don't be mislead. this is not necessarily a guide for beginners off-road touring in the pyrenees, really more a guide written by a beginner, that hopefully might interest, and even help, anybody with thoughts of visiting the area.
i saw this story on ukgser. it looked so good i was inspired by to end my 20+ year retirement from off-roading.
it looked perfect, with mountain scenery (i love mountains. i gave up enduros for skiing), and easy looking trails to potter down.
first thing i did was check out the road book used in the thread: RB1 Val D'Aran - Andorre. it looked perfect for exploring the area for someone who's never been there before, and if 4x4s can get down the trails, how hard can it be on a bike? and so i forked over the, not inconsiderable, €60 to buy a copy from the french guy who wrote it. slight snag: it's in french. i don't speak much french (at all), but there's lots of pictures
the route:
sample of the road book itself:
next: round up some volunteers for company, buying drinks, and pulling bikes out of ditches. originally envisaged as a trip for 4, but when it came down to it, only the hardcore of me and Springer were up to the challenge. me on my 86 R80G/S, and springer on his 660 Tenere.
i say beginners. we've both done a bit of off roading in the past. in my case, a long way in the past when i did a few enduros and general pissing about on dirt bikes. springer has done a bit off and on, up to more recent times.
feeling the need to brush up my skills a bit, i thought an intensive off-road training program was the way to go. this started with a 6 mile ride along some soggy lane near salisbury in the rain. it was pretty unpleasant, and the training ended right there
when? we wanted to go in mid may, but it seemed a bit early for crossing mountains. we were both constrained for time, and we eventually settled on 30th may to set off from plymouth on the Brittany ferry Pont-Aven from Plymouth to Santander.
after a pleasant crossing (tip: once boarded, book a table at the posh restaurant asap as the early sitting gets booked quite quickly. tip2: go to the same place for breckie. twelve quid, and you'll not need to eat again that day
).
we arrived in santander at 13:00.
the sun shone and we were on one of the worlds few pleasant motorways on the way to bilbao, then onto some fabulous minor roads in the foothills of the pyranees.
a quick map check. pasty people hiding from the sun in a bus shelter.
on to our first campsite, Sunbilla near Santestaban. nice site on top of a hill. very scenic. €15per night for person, tent and bike. seems a typical price for camping in the area. pricey, i thought, but beer and coffee in the site bar is cheap
tip: don't camp just there. that's where the dogs tend to get excercised. plenty of cleaner pitches on the next terrace.
day two. onto the start of the roadbook in Fos. more great roads. a real cracker of a day
arriving late, we rocked up at the towns municipal campsite. calling it a shithole would be an act of charity, so we moved on to another, nice looking site, up the road in Les.
it was closed.
getting late so we stopped in the Hotel Europa in Les. claims to be a 1 star hotel, but i felt it deserved better. bed, breakfast, evening meal, beer, wine, separate rooms: €50 each. nice.
tomorrow we start on the trails...
i saw this story on ukgser. it looked so good i was inspired by to end my 20+ year retirement from off-roading.
it looked perfect, with mountain scenery (i love mountains. i gave up enduros for skiing), and easy looking trails to potter down.
first thing i did was check out the road book used in the thread: RB1 Val D'Aran - Andorre. it looked perfect for exploring the area for someone who's never been there before, and if 4x4s can get down the trails, how hard can it be on a bike? and so i forked over the, not inconsiderable, €60 to buy a copy from the french guy who wrote it. slight snag: it's in french. i don't speak much french (at all), but there's lots of pictures
the route:
sample of the road book itself:
next: round up some volunteers for company, buying drinks, and pulling bikes out of ditches. originally envisaged as a trip for 4, but when it came down to it, only the hardcore of me and Springer were up to the challenge. me on my 86 R80G/S, and springer on his 660 Tenere.
i say beginners. we've both done a bit of off roading in the past. in my case, a long way in the past when i did a few enduros and general pissing about on dirt bikes. springer has done a bit off and on, up to more recent times.
feeling the need to brush up my skills a bit, i thought an intensive off-road training program was the way to go. this started with a 6 mile ride along some soggy lane near salisbury in the rain. it was pretty unpleasant, and the training ended right there
when? we wanted to go in mid may, but it seemed a bit early for crossing mountains. we were both constrained for time, and we eventually settled on 30th may to set off from plymouth on the Brittany ferry Pont-Aven from Plymouth to Santander.
after a pleasant crossing (tip: once boarded, book a table at the posh restaurant asap as the early sitting gets booked quite quickly. tip2: go to the same place for breckie. twelve quid, and you'll not need to eat again that day
).we arrived in santander at 13:00.
the sun shone and we were on one of the worlds few pleasant motorways on the way to bilbao, then onto some fabulous minor roads in the foothills of the pyranees.
a quick map check. pasty people hiding from the sun in a bus shelter.
on to our first campsite, Sunbilla near Santestaban. nice site on top of a hill. very scenic. €15per night for person, tent and bike. seems a typical price for camping in the area. pricey, i thought, but beer and coffee in the site bar is cheap
tip: don't camp just there. that's where the dogs tend to get excercised. plenty of cleaner pitches on the next terrace.
day two. onto the start of the roadbook in Fos. more great roads. a real cracker of a day
arriving late, we rocked up at the towns municipal campsite. calling it a shithole would be an act of charity, so we moved on to another, nice looking site, up the road in Les.
it was closed.
getting late so we stopped in the Hotel Europa in Les. claims to be a 1 star hotel, but i felt it deserved better. bed, breakfast, evening meal, beer, wine, separate rooms: €50 each. nice.
tomorrow we start on the trails...
(not reported in the uk). It is worth keeping an eye on the Spanish tv in bars etc Mountains are a very dangerous place in a storm.
about time I went back methinks.
