Spanish (fly) ing visit !

[Deleted account LB]

Well, a quick ride report on our recent trip to sunny Spain this weekend.

Day 1 Setting off from Guernsey to St Malo on Thursday meant we arrived in France at 4.30pm with the idea of travelling as far south as possible in the general direction of Pau. The only way to do this in one hit was to use the dreaded toll roads but needs must so off we set, me on the GS and Pete on his new (350 miles) Tiger 1050. We made good progress and both bikes went well although I think I had the edge with regards to comfort and wind protection, by 10.30 we hit North Bordeaux and stopped for the usual thick coffee and a sandwich with Pete taking yet more fuel as he was slightly paranoid re tank range (he definatley had a case of "tank envey".

We decided to find some digs south of Boredeaux and this is where the fun starts - I had pre planned the route on the 660 but forgot that I had taken us off the toll road for a more direct approach to Pu which meant cutting across country on the N134 and therefore away from all night petrol stations ! after much running around in the dark we did finally fill up, much to Pete's relief

After that we just kept going and finally ended up in Pau at 2am, we even found a hotel eventually.

Day 2 - Friday

Up and away at 9am we headed for our hotel outside Jaca - 75 were dispatched in the morning the the terrain and roads started to become interesting !! - a great run down the N134 then N330 with some great scenery

Weather was perfect and we then entered the main tunnel under the mountains when things were a bit chilly until we reached the Spainsh side, coming out of the tunnel was like being blasted by a hair dryer (28deg) on the temp gauge and stunning sunshine!!

After checking into the hotel we decided to go for an afternoon run to find some snow. We headed out and up the A 136 which had some great fast sweepers taking us higher and higher up the mountains, following the road we ended up taking a little excursion to a ski centre through an open gate which had a funny looking sign which probably meant no entry but what the hell. the trip further up finally led to the snow we were looking for.

We sat up there for half an hour just taking in the views and enjoying the sun which had now got the temp up to 30 degrees!

Back down our track to the gate whiuch had now been locked (so thats what the sign said) meant we had to do a bit of a great escape and get over a fence to the side which we both managed through fits of laughter and back onto the A136 heading to the top. The A136 turns into the D934 on the border so we stopped for a beverage and to watch all the bikes and people over from France to stock up on duty free and stuff there was a great collection of bike/sidecar combos (the flashy hub centre steering jobs) who were out for a run and we also got to see the local hound.

Once we crossed the border we were back in France and the road changed from big sweepers to hairpins through forests and huge waterfalls which was a real blast. down to the bottom them all the way back over the top and back to our hotel which meant that we finished around 8.30pm

Day 3 - Saturday
The weather forcast overnight looked awful with Spain covered in Thunder storms and pouring rain but lucky for us - we got heat and sun instead, so the Spain weatrher guys are about as good as ours then!

We decided to head towards Andora (yes I know most people say dont bother) but after two hours of riding on the fantastic N260 with awsome seanery yet again we decided to head back to the hills for a play. More luck than judgement lead us north on the A138 which was just about perfect in every way withy big sweepers following a lake we then jumped onto the N260 which just got better before taking the N230 towards Vielha. This whole section of roads was as good as anything I have ever ridden!!!

Will post more if anyone interested !

 

[fuddy]

Well, a quick ride report on our recent trip to sunny Spain this weekend.

Day 1 Setting off from Guernsey to St Malo on Thursday meant we arrived in France at 4.30pm with the idea of travelling as far south as possible in the general direction of Pau. The only way to do this in one hit was to use the dreaded toll roads but needs must so off we set, me on the GS and Pete on his new (350 miles) Tiger 1050. We made good progress and both bikes went well although I think I had the edge with regards to comfort and wind protection, by 10.30 we hit North Bordeaux and stopped for the usual thick coffee and a sandwich with Pete taking yet more fuel as he was slightly paranoid re tank range (he definatley had a case of "tank envey".

We decided to find some digs south of Boredeaux and this is where the fun starts - I had pre planned the route on the 660 but forgot that I had taken us off the toll road for a more direct approach to Pu which meant cutting across country on the N134 and therefore away from all night petrol stations ! after much running around in the dark we did finally fill up, much to Pete's relief

After that we just kept going and finally ended up in Pau at 2am, we even found a hotel eventually.

Day 2 - Friday

Up and away at 9am we headed for our hotel outside Jaca - 75 were dispatched in the morning the the terrain and roads started to become interesting !! - a great run down the N134 then N330 with some great scenery

Weather was perfect and we then entered the main tunnel under the mountains when things were a bit chilly until we reached the Spainsh side, coming out of the tunnel was like being blasted by a hair dryer (28deg) on the temp gauge and stunning sunshine!!

After checking into the hotel we decided to go for an afternoon run to find some snow. We headed out and up the A 136 which had some great fast sweepers taking us higher and higher up the mountains, following the road we ended up taking a little excursion to a ski centre through an open gate which had a funny looking sign which probably meant no entry but what the hell. the trip further up finally led to the snow we were looking for.

We sat up there for half an hour just taking in the views and enjoying the sun which had now got the temp up to 30 degrees!

Back down our track to the gate whiuch had now been locked (so thats what the sign said) meant we had to do a bit of a great escape and get over a fence to the side which we both managed through fits of laughter and back onto the A136 heading to the top. The A136 turns into the D934 on the border so we stopped for a beverage and to watch all the bikes and people over from France to stock up on duty free and stuff there was a great collection of bike/sidecar combos (the flashy hub centre steering jobs) who were out for a run and we also got to see the local hound.

Once we crossed the border we were back in France and the road changed from big sweepers to hairpins through forests and huge waterfalls which was a real blast. down to the bottom them all the way back over the top and back to our hotel which meant that we finished around 8.30pm

Day 3 - Saturday
The weather forcast overnight looked awful with Spain covered in Thunder storms and pouring rain but lucky for us - we got heat and sun instead, so the Spain weatrher guys are about as good as ours then!

We decided to head towards Andora (yes I know most people say dont bother) but after two hours of riding on the fantastic N260 with awsome seanery yet again we decided to head back to the hills for a play. More luck than judgement lead us north on the A138 which was just about perfect in every way withy big sweepers following a lake we then jumped onto the N260 which just got better before taking the N230 towards Vielha. This whole section of roads was as good as anything I have ever ridden!!!

Will post more if anyone interested !

Yes dont stop now,brings back memories when i was in that area.

 

[Dave56]

Enjoyed that, keep it coming................

 

[Deleted account LB]

2nd Bit

From Vielha we went into France following the N 230 and then I think we headed onto the N 141 through forrests and then picked up the D618 a which follows the base of the mountains to Arreau. By now the sunshine had turned to the damp stuff but nothing excessive, picking up the D929 we headed back up towards a pass to get us back into Spain. This whole section of road was again tremendous with a great surface and some great hairpins and sweepers.

Half way up we decided to stop and have a break and the next thing we knew, a load of locals had come out to play.

Following on from the D 828 we joined the D118 followed by the D173, the weather was coming in fast and the promised storms looked like they were going to arrive but a quick trip through the tunnel had us back into Spain and things were dryer although the wind was picking up. We took the A138. Somewhere around Escalona I took a wrong run and ended up on a tiny road which the satnav seem to know so off we went. The road just got smaller and twisty and we were never above third gear for over an hour - some surface was ok but there was loads of gravel, huge holes, and even bigger drops to keep you on your toes for over an hour

If we had been here in the morning we could have really enjoyed it but it was gettin dark !!

Looking at google maps it seems we went through Fanlo and came out on the N 260 at Sarvisa, if you get the chance and have the time do this road, the views from some of the laybys are the most dramatic I have seen anywhere, pity we were concentrating on getting somewhere near a "proper" road before the thunder storm stuck.

Up the N260 through Broto to Biescas then back down towards Jacca.

We stopped for fuel before getting back to the hotel at 10.30pm and 5 minutes before a huge storm and rain pouring down so perhaps something was keeping an eye on us.

Final day from Jaca to Rennes to follow

 

[Deleted account LB]

Part 3

Sunday meant the trip back north so headed off from Jaca around 10am. Over the mountains saw the wet weather conditions were had been expecting with a drop off intemp as well. Within an hour the rain had passed and we reached Pau for coffee by 11.30am.

Getting onto the Toll road makes you realise how bloody big France is!, Nantes was listed at over 600 km for where we were and we had another three hours after that !

Off we went and then the temp started to rise, christ it was hot ! - over 33 deg, and not helped with the heat coming up the seat from the exhaust or the nice warm draft from the oil cooler coming from the back of the clocks ! - We ended up stopping every 130 miles or so to drimk water and pour a bottle or two over our heads to cool down, the traffic was also a bloody nightmare as the French had just had a long weekend so the roads were packed. We ended up filtering for about 80 km's but Les's HIDs came into there own as all lights blazing seemed to get drivers attention, it was like parting the red sea.

The toll charge for PAu to Nantes was 15 euros which seemed like a bargain and another tip keep a credit card handy with your ticket and pay with that, its far quicker that trying to find change and farting around and also means you dont take your gloves off and end up pulling to the side of the road to get re organised.

We reached Rennes about 9.45 and was completly knackered but at least we had done it !

To sum up

The bike was faultless throughout the trip, easy cruising down the tolls, a complete giggle in sport mode on the twisty stuff (although keep your fuel level low or it can be a bit of a handful to chuck around). The sport setting is great on the right roads and makes a real difference to "spirited" riding!.

The front gets a bit twitchy and light on humps but the Traction thingy keeps a lid on it.

Drop the screen to get decent airflow into a Shoei Hornet, with the screen full up the wind goes straight over your head.

I now really get the whole GS thing in a big way, it will do all you want, yes a 990 SM may well have been that much more fun in the twisties but when the roads get slippy with water;/gravel or both its nice to know you have a bit of a safety net, especially when you didn't think you needed it.

Also, the Repsol Petrol Stations seem to open in Spain till late and they are also open on Sundays. I never had any issues using my Visa card either even at French auto stations but stick to the Supermarket chain ones to make sure.

1600 miles in 3.5 days of riding seemed like a lot when we set off, (it seemed daft to people we spoke to about it) but apart from the long haul back, it was great, just a shame we didn't have a few more days to enjoy Spain more.