Well I finally made it.... just under 4000 miles in total on a ride down to southern Spain. Sotogrande to be exact, right next to the Valderama Golf course for those who know..... (Apparently it's quite a good one.....
)
Started off on the 1st June with the early morning Eurotunnel to Calais then a cross country ride to Langast in Brittany visiting my in-laws .
Left them on the 2nd it was a beautiful day and I had a really enjoyable ride down to the Pyrenees. Hadn't booked a hotel or planned any town to head for so wound up in Lourdes just North of the mountains and wandered into a hotel at 2030 and there was no problem getting a room for the night. Next day was the killer, got up at 0630 for breakfast at 0700 and figured i'd leave the hotel @ 0800 for a ride through the mountains and be in Spain en route to my sisters in Sotogrande by lunchtime.....
By the time I'd got through the Pyrenees it was 1300..... I then had another 13hrs of riding to do!!!!!! (What a TWAT..!)
Should have planned that better but what an achievement... Lourdes to Sotogrande in a day... 956 miles in one epic 17hr ride... I was absolutely knackered when i arrived and spent the next 9 days recovering and relaxing in the sun. I made contact with some guys who run a company called GS Heaven based in Malaga who gave me some routes to take and they were fantastic. If anyone is planning a trip down there give Russell a shout. Nice bloke and knows the area very well...
When I left to come home I decided to take 4 days coming back as I didn't want to rush. I left Sotogrande and rode all day in 30 degrees + all through the middle of spain to Zaragotha which is about 200 ks northeast of Madrid. Stayed in a shitty Spanish hotel and just wanted to get out of there asap the next day.
The next day was the best riding of my life and i think i will struggle to beat it...... I rode through the most amazing roads in the Pyrenees (the 330 is a cracker...)and ended up on a rode that took me down into a valley where there were loads of wild horses, cows, bulls, sheep and goats everywhere, all over the road and not moving. There were cars that were stuck in one place because they were surrounded by horses that would not move. I decided the best route for me was to go off road and rode across the field just to get around them. Absolutely amazing. Ended up at Millau by the bridge that night. Woke up the next morning to a really bad thunder storm and wished I'd taken pics of the bridge the previous night. Guess it's just another excuse to go back.....
After that the weather went to shit so for me it was a matter of just getting back so headed onto the motorways after that for the long slog to Blighty.....
) Started off on the 1st June with the early morning Eurotunnel to Calais then a cross country ride to Langast in Brittany visiting my in-laws .
Left them on the 2nd it was a beautiful day and I had a really enjoyable ride down to the Pyrenees. Hadn't booked a hotel or planned any town to head for so wound up in Lourdes just North of the mountains and wandered into a hotel at 2030 and there was no problem getting a room for the night. Next day was the killer, got up at 0630 for breakfast at 0700 and figured i'd leave the hotel @ 0800 for a ride through the mountains and be in Spain en route to my sisters in Sotogrande by lunchtime.....
By the time I'd got through the Pyrenees it was 1300..... I then had another 13hrs of riding to do!!!!!! (What a TWAT..!)
Should have planned that better but what an achievement... Lourdes to Sotogrande in a day... 956 miles in one epic 17hr ride... I was absolutely knackered when i arrived and spent the next 9 days recovering and relaxing in the sun. I made contact with some guys who run a company called GS Heaven based in Malaga who gave me some routes to take and they were fantastic. If anyone is planning a trip down there give Russell a shout. Nice bloke and knows the area very well... When I left to come home I decided to take 4 days coming back as I didn't want to rush. I left Sotogrande and rode all day in 30 degrees + all through the middle of spain to Zaragotha which is about 200 ks northeast of Madrid. Stayed in a shitty Spanish hotel and just wanted to get out of there asap the next day.
The next day was the best riding of my life and i think i will struggle to beat it...... I rode through the most amazing roads in the Pyrenees (the 330 is a cracker...)and ended up on a rode that took me down into a valley where there were loads of wild horses, cows, bulls, sheep and goats everywhere, all over the road and not moving. There were cars that were stuck in one place because they were surrounded by horses that would not move. I decided the best route for me was to go off road and rode across the field just to get around them. Absolutely amazing. Ended up at Millau by the bridge that night. Woke up the next morning to a really bad thunder storm and wished I'd taken pics of the bridge the previous night.
Guess it's just another excuse to go back.....After that the weather went to shit so for me it was a matter of just getting back so headed onto the motorways after that for the long slog to Blighty.....
Roads over the Pyrenees, also stayed in Lourdes, 
weird place, loads of people dressed up as 
bishops, nurses and soldiers in trinket shop city!
coloured suits 
. I'm meeting up with Russell from GS heaven in two weeks. 
