| Pyrenees Trip 2005 |
 |
 |
 |
 I've always wanted to ride my bike in the Pyrenees - and at last my chance came! I enjoyed it so much - I'm going back one day. Total miles: 2441 Because this was my first major trip abroad, I decided to go on an "organised" holiday so that I could learn from the experts for future trips. MCi Tours fitted the bill and I signed-up for their Pyrenees/Barcelona Trip from 10-18th September 2005.  This picture encapsulates the whole holiday - beautiful dry, winding, roads with perfect surfaces!Day One (396 miles) First I had to get myself to Newhaven to pick up the arranged ferry to Dieppe. I left home at 4am to ride the 130 miles and arrived in a very misty Newhaven in time for boarding, along with 20 other bikers all on the same holiday. After disembarking at Dieppe, we all gathered around Alastair (the tour guide) on the quayside to receive our instructions - "those that know where they are going: off you go; those that aren't sure: stick with me and we'll go real slow!" I chose the latter! A few weeks before the start of the holiday, we were sent a comprehensive tour pack, which included detailed route cards and maps of where we'd be going each day and suggested routes for getting there. After a while (and once I had settled into riding on the wrong side of the road) I decided to leave the slow group and go at my own pace. My journey took me down through Rouen-Chartres-Tours-Poitiers on a mix of main roads and motorways. I found the navigation very easy.  Our first night was in the Futuroscope Novotel Hotel at Poitiers (about 266 miles from Dieppe). The hotels en route were picked for their basic level of comfort and facilities as these were only single night stop overs. I shared a room with another biker (we shared throughout the trip) and he rode a Honda Blackbird like me.Day Two (360 miles) It rained overnight, but as we prepared to leave, the sun came out and the clouds dispersed. We left in small groups and had the choice of three routes (quick, short and scenic). Because of the high mileage the day before, the fact the weather was going to mixed and it was a Sunday (nototriously difficult to get fuel on a Sunday in France if you're a foreigner) - I decided to take the quick (mostly motorways) route, with occasional excursions along the way to break up the monotony. This involved a dash to Bordeaux on the A10-E5 motorway and then off onto the D932 to Pau via Roquefort. This was a lovely road - amazingly straight, with very little traffic. Then from Pau it was a twisty minor road to the border - via Laruns - into Spain and a short ride up into the mountains to El Formigal. These roads weren't particularly good with potholes and gravel, and sections where the roads were being completely renewed (but weren't completed!). I arrived at the hotel as the mist was coming down and it started to rain (at about 4.30pm).  El Formigal is a ski resort and our chalet style hotel (Hotel Formigal) was going to be home for the next two nights. It is a very comfortable hotel, but the town was obviously very quiet at this time of the year. The picture shows the landscape the hotel is set in. Day Three (145 miles) The next day was a chance to enjoy ourselves! Most of us had a lesisurely start to let the mist and cloud lift and the roads to dry before setting off on one of the suggested Ride Out Routes. I chose the "Fast Sweepers" route. This took me South, further into Spain and down off the moutains. The route was exactly as described and I have several pieces of me talking on video and being almost speechless with excitement at the quality and fun-factor of the roads I was on. As we were to find, most of the roads in Spain are new and have perfect smooth surfaces with high levels of grip. The bends are open and easy to read - and therefore to get right! As I completed my circular route, it brought me back into the mountains and through some spectacular scenery. This is exactly what I had come on this holiday for and I was still grinning hours after arriving back at the hotel! Day Four (230 miles) Today we leave El Formigal to travel East across Spain to our main destination at Cardona. This turned out to be the best day of the holiday. The route card stated: "Today features some of the best roads you will ever ride in your life" - and it wasn't wrong! I decided to do the day on my own and at my own pace - I really wanted to savour it. Although 230 miles isn't very far, I knew it was going to be on minor roads where the average speed would be low. The weather was also going to be glorious - if not a bit warm, so I wanted plenty of opportunity to stop and take in my surroundings and have a drink!  I could see from the map that there were many "view points" on the route, which meant fantastic scenery, and a lot of tunnels - so lots of chances to make some noise! It's now that I wish I had a bike-mounted camera to capture the twisty roads, but this picture gives a flavour of the day but doesn't do it justice. This is the bit of the holiday that I'm going to do again another day, just because it was so spectacular and allowed me to really enjoy myself on my bike. I would ride for an hour and not see any traffic at all! The road that every biker must try is the N260 from Biescas via Ainsa to Pont de Suert and then the C1311 from Pente de Montanana to Coll de Nargo via Tremp. Truly amazing!! I was one of the first to arrive at our main hotel - the Parador Hotel in Cardona , where we would stay for three nights. The Spanish Paradores are state assisted luxury hotels in Castles.  It is an impressive ninth century fortress, which dominates the valley of the river Cardoner. The Parador sits on top of a hill. In 986 A.D. it was decreed that the local population could have salt every Thursday in return for one days work a week maintaining the fortifications. Within the castle is the church of San Vicente which was built in 981 and enlarged 40 years later. I don't know if it was by accident or by design that our first night coincided with a local fiesta and firework display. At midnight we were treated to one of the best firework displays I have ever seen, which was further enhanced by the fact that every bang echoed around the valley adding to the effect. The accommodation and food at the Parador were outstanding and it was a real treat to come back to such luxury at the end of a day's riding. Just becasue we're bikers doesn't mean we have to rough it all the time! Day Five (100 miles) Day Five was actually designated a day off from riding and a bus excursion to Barcelona was arranged. As I'd been to Barcelona before and didn't fancy being couped up in a coach and  decided to stay back at Cardona and explore the local area. In the morning I walked into the village to explore and found the villages clearing up from the night before (including a bull ring).In the afternoon I took a ride out on my bike to get some petrol and explore. I found myself a circular route, which took me almost to Andorra; mainly on small roads in the foothills of the Pyrenees. I then retruend to the castle as the coach trip returned. I joined them on the terrace looking out over Catalunya with a cool well-earned beer. We sat and chatted until the sun went down! Day Six (250 miles) A trip to the Salvador Dali Museum at Figueres was arranged for this day. I'm not a museum type of person and in any case I wanted to do a special trip of my own while we were in this region of the Pyrenees. As a small boy, I used to spend my Summer holidays with my family in the deep South of France at a place called Cerbere. This is the palce where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean Sea and is the Southernest point in France. I had been back since with my own children over the years and it was on these visits that I yearned to be on a bike as we drove around hairpins and steep valleys. So, today was going to be my trip out to Cerbere. Figueres is only about 40km from Cerbere and so my route was pretty much the same as the rest of the group.  It was a hot day (28 degrees C) and so I wanted to keep moving. I also wanted to have plenty of time in Cerbere to enjoy sitting on the beach and reminiscing! I therefore headed out on main roads to Ripoli - Olot - Figueres - to Lanca on the coast. It was then a case of keeping the med on my right and following the coast North to Portbou, over the border (I blinked and missed it!) and down into the village of Cerbere .  It didn't look as though it had changed much and I was soon parking the bike on the sea front and wandering onto the pebble beach. It was the end of the Summer season and so the place was quiet. This is an area that hasn't been taken over by tourism. Most of the village's prosperity comes from the railway and it's border position. After an enjoyable walk round the village and lunch on the beach, I headed back the way I'd come and picked up the circular route back to Cardona from Figueres and arrived back at the castle at about 7pm. My holiday was complete! Day Seven (300 miles) Although we've still got over 800 miles to ride, today is the start of our return journey and we can't help feeling a little sad about that and the fact that the end of our holiday is approaching. The weather has also decided Summer is over and there are threats of rain showers for today's riding. Today we head North in France and up to Montignac via Berga - Puigcerda (where we go through  the Berga Tunnel and cross into France) - Toulouse (on the motorway) - Montauban - Cahors, where I decide to leave the monotony of the motorway and follow the main road which runs parallel to the motorway. It is getting discernible colder and I have to stop in a town to buy a fleece to go under my bike jacket to keep me warm! I eventually arrive at Montignac and Le Relais du Soleil d'Or Hotel at about 5pm. This is a quaint village and (as with all our transit hotels) the accommodation is basic but pleasant. The pool looked inviting but the weather wasn't really conducive to a swim!Day Eight (260 miles) By now the fun was going out of the riding. The roads were getting busier and we were now missing the good quality, curvaceous roads of Spain! Today was going to be another slog on the motorways to get the miles behind us as quickly as possible and enjoy the hotel bar instead! Our destination today was Orleans. The weather was now very grey and overcast with occasional showers. It was a case of "head-down" and go for it. There were moments of fun and good riding and these kept the boredom at bay.  I arrived tired at about 4pm and settled into my room. This is a large "chain" hotel and "did the job", but was a far cry from the luxury we'd had in Spain! Being our last night there were several good bye speeches and awards at dinner and then it was off to pack and remember that everything had to go back on our bikes (we wouldn't have the support car to carry our stuff from now on). Finally, we were warned about speed cameras as we get closer to Calais - not something most of us had been troubled by during the trip!  Day Nine (400 miles) The pressure was on today to make sure we got to the Hoverspeed terminal in time! In fact I got there far too early and unfortunately missed the chance of getting on an earlier ferry by five minutes! So I had to wait three hours for the next one. Soon we were all gathered on the dock and ready to go! Then it was the final slog around the M25 and home! Phew! What a day, but WOW! What a holiday! Total mileage: 2441 (and a lot of rubber!).
|