick drink, I stripped off and jumped straight into the Pool…………BLISS…….to be cool
This was home for the next week……………the bike never turned a wheel
Some of the vista’s in the local town of Moraira
After a very pleasant week, relaxing and chilling out, it was time to leave early on the following Monday and head off up North. I took a route inland, up into the Mountains, via Guadalest – but progress was slow……………painfully slow in the overbearing heat.
So I made the decision to cut to the Motorway and head up to Madrid, before heading off in the direction of Zaragoza and Rioja country to meet up with friends on 12GSA’s @ a prebooked Hotel in Soria
As I left the Motorway and headed up into the hills towards Soria a thunderstorm ensued and was it welcome……………..I actually opened my Streetguard jacket to let the rain in and cool down……………..a 1st for me
We arrived at the hotel within 10 minutes of each other, despite having travelled from completely opposite destinations…………..must have been fate
Steve and Richard had had a good crossing and trip down from Santander and we dined well on local fare, washed down by a good bottle of Rioja and retired early to bed
Next day dawn heralded promise of another warm day
After a very light breakfast, we headed off towards Pamplona and into the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees
Morning Coffee, in a typical Spanish Pyrenean Village
Good local produce in the shops
Lots of beautiful Spanish villages in the foothills
Definitely now in a Catholic country
We now climb into the Spanish foothills of the Pyrenees and the views just get better
We slip back down into France and the countryside gets definitely greener and more cultivated by French farmers……………….time is now approaching late afternoon, so we decide to start looking for a bed for the night……………..but most in villages draw a blank – hotels are either full or closed
So we head up towards the Col de Portalet and at the top we find a super hotel. I’ve always wanted to stay on the top of a mountain pass and that we did………….nothing but mountains and cows – great stuff
Next morning……………we set off and up over the Col D’Aubisque
Some big bikes up there!
Next it was onto Col de Tourmalet
That night we pitched up in Foix, but most hotels were full with business travelers, so we had to make do with a bar, which had rooms above and on street parking……………
and despite France playing a World Cup Qualifier that night, the bikes were safe enough – despite some late night revelry…………….although we got little sleep. However we had eaten well and joined in with the football celebrations
Today was Thursday and we headed up to Millau to see the famous bridge, which was truly spectacular and worth seeing. However it was very hot again and we decided to head up the Tarn Gorge towards Florac, finding a super B&B in a little village called La Vignes
La Vignes was such a great village and the B&B was excellent we decided to stay 2 nights and have a ‘rest day’ on the Friday, so we could explore the Gorge
St Enimie
Saturday came all too quickly and we rose early to get on the road in good time for the long ride towards Caen, where we had a Sunday ferry booking
Rising out of the Gorge in near darkness, we soon saw the most brilliant dawn above the Gorge…………..then it was time for the motorway north for 3 hours, before turning off to cut along through the Loire and we found this beautiful lunch stop, adjacent to the road and next to a canal……………..superb
We stopped just outside Caen in a busy Campanile, ready for Sunday’s ferry. Temperatures were much cooler in Northern France than we had experienced and we welcomed that
So 3500 miles on a 14 year old bike, in temperatures of over 30c every day and many motorway miles............ completely trouble-free and without any drama……………..my kind of trip
a beautiful place, I pop down there at least once a week for a brew on the sea front. 
