Gael warning in Gallia Celtica

After leaving the claustrophobic (for me) Andorra la Vella the ride got more rewarding. I had ticked ‘Avoid Tolls’ on the Garmin so no tunnel for me on the way out but over the high Col de la Casa:

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It felt odd having skiers whizzing past me as I looped through the ski area but the temperatures were comfortable due to the sun.


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From there it was downhill on wonderful sweeping roads to the plains and a planned visit to Carcassonne. The fields were bright yellow (rapeseed?) and the sun was shining- what more could I want?

And yet when I finally got to Carcassone (bear in mind I was on local roads so lots of 50kmh sections) I struggled to find the Cité (the old fortress) and when I got there after a couple of Laois and asking a couple of people, I was underwhelmed…probably tiredness on my part.

Anyway it was now about 5.30 and I had no wish to stay in hot and bustling Carcassone so I made what turned out to be a poor decision.🥲

I had a hankering to return to Albi and pleasant recollections of the Ibis Budget there so having checked there were only ‘isolated showers’ I set off on the 1h45min ride.

Unfortunately the hills in between were very wet and Garmin decided a windy backroad route was quicker. That all was manageable but on the backroad route some road work lead to the dreaded ‘route barree’.

So now, tired by this point, I was riding the Goldwing in bucketing rains down boreens (or the French equivalent) wishing I had just stayed out in the sun and heat!

No photos of this, for obvious reasons, but eventually at 19h45 I was happy to ride into the underground car park of the Ibis and shed my waterproofs!

It was a long day, starting with a departure at 0915, and with a lot of challenging roads, so after a hot shower I demolished a Leffe and a pizza and fell into a deep sleep.
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But not before consulting various weather forecasts which told me there was plentiful rain and gale force winds to my North so it would be a good day to stay put!
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My test day today gave my gear a chance to dry out and me to restore my forces and tour the town - a beautiful day, and also a chance to admire a local super bike, and to get a haircut and beard trim!
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This uses less than 3% of the Goldwing engine capacity to solve the same transport problem

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The forecast for Saturday and Sunday suggests the ride to Caen should be manageable if windy so I’ve actually booked a return ferry for Sunday afternoon …and will set off tomorrow and stop where it suits me en route, so I can enjoy the Sunday morning ride
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Sunday looks cracking
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None whatsoever which is great…especially as I have left it parked on the street in city centres every night.

Now made it to Tours with little rain, so that’s a result . Beautiful empty roads to ride
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And scenic snack spots
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But none too warm, 8 or 9 C and chilly toes…will have to investigate Wally flaps for the wing!


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Apologies for the absence of updates - I finally made it back to Blighty but find myself (and my home) now on Day 11 without broadband (Thanks BT!) so posting any pictures is a bit problematic.

The ride from Albi to Tours was beautiful and uneventful- there were warnings of rain and high winds but I largely avoided them and the ride from near Toulouse up to Brives and then Limoges was fantastic. (Ignore the yellow highlights which are from a 2006 trip!)
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I was still on Routes Nationales (the red fellas) or the yellow Department road until I was allowed on a free Autoroute (my first of the trip) from Limoges towards Tours as far as Argentine sur Cher, which I availed of to beat the weather.

From there I took small roads (not even meriting a yellow marking) until near Loches.

Learning from the errors of Thursday (riding on to Albi when I should have stopped at Carcassone), I made sure to stop at Tours. And it was worth the stop - the quaint Hotel Berthelot even had a little garage for the Wing
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Madame had assured me the garage fitted 2 bikes but I don’t think she had seen such a leave bike before!
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It was ideally situated in the city centre and so I could walk everywhere
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La Loire


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I did a trip 3 years ago (which I really should write up) and whilst the Spanish bit was great, as was Corsica, the ride up through France to the ferry was exactly that, just a ride to the ferry. I need to meander more in France and appreciate the inland areas.

On that trip I took the ferry from Barcelona to Italy which was a good way to quickly hop between the countries.

Nice to see an early season trip, the weather could have gone much whiter!
 
Thanks for sharing Simon, I always vicariously enjoy travelling around the world with you :beerjug:
 
Oldest and N Jock: thanks for your comments and you are welcome

The last day was a gentle ride on RN and smaller from Tours to Ouistreham. It would have been even more gentle had I know of Brittany Ferries 3+ hours delay.

My efforts to find lunch en route were stymied - could only find a Michelin Rosette restaurant in 1 town and I felt it was way above my budget .
But the scenery continued great and the weather sunny
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I e
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I rode part of the 24h Le Mans course, in preparation for a camping visit in June to watch the real thing.


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O finally found lunch in Ouistreham itself sitting in the sun.
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And once I learned of the delay, some beach time was in order
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When I booked the passage on Friday, I was encouraged to book a cabin which turned out to be a well spent £35 as I had a choice of 4 bunks, and an excellent kip as the bikes were put on the boat a good hour before many of the cars.
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We arrived back at 0130 French time, 12h30 UK and after a gentle ride up the A3 I was home!

The Wing was great (despite the parking brake losing its grip) and over 4,000 kms it averaged a very creditable 58.6 mpg. My only criticism was the ‘cold air on feet’ syndrome which may be partly due to my worn boots.

And a new tyre has been ordered as it will need changing soon….possibly at 7,000 miles. Took the bike out for a 200 mile ride with friends on Hampshire/Dorset backroads and it performed admirably.
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And now that is over, time to start some research for the next one…
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I dug out this report to share with a friend who is relatively new to motorcycling, and contemplating a first European motorcycle trip. Hopefully it shows that you can have an enjoyable trip without much of a plan (which is my guiding mantra 😁).
 


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