Helen and I went out yesterday with NUKB on the end of year big meet, which was held at Leyburn this time.
Helen and I met with a couple of guys at Pilsworth McDonalds and then headed up to met with CJ and the rest guys at Clitheroe services at around 10:00am.
We left Clitheroe at around 10:30am and headed for Skipton on the A59, but soon turned off at Sawley and took our usual route to Settle via Wigglesworth and Rathmell.
We left Settle and took the B6479 through Horton-in-Ribblesdale towards Ribblehead Viaduct. We then turned right at the Viaduct onto the B6255 towards Hawes. I had gone off ahead to have a more progressive run by myself and then waited at Hawes for the rest of the group to catch back up. We left Hawes on the A684 and headed towards Leyburn. We soon arrived in Leyburn and met up with the other guys from the North-East and Yorkshire arms of NUKB.
I left Leyburn with Camsdad and Mick for a more progressive run to Devil’s Bridge. We headed back towards Hawes on the A684. We then headed through Hawes and continued on the A684 to Sedbergh. We had a good run to Sedbergh, although Mick and I got stuck behind a Blackbird who was accelerating hard on the straights. We arrived in Sedbergh were the Bird let us past and then we turned left onto the A683 towards Kirkby Lonsdale. We had a really good run on the A683 and soon arrived at Devil’s Bridge and stopped for a coffee and regrouped up with some of the other regions.
The Lancs run broke up here and I led a small group back to Clitheroe. We left Devils on the A65 towards Skipton and then stopped briefly in Ingleton for fuel. From Ingleton we continued on the A65 before turning off before Clapham and heading over Burn Moor and past Stocks Reservoir. We then turned right onto the B6478 and headed through Slaidburn and then over Waddington Fell and down into Clitheroe. From Clitheroe we followed the A59, A671 and then the A56/M66 back home.
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I went out yesterday with NUKB on a short run to Sedbergh.
I met up with CJ and the rest guys at Clitheroe services at around 10:30am. We headed for Skipton on the A59 and then turned left in Gisburn onto the A682 towards Long Preston. At Long Preston we joined the A65 and followed that into Settle where we stopped for a quick break.
We left Settle and took the B6479 through Horton-in-Ribblesdale towards Ribblehead Viaduct. We turned right at the Viaduct onto the B6255 towards Hawes. This road looks a little different now as the forest on the right of the road near to Dodd Fell has all been cut down. We soon arrived in Hawes but as it was quite busy we decided not to stop for too long.
We left Hawes on the A684 and headed towards Sedbergh. The last time we went on this road, earlier in the year it had suffered very badly from the severe cold and was potholed to death. Thankfully it has been recently resurfaced and now has a lovely smooth surface. We had a good run to Sedbergh and then turned left onto the A683 towards Kirkby Lonsdale. The A683 is a very fast road and allows you to stretch the legs of any bike if you so wish. We soon arrived at Devil’s Bridge and thankfully most of the bikers were starting to leave so we were easily able to get some food from the van.
We left Devils and headed on the A683 towards Caton. As we left Caton Debs and I parted ways with the rest of the group and turned right onto minor roads towards Quernmore. In Quernmore we turned left and headed into the Forest of Bowland. We took the most direct route to Dunsop Bridge via the Trough of Bowland, here we found some rain but it didn’t last too long. From Dunsop Bridge we continued onto Newton where we joined the B6478 and headed through Slaidburn and over Waddington Fell to Clitheroe. I then took my usual route home via the A56/M66.
I have recently bought a second hand exhaust off Ebay for the Nine. I got it for a bargain price and except for a minor mark on the inside (which I have managed to cover with the exhaust hanger) it is in excellent condition. The exhaust came with the hanger and a link pipe and was very simple to fit. It is a round Scorpian exhaust in Blue, it doesn’t contain any baffles so is presumably a race pipe and not road legal. Although it doesn’t say so anywhere on it, the previous owners bike also passed the MOT with it on.
I took the nine out for a 98 mile spin on Saturday over to Holmfirth and onto Saddleworth Moor. The exhaust has a nice deep throaty sound to it and is not over noisy, but could certainly not be described as quiet. The bike seemed to be happy with the exhaust, so I don’t think any further setup of the bike will be required. Although I will be giving the carbs a re-sync at some point.
Helen and I have just come back from a week long tour of the Lake District and Borders of Scotland.
Monday 20th September
We left home on Monday quite late as it was raining very heavily all morning. We left at around 2:00pm, although the heavy rain had subsided it was still very wet on the roads and still raining. Even though the conditions weren’t great I was still enjoying riding the ZX-9R. We took our usual route to Clitheroe and then headed towards Skipton on the A59. As usual we turned off the A59 at Sawley and then headed towards Settle via Wigglesworth and Rathmell. Surprisingly half way between Sawley and Wigglesworth we came across dry roads and the sun. We soon joined the A65 near to Settle and headed towards Kirkby Lonsdale via Ingleton.
We stopped at Devils Bridge for a brief comfort break and then decided while the weather was nice to head North towards Sedbergh on the A683. Just before Sedbergh we took the B6256 to cut across to the A684. We joined the A684 and took this nice and twisty road over the M6 and down into Kendal. We skirted around Kendal and then joined the A591. We soon got off this road and headed West on the A590. We took the A590 all the way to my Mum’s static caravan near Bouth.
We quickly unpacked our bike luggage and then headed out to Booths in Ulverston to get some food for the next couple of days. We decided as the weather was so nice to walk into Bouth and have a meal at the White Hart. Walking back in the pitch black dark after a couple of drinks was difficult to say the least.
Tuesday 21st September
We woke up this morning to bright skies and dry roads. We decided that we would go to Wast Water as it is beautiful unspoilt part of the Lake District.
We set out on minor roads and then joined the A5092 at Spark Bridge. We continued on along this road and then joined the A595 at Grizebeck. We followed the A595 as it twisted and turned it way towards Holmrook. We left the A595 just after Holmrook and then headed on minor roads alongside Wast Water to the end of the road at Wasdale Head. We stopped here for a comfort break and a coffee.
We left Wasdale Head and briefly stopped next to the lake to take some photos of the bikes. We then continued on minor roads to Eskdale Green where we stopped for lunch.
We left Eskdale Green and headed over Birker Fell to Ulpha. From Ulpha we headed on minor roads to the A595 at Duddon Bridge. We then turned down the A593 to Coniston, from there we continued on the A593 to Ambleside. From Ambleside we went up the Struggle to the Kirkstone Inn for a coffee.
After the coffee we set off back towards the caravan on the A592 and soon arrived in Bowness. From there we took the A592 along the side of Lake Windermere to Newby Bridge. There we joined the A590 towards Ulverston and soon arrived back in the caravan in Bouth.
Wednesday 22nd September
The weather forecast for the Lake District wasn’t good today, but the forecast further East looked better. So we decided to get up early and head East before the rain came.
We left the caravan and headed to Kendal on the main roads. We then joined the A6 and headed over Shap to Penrith. We then joined the A686 to Alston, we where soon at the start of the winding climb up to Hartside Cafe. For a change the road was dry and fairly quiet, so we both were able to have a good run up to the top. We stopped at the cafe at the top for coffee and cake.
We left the cafe and headed down off the top towards Alston. We soon reached Alston and then continued on the A686 to Haydon Bridge. From there we took the A69 to Hexham and then turned back to head home. From Hexham we joined the B6305 and then the B6303. We followed this road South and then continued on it as it changed to the B6295. We stopped briefly for lunch in Allendale.
After lunch we continued South and soon joined the A689 towards Stanhope, as we reached St John’s Chapel we joined minor roads and went over Langdon Common. We then joined the B6277 near to Langdon Beck and then followed this road into Middleton-in-Teesdale. In Middleton we joined the B6276 and headed over Lune Moor and Stainmore Common to Brough. From Brough we followed the A685 to Kirkby Stephen. We stopped in Kirkby Stephen to fill up with fuel. As we where at the garage it started to rain lightly.
We left Kirkby Stephen and continued on the A685 to Tebay. The skies over the Lake District looked grim and within no time we were in heavy rain. At Tebay we continued on the A685 all the way to Kendal. We then joined the main road and headed back to the caravan in Bouth. It pretty much rained all the way back and it was very heavy at times. Apart from my soggy gloves, the rest of my bike gear was dry. My Bagster tankbag stayed perfectly dry with it’s protective cover. My Goretex Hein Gericke textile suit and Alpine Stars boots also performed brilliantly.
Thursday 23rd September
We knew from the weather forecast that it was likely to rain all day today. We woke up to very heavy in the morning and just waited it out for a while. After some time the rain stopped and a patch of blue sky appeared. So we packed the bikes and headed out as it just started to rain again.
We took the main roads to Kendal again and then joined the A6 and headed over to Shap. The A6 over Shap was very grim and the rain was so heavy at times that you could feel every spot hitting your arms. From there we continued on the A6 to Penrith and then on towards Carlisle. Just before getting to Carlisle we jumped on the M6 at junction 42 and then got off at junction 44. We joined the A7 here and headed into Longtown where we filled up with fuel.
We continued on the A7 and then pulled off at Canonbie to have a spot of lunch. We decided to stop here as we knew it was quiet and the rain had actually not been here yet. But just as we were finishing lunch it started to rain again. so we quickly got back on our bikes and joined the A7 again towards Hawick. We stopped in a dry Hawick for a comfort break and I dried my hands, as my gloves were very sodden wet now.
We left Hawick and joined the A7 again and headed up to Selkirk. At Selkirk we joined the A707 and then the A72 towards Peebles. This road was nice and winding but we couldn’t enjoy it really due to the very wet roads. We eventually arrived at our hotel for the next 2 days in Cardrona. We parked the bikes on the pavement near the entrance to the hotel as they had kindly put in some dropped kerbs for bikers. We soon forgot about all the rain after we had been greeted with our lovely hotel room. Surprisingly all my kit except my gloves had kept me dry all day, despite being subjected to pretty much constant rain all day.
Friday 24th September
We woke this morning to blue skies and a bright yellow thing in the sky. Roads were still a bit damp and we had a light shower as we set out, but within no time it was dry and stayed rest for the rest of the day.
We left the hotel and headed on the A72 through Peebles . After Peebles we passed by Neidpath Castle on the left and soon after we turned left onto the B712. We followed this picturesque road through Dreva Forest all the way to the A701 which we joined at Rachan Mill. We then followed the very fast A701 all the way into Moffat, where we stopped for fuel. From Moffat we joined the infamous A708 and headed towards Selkirk. The A708 is a stunning road that twists it way down a valley and alongside Moffat Water. After a fantastic and pulsating ride we stopped at Glen Cafe by St Mary’s Loch.
After the short coffee and cake break we headed North again on the A708 towards Selkirk. Near Mountbenger we turned right onto the B709. Then just past Tushielaw we turned left onto the B711 towards Hawick. This again was a nice picturesque road, we came across some recent logging activity we debris and piles of logs by the roadside. We then passed by Alemoor Reservoir and then continued on the B711 and then the A7 into Hawick. We went to Hawick to visit the Steve Hislop and Jimmie Guthrie rooms at Wilton Lodge Park Museum.
After the museum we left Hawick on the A7 and headed to Selkirk. In Selkirk we joined the A708 again and soon stopped at the lovely Waterwheel Tea Rooms near to Philiphaugh for a late lunch. After lunch we rode the A708 all the way back to Moffat again, the roads were completely dry now so we could really enjoy this amazing road. From Moffat we took the A701 back North and then cut back across to Peebles on the B712. We stopped at the Peebles Tesco for a picnic tea and then headed back to the hotel after an amazing days riding.
Saturday 25th September
We awoke to blue skies and bright sunshine this morning. The forecast was for good weather all day long. We packed up the bikes and headed out. We joined the A72 and then the A707 as we headed for Selkirk. We filled up on the South side of Selkirk and then turned left onto the A699. We joined the B6453 and then headed through Midlem to join the B6400 towards Jedburgh. We then joined the A68 North of Jedburgh and headed South into Jedburgh. We parked up next to Jedburgh Abbey for a short comfort break.
We left Jedburgh on the A68 but soon turned onto the B6357 towards Bonchester Bridge. We had specifically cut across to Jedburgh to join this stunning B road. We continued South on the B6357 and briefly joined the A6088, before rejoining the B6357 again. This section of the B6357 all the way down to where it meets the B6399 is simply stunning to ride. Fantastic corners and scenery with very little traffic, what more could you ask for. One sweeping tight lefthander sticks out especially. The rest of the B6357 is also stunning and we were soon at the end of it and in Canonbie. Here we joined the A7 and headed back into England and through Longtown and joined the M6 at Junction 44 near Carlisle. We got off the M6 at junction 42 and joined the A6 towards Penrith. We headed through Penrith and continued on the A6 to Shap, where we stopped for lunch.
After lunch we left Shap and then turned left onto the B6261 to Orton. From Orton we took the B6260 to Tebay and then joined the A685 towards Kendal. As the A685 left the side of the M6 we turned left onto the B6257 and headed under the M6 towards Sedbergh. We briefly joined the A684 before rejoining the B6257 and then onto the A683, which we took down to Devil’s Bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale. We stopped here for a brief coffee at this famous biker meet point.
We left here on the A65 towards Skipton and then stopped briefly in Ingleton for fuel. From Ingleton we continued on the A65 before turning off before Clapham and heading over Burn Moor and past Stocks Reservoir. We then turned right onto the B6478 and headed through Slaidburn and then over Waddington Fell and down into Clitheroe. From Clitheroe we followed the A59, A671 and then the A56/M66 back home.
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Yesterday Helen and I went over to the 3 Sisters race circuit near Chorley in Wigan. For £10 you could have 7 laps round the very tight circuit.
We met CJ and Gary from NUKB there and I took some photos of them while they were going around. Towards the end of the session I joined them on track, for my first ever bit of track action on a bike. I took it easy as it is a very tight circuit and was my first time. I really enjoyed it, but it was over very quickly indeed. Due to being a short and tight circuit I never got out of 2nd gear, although I was up near the rev limiter on the back straight.
Helen and I have just returned from a 2 week tour through France and the Pyrenees and back. We set out on Friday 4th June and returned on Saturday 19th June. We have covered around 2,500 miles in total and climbed to over 2115m in height. We have also been on some very twisty and well surfaced empty roads and also some rather less well surfaced roads. Below is a brief write up of our whole tour.
Friday 4th June – Home to Cirencester
We headed out on our bike tour after work on Friday. We decided that we would travel down to Cirencester avoiding all motorways. We went down through the centre of the country, through Buxton and then down through Ashbourne on the A515. We had a brief hold up in Ashbourne, but apart from that we really didn’t have any traffic problems.
We arrived at the Travelodge in Cirencester and checked in, then proceeded straight out for something to eat in Circencester. We had a Thai meal in the Wagon & Horses, great food and a nice little place.
Sat 5th June – Cirencester to Nantes
We proceeded straight to Poole in the morning as we were having Sat Nav problems. My Pocket PC was charging, but was using up more power than was being put in. We had decided to go to Maplins to get another charger for it. We stopped for a brief time at McDonalds to have a McFlurry, while Helen was off getting said McFlurry I removed the battery to see if the connection was dodgy. This was a very bad move as the Pocket PC reverted back to factory settings and I then had no way of accessing the TomTom software. So we decided to get another Sat Nav from PC World and purchased a TomTom Go Live 750. I had to get a TomTom that would connect to a PC, as all my routes were in TomTom ITN files.
We arrived at the port a little late after slow service at PC World and getting stuck at the lift up bridge. For some reason we managed to draw the short straw again and got our luggage and persons searched again, as we did last year. The ferry was an hour late but we weren’t waiting for long before we boarded it. They put all the bikes on 1 side of the ferry and ratcheted them down on the sidestands. We used the Condor Fast Ferry that runs to St. Malo via Guernsey in around 4.5 hours.
After arriving in France we headed out of St. Malo and onto the motorway network. This was a very quiet journey, but before we got to the hotel it started to get very dark and we were getting hit by millions of flies. I couldn’t see anything behind me as Helen’s light were far too bright (all the French motorists thought so to). Just before we got to the hotel it tried to rain a few times, which with the fly splats resulted in us being unable to see anything at all and Helen had to stop on the hard shoulder to clear visor as was down to zero visibility. Thankfully at this point we were only 4Km from the hotel and arrived just in time before the heavens opened with a terrific thunderstorm.
Sun 6th June – Nantes to Bordeaux
Up and out early today, everywhere was strangely and eerily quiet (I don’t think the French get up to much on Sundays). Got around Nantes on the motorway without any fuss and hardly any traffic, then we left the motorway and joined some very quiet French countryside roads. We passed by La Roche-sur-Yon on our way down the coast to La Rochelle. We stopped just on the outskirts of La Rochelle at a deserted retail park and got a much needed chilled Diet Coke from McDonalds.
We left La Rochelle and soon passed through Rochefort and then on to some really nice back roads past canals and fields, with a few vineyards thrown in for good measure.
We then stopped at a beautiful and quiet little inlet in les Monards to have lunch and a break.
As we got nearer to Bordeaux we went over some very high bridges again, but unlike last time Helen wasn’t fazed by the heights.
We arrived in good time in Bordeaux and found our Ibis Hotel for the night on a quiet industrial estate. We quickly unpacked and then went and visited Castle Blanquefort, which was close by. While we were getting ready for the evening we noticed a group of Irish bikers turn up, 2 x BMW 1200RT and 2 x Honda Goldwings (1 of which also had a trailer). They where off to Portugal in the hope of finding some seriously hot sunny weather. Later that evening we ate, as last year, at the attached Courtepaille Grill and had a much needed bottle of wine. French steak cooked a point is excellent!
Mon 7th June – Bordeaux to Gite in Ayros-Arbouix
Waved goodbye to the Irish bikers as they headed off, then saddled up and set off ourselves. Went around Bordeaux on the motorway and didn’t really get held up anywhere. We soon got off the motorway and headed out onto nice countryside roads again. These roads were very straight and tree lined, but we didn’t care as anything is better than a motorway. We soon stopped in Villandraut for some fuel and to visit the Chateau.
After the brief stop we continued on similar roads for a while, before joining the D932 at Captieux. We stopped in Captieux briefly to get a baguette, then continued on down the D932. This road was a little bit more busy and so some overtaking needed to be done. We bypassed Roquefort and joined the equally busy D934, which we followed all the way to Aire-sur-l’Arbour. From there we joined nice clear back roads again, cutting through lovely scenic French countryside and quiet almost deserted villages. We stopped along the way at Garderes for some lunch at a deserted church hall.
We set out again and not long after the Pyrenees started to come into sight. Most of the high peaks where poking out of the top of the low lying cloud layer. After a short while we entered the outskirts of Lourdes, but I had set the sat nav to take us on a detour around the town centre. We had soon passed by Lourdes and thanks to Google streetview we easily found the Gite. The owner heard our motorbikes arriving and greeted us at the door.
After we had unpacked it was still early so we decided to go for a quick ride up a near Col and then do some shopping. We climbed to the top of the Col de Tramassel (1616m) and to Hautacam ski station (Hautacam is also the name of our Gite). But unfortunately the top of the Col was in the cloud layer so our views were spoilt. We came back down off the Col and then went to the local Carrefour in Argeles-Gazost for some shopping. We then went back to the Gite and had some much needed food and wine.
Tues
8th June – Port de Boucharo & Luz Ardiden Ski Station
It rained heavily overnight, but we awoke to drying roads and some sun. The weather forecast wasn’t great so we decided to do some local climbs in case the weather turned. We set out fairly late and headed South on the D921 towards Gavarnie. The D921 is a flat level road but weaves its way beautifully through two gorges, with the river some way below. We stopped briefly adjacent to an EDF hydro electric plant, to take some photos of the bikes near to the river. We then continued on the D921 arriving at Gavarnie, we stopped to take some photos of the Cirque de Gavarnie. It would appear this is the point were the glacier that cut this gorge came to a grinding halt.
After this brief stop we started up the climb to the Port de Boucharo at 2208m. As we neared the top the surface became quite gravelly on most of the hairpin bends, so caution was taken at every one. Just 2km from the summit our progress was halted by a Unimog blocking the road as it hadn’t yet cleared a path through the snow banks on the road. We stopped here briefly to take some photos and take in the tranquil atmosphere. As we started back down I stopped at the side of the road inches from a marmot, they are from the s
quirrel family but look more like small beavers.
After the descent we stopped in Gavarnie for lunch before heading back down the D921 to Luz-St-Sauveur. Here we started our 2nd climb of the day up the very twisty roads to the ski station at Luz Ardiden at 1735m. We came across several sheep on the way up, who didn’t really want to move out of the way. We arrived at the top just as the cloud layer blew in, preventing any decent photos from being taken. We waited for about 20 minutes at the top and eventually it cleared a bit, to enable us to take some photos. We then started back down and within 1km the clouds had cleared a lot to enable us to take some really good photos with my Nikon D200. After the descent we headed back to the Gite having only seen the odd spot of rain.
Wednesday 9th June – Tourist Visits
Due to the forecast for today being heavy rain all day we decided to visit some of the local tourist attractions. We awoke late, but although it rained all night it was again dry all day with the odd spot of rain here and there.
We first visited Parc Animals des Pyrenees in Argeles-Gazost. It was set out very well on the side of a hill. All of the animals had very large enclosures compared to what you would find at some of our zoos. We were both impressed with the animals and the quality of the complex. All the animals seemed very tame as you could get within inches of most of them.
We then went over to Donjon des Aigles in Beaucens, which is set in the grounds of an old ruined castle. Here we were able to view loads of birds of prey. Again they all seemed very tame and we could get very close up to them to take some very close up photos. We were then treated to a spectacular flying display by the birds. Getting nearly taken out by huge vultures is something really needed to be seen to be believed, as was Helen’s ear being nibbled by a friendly parrot that took a liking to her and sat on her shoulder for about 5 minutes. We could really have done with taking the video camera to truly convey how good the show was.
We then went over to Lourdes and went up the Funiculaire du Pic du Jer. The funicular railway up to the summit of the Pic du Jer was built in 1900. The railway is 1100m in length and takes about 15 minutes to climb the 56% gradient to the top, but felt more like 15 hours with the noisy Irish group we ended up stuck with!
Thursday 10th June – Col du Soulor & Col d’Aubisque
We awoke at 8:00am to a clear and sunny blue sky, so we decided this was the day to make an attempt at the Col du Tourmalet. We headed out onto nice dry roads and soon arrived in Luz-St-Sauveur. We made the left turn onto the D918 and started the climb of the Tourmalet. Within a few km we hit some rain so stopped to put on the rain gear. Then we continued on up the climb but as we neared the top we were stopped in our tracks by a barrier across the road and a notice stating that the top of the Col was closed until Friday evening, due to resurfacing. We cursed as the weather look quite good at the top of the Col, so we took some lovely photos of the bikes with a mountain backdrop, and headed back down to Luz-St-Sauveur.
We decided although it was a little windy to try and go over the
Col du Soulor (1474m) & Col d’Aubisque (1709m) instead. We arrived in Argeles-Gazost and then took the D918 to start the climb of the Col du Soulor. It was a nice climb at first, however as we neared the top we came across signs for gravel. Due to the imminent arrival of the Tour de France the Col had been resurfaced. I use the word resurfaced loosely, as what they have done is put down some asphalt and then thrown down loose chippings on top. It was in effect like riding on a thin gravel driveway. We arrived at the top of the Col and stopped to take some photos, but decided due to the wind not to stop for lunch here.
We left and started the climb of the Col d’Aubisque. I deliberately didn’t mention to Helen this was the Col where the road was cut into the side of the mountain. It has sheer drops off one side, which are only inches from the edge of the road. What is
even more concerning is that in some places there is nothing on the edge of the road to stop you going over the edge. The first part of the Col had a lovely road surface and fantastic views, so I stopped while Helen continued (VERY slowly!) along the Col. After a while I continued on the Col and soon came across the same gravel road resurfacing again. You have no choice but to go very slowly, I had a 2 wheel skid early on the previous climb of the Col du Soulor, which I was taking it easy on. Although I had to go slow I was able to take in the stunning views from the road, which sort of made up for not being able to ride it hard. As I approached the top of the Col I noticed Helen waving in the carpark and then I also started to feel the wind. I parked up next to Helen in the carpark, but we didn’t stop for long as we had to hold on to the bikes
We then set about the descent off the Col, it was obvious that the wind was going to be bad, but we had to get down. It didn’t help that we had to go so slow due to the gravel. I
was able with the intercoms to tell
Helen the road was clear so she could stay away from the edge and close
to the cliff, to shield her a bit from the wind as she was completely terrified. On 1 corner near a cafe
carpark I went slowly to get a good view of the corner to help Helen and nearly got blown off my bike (see video below). Eventually we got out of the wind and the gravel went so we could enjoy a bit of the descent. We stopped at Gourette for a much needed rest and had lunch, followed by a coffee in the only cafe open.
We left Gourette and headed down the rest of the Col which was thankfully without any gravel or wind. We then turned left for Spain onto the D934 and started the climb of the Col du Pourtalet (1794m). This was a nice road but had a few gravelly patches thrown in for good measure. We didn’t go for the top of the Col as we stopped at Lac de Fabreges to go on the Le Petit Train Artouste. To get to the train you have to go up by a scary cable car ride, made even worse with the wind. The train itself is a little bit scary as well. It is the highest railway in Europe at 2000m and has sheer drops on 1 side, which the train actually overhangs at certain points on the route.
After the train we headed home down the D934 towards Pau then turned right at Louvie-Juzon onto the D35 and then the D937 to Lourdes. Both of these roads had an excellent surface and lots of nice fast sweeping corners which was wonderful after the butt clenching rides earlier on! Once at Lourdes we took the D821 back to the gite at Ayros-Arbouix.
Friday 11th June – Col d’Aspin & Chateau de Mauvezin
We had a lie in this morning and woke at 10:00am as a fighter jet passed low over the gite. The weather looked reasonable and with fighter jets running the gorges, I assumed that visibility would be good on the Cols. Due to the Col du Tourmalet being closed I decided that we would take a route via Bagneres-de-Bigore to attempt the Col d’Aspin (1489m).
We set out and headed to Lourdes then turned East onto the D937 to Bagneres-de-Bigore. In Bagneres we headed South on the D935 to Ste-Marie-d-Campan. At Ste-Marie you can either go West and climb the Col du Tourmalet or East for the Col d’Aspin. We went East and started the climb of the Col d’Aspin. Thankfully the road had a perfect surface and there was very little wind. We both enjoyed the climb to the top and stopped at the summit. Just after we arrived some English bikers arrived and we chatted for a bit. While we chatted, a French biker came over to say bonjour and shake hands then invited us to eat with them.
After some photos and a rest we made the descent down to Arreau. Again the surface was excellent, the decent was more open and we were greeted with some stunning views and hairpins. At the bottom we turned left onto the D929 towards Lannemezan. After a short while we pulled over and stopped for some lunch.
After lunch we we continued up the D929 before forking off left towards Mauvezin. We stopped in Mauvezin to visit the impressive Chateau, which was unfortunately also being visited by very noisy French school children! We left Mauvezin in the rain and took it easy on the slippery roads. We headed back towards Bagneres-de-Bigore via the D938 and then retraced our outward route back to the gite.
Saturday 12th June – Col du Tourmalet
We awoke to dry roads but overcast skies with a very low cloud layer, and then discovered pussy cat paw prints on Helen’s bike seat! Today was the 1st day that the Col du Tourmalet (2115m) was open after the recent road resurfacing. We had a look at the webcams at the Pic du Midi de Bigorre observatory, but were dismayed to see virtually no visibility at all. With weather reports suggesting thunderstorms tomorrow, we decided we would go and try to climb the Col anyway.
We set out and went down the lovely twisty D921 to Luz-St-Sauveur. Where we made the left turn onto the D918 and the start of the climb of the Col. This time the roads were dry and we started to pass some cyclists going up the Col. We got further up the climb and passed the point that was blocked off earlier in the week, the conditions looked good so we went for the top. By now I realised that there must be some kind of cycling event on as 1000’s of then were all over the Col. I managed to get to the top of the Col without too much trouble. I stopped just over the top to wait for Helen, but due to the amount of cars and cyclists we had nowhere to stop to take any photos, plus visibility wasn’t great. Helen encountered a suicidal photographer kneeling in the middle of the road right at the top, and much shouting and cursing was heard over the intercoms!
We started the descent off the Col and came across loads of cyclists coming the other way and a traffic jam of cars trying to pass them, with the odd pissed off looking biker stuck behind them. I was enjoying the descent and then we hit a complete whiteout. The cloud layer was covering everything and visibility was down to nearly zero. I followed some cyclists down, as self preservation had kicked in. At one point it got so bad that I pulled over to wait for Helen to help guide her down, as I had the advantage of a Sat Nav (Helen was by that point navigating via a fluo green lycra-clad cyclist). Eventually as we dropped down further the visibility returned and we were again able to enjoy the descent. We soon arrived in Ste-Marie-de-Campan and turned left onto the D935 towards Lannemezan. We continued on to Bagneres-de-Bigorre and stopped in a nice park for lunch.
After lunch we doubled back on ourselves and visited the Grotte de Medous. Although they have a Union Jack on all their promotional material, there is no English translation for the tour. However, Helen was able to get the general gist of what was being said on the tour. As we set off back to the gite it started to rain again. We soon got back on to dry roads and managed to get back to the gite just before the heavens opened.
Sunday 13th June – Pont d’Espagne
We awoke expecting rain
, but again the forecast was wrong and the roads were dry. We decided to stay fairly local as the sky didn’t look that good, there was also very low cloud all around us. We first visited a nice little abbey at in the quaint town of St Savin. From there we proceeded along the superb and twisty D920 which followed a gorge and the Gave de Cauterets. We then climbed up to Pont d’Espagne and negotiated loads of tight hairpins. We arrived at the top and were confronted with some automatic barriers at the entrance to the carpark. It was evident that we could easily get past the barriers without paying, so we did. We parked
up and climbed the short distance to the Pont d’Espagne and the breathtaking cascades. After taking some photos we sat down and had coffee and crepes at the nearby cafe.
We left the carpark and pushed past the barriers again and then descended back down the twisty hairpins. We then went back down the excellent D920, with it quick and tight left/right flick flaks. We then went back to the gite for lunch.
After lunch I went for a quick run up the nearby Col de Tramassel (1616m) as a last hurrah. It was a nice run up Col, at one point I had to dodge a stubborn Bull in the middle of the road. Although it was bright and sunny at the bottom of the Col, I was presented with rain and a near whiteout at the top. So I didn’t linger and quickly descended back down into the dry weather and back to the gite.
Monday 14th June – Ayros-Arbouix to St Jean-de-Luz
We left the gite today and started our homeward bound journey. We had planned a really nice route through the Pyrenees on nice twisty roads that skipped in and out of Spain. However we awoke to very low cloud and a fine drizzle. We set out and hoped that the weather would improve. We took my nice little detour around Lourdes and then joined the D937 and then the D35 to Louvie-Jurzon. At this point we joined the D918 which for a long part is a very twisty route through a dense forest. Unfortunately due to the weather we couldn’t really enjoy the route, we also realised that at this reduced speed it would take ages to follow are planned route. So just outside Asasp-Arros we decide to tell TomTom to take us to the hotel by the quickest route avoiding motorways. As expected these roads were a bit boring but enabled us to maintain a decent average speed. On the way we did have a minor detour in Bidache, as we spotted a nice ruined Chateau in the distance.
Due to the more direct route we arrived in St Jean-de-Luz at 1:30pm, we parked the bikes in the undercover carpark and got changed and went out into the town to have a coffee and a look around. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow.
Tuesday 15th June – St Jean-de-Luz to Rochefort
We awoke to wet roads and a light drizzle of rain, but we could see a nice blue sky in the direction we were heading. We set off after breakfast and got straight on the peage. After 51 miles we got off the motorway at Castets and then headed towards Mimizan. The roads by this time were dry and the sun was out. These roads were all very straight, but were lined with trees or fields. Every now and then this would be broken up with the odd small town here and there. Although the roads were boring the scenery and peacefulness of the area made the riding quite pleasant. After a while we stopped in a little town called Carcans for a much needed coffee.
After the brief stop for refreshments we continued heading North towards Le Verdon-sur-Mer and the ferry over to Royan. The roads up to Verdon-sur-Mer were very similar to roads we had encountered earlier in the day. As we neared Verdon the roads started to show signs of recent heavy rain and as we arrived at the ferry port it started to rain heavily. We managed to find some cover and by the time we had to board the ferry the rain was just stopping so we really didn’t get wet. The ferry is a very short crossing so they didn’t strap the bikes down. so we stayed with the bikes to make sure they stayed upright.
We disembarked at Royan and headed North to our hotel in Rochefort. We arrived in Rochefort not long after and didn’t see anymore rain for the rest of the day.
Wednesday 16th June – Rochefort to Vannes
We left Rochefort in heavy rain and weren’t looking forward to the day ahead. But after joining the motorway to by-pass La Rochelle we soon hit dry roads, sun and a blue sky. We left the motorway just after La Rochelle and headed for Charron. We then joined some lovely roads following along the French coastline. After a while we arrived in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, I had programmed this stop in to visit Talmont Castle. We parked in the free carpark adjacent to the castle for the visit. The castle was ruined, which is just how we like them. After the visit to the castle we went to a nearby cafe for a coffee.
We left Talmont and headed inland for a while before turning back and heading towards the coast again. We continued along the coast and soon arrived in Beauvoir-sur-Mer. By this time we were hungry so followed some signs to Le Port du Bec. It was very windy at the sea wall were we stopped, but was a very nice place to have lunch all the same.
After lunch we continued along the French coastline. It had been very windy all day and still hadn’t calmed down any. We had just entered some roadworks stuck behind some lorries, when the Pont de Saint-Nazaire came into view. I knew that going so slow over such a high bridge in this wind wasn’t going to be any good. Helen decided that she was happy going this slow so she overtook the lorries by diving the wrong side of the traffic cones. I stayed behind the lorries and got the full force of the wind from the side. I kept the revs up high and that seemed to help me get over the bridge safely. After the bridge we soon arrived at our second castle of the day Ranrouet. This was a really nice castle set in picturesque woodland setting.
We left Ranrouet on some nice country roads before joining the motorway. We soon arrived at our hotel for the night in Vannes.
Thursday 17th June – Vannes to Roscoff
We left Vannes in the dry for once, with a blue sky again but it was still very windy. We joined the motorway and took it all the way to Lorient. We stopped in Lorient to visit the German World War II submarine pens, Keroman 1, 2 and 3. The majority of the submarine pens have been converted into units, housing mainly maritime related businesses. There is also a museum and the French submarine Le Flore.
We left Lorient and headed back up the motorway, before turning North towards Pontivy. We arrived in Pontivy and parked up adjacent to the castle. We had our lunch in the carpark before taking some photos of the front of the castle. We left Pontivy and continued North on some lovely winding roads. We then joined the D15A at Sainte-Brigitte and wound our way through a very tree lined area, with small lakes, an abbey and a lovely bridge over a river. After a brief stop to take some photos we joined the N164 and took that West to Carhaix-Plouguer. Here we joined the D769 which snaked its way beautifully North all the way up to Morlaix. This was a really nice bit of road, but took us a while to get used to after the recent lack of corners. From Morlaix we took the D19 and then the D75 towards Roscoff. We passed through the beautiful town of Saint-Pol-de-Leon, which had 2 churches, 1 of which Helen stated had the best tower of any church we had seen all holiday so far. After Saint-Pol-de-Leon we soon arrived at our hotel in roscoff, which was situated in a lovely little square.
Friday 18th June – Roscoff to Poole
We left Roscoff in really sunny weather with a great looking blue sky and thankfully the wind had died down as well. We headed back down to Morlaix were we turned North-East and headed on the D64 to Saint-Michel-en-Greve. Here we joined the D30 and then D31 that cut their way through some tight tree lined roads to our first visit of the day Tonquedec Castle. As we were parking up at the castle Helen managed to crash into me, well she lightly kissed our panniers together. Unfortunately Tonquedec Castle wasn’t open and it was also near impossible to get a decent photo of the castle, due to the very close woodlands.
We left Tonquedec and headed on the E50 to Saint-Brieuc. Here we joined the D786 towards Saint-Alban and from there continued on to our second visit of the day Fort de la Latte. This is a very nice Fort on the edge of a rocky outcrop overlooking the Gulf of St Malo. We walked down to the Fort but decided not to go in as it looked likely we would struggle walking around with all our gear on.
We left Fort de la Latte and joined a really nice piece of coast road before joining the D786 towards Matignon. We continued on the D786 and then D168 before coming to a grinding halt on the approach to St Malo. We got stuck briefly in heavy traffic as we waited to cross over the bridge between La Richards and St Malo. We arrived in St Malo and parked up near the ferry port. We then visited the walled city and had a look at a galleon and the Fort which is only accessible at low tide.
At 6:00pm we got back on the bikes and went over to the ferry terminal to check in. After a while we got checked in and through passport control. After a long wait we gathered from other passengers that we would also be stopping at Jersey due to a fire on the main big ferry. On top of the delay for this the ferry was also 1 hour late leaving St Malo. So instead of getting in at 12:30am it was near to 2:00am by the time we got to our B&B in Poole. We parked the bikes in the garage provided and dug the key out from under the flowerpot and hit the sack.
Saturday 19th June – Poole to Home
After the ferry only getting in at around 2:00am last night we inevitably had a bit of a lie in. It was around 11:30am by the time we left the B&B. We decided after last year that going on the motorway was just too depressing, so I had planned a route avoiding motorways as far as possible.
We left the B&B in Poole and headed North on the A350 towards Blandford Forum. At Blandford the new TomTom Go Live 750 that we bought at the start of the trip chose a slight diversion for us to go on. Basically it took us off the A350 and onto a minor road running parallel, then onto the B3081 into Shaftesbury and back onto the A350. Knowing the bit it missed out I believe it certainly found us a quicker route, especially as we where on motorbikes and could use the minor road better. We then continued up the A350 to Cirencester without any other detours. We stopped at the services by the Travelodge and filled up with fuel and had some cake and a drink.
We left the services and joined the A429 towards Stow-on-the-Wold. We then continued up the A429 and joined the M40 at Junction 15. We then went North on the M40 and then joined the M42 to by-pass Birmingham and Coventry. We left the M42 just before the M6 Toll and joined the A446 and then A38 to Lichfield. At Lichfield we joined the A515 to Ashbourne. We then stopped on the outskirts of Ashbourne for a late lunch. We had a long lunch and chatted to a nice chap about our bikes and how the VTEC system works.
After lunch we headed through Asbourne and then continued on the A515 to Buxton. There were a lot of poor drivers about and a bit of traffic but thankfully we were able to deal with it easily on the bikes. We arrived in Buxton and didn’t get held up really, apart from some roadworks on the A6 out of Buxton. But we managed to filter to the front so didn’t get held up for very long. We continued on the A6 to Chapel-en-le-Firth, were we go off onto the A624 to Glossop. Just before Hayfield we had to overtake a load of traffic stuck behind a 4x4 and horsebox doing about 26mph. Just before we got to Glossop we took my sneaky route through Charlesworth and Broadbottom. We then joined the M67 and headed home via the M60 and M62.
Welcome to my motorcycling blog. This blog is a complete diary of what myself and my wife Helen have been up to on our bikes, since passing our tests.
We only passed our tests at the end of 2007 after we had been inspired by our visit to the Isle of Man. But in this short time we have covered over 60,000 miles and been on tours through France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Slovenia. These tours have also included trips over many famous mountain passes in the Alps, Vosges, Dolomites and Pyrenees.
We try and get out every weekend weather permitting, but we aren't fair weather fairies. I have seen my fair share of rain and even snow. We regularly go out with the guys from North UK Bikers on rideouts, sometimes I even lead.
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