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Cheers Don
I bet you chomping at the bit to get out on your trip?
soz not had the chance to sort the rest of the trips photos yet. Will do so as soon as I get the chance
Europe, Day 7, 8, 9. Narbon Plage (France) – Barcelona (Spain)
200 miles ish. Am stopping here for 2 nights(ish). After last nights beers I had a lil lay in, my tent has mostly dried out on the inside but the drizzle in the morning had kept the outside wet so when the rain stopped I packed up leasurely to give the wind a chance to dry it some. Once I was ready tho I set off heading south ish…. I had 2 route options, the easy way along the coast or go through the mountains. I chose the mountains. If the sun had been out this would have been an amazing ride, however it was already overcast and as I got nearer to them I could see it was going to be a slow and wet ride. As I got into the mountains it was raining and as I got higher and higher it got harder and harder and colder. I stopped in a village for breakfast and could hardly get off the bike, I found a public toilet and put on my thermals which instantly warmed me up, I had a couple of croissants from a very lovely lady
and once again set off but quickly found myself regretting the choice of route. The temp went down to 4’C and visibility in the clouds was at best 30m (although with tinted goggles that was 20m) and hairpin bends with squared off tyres in the wet made me very slow and wobbly, my average speed was about 25mph and I was actually fearful of what could go wrong up there. I fortunately packed my yellow lensed goggles which helped me see better in the clouds but it was still pretty scary. I had my satnav zoomed in to give me as much detail as possible. I stopped at a lonely pertol station, not to fuel the bike but to get some chocolate in me as my energy levels were totally zapped. The ride down the other side was a little nicer and warmer 7’C, the rain dried off some too. I really needed a wee and some fluids so stopped at a town and noticed all the number plates on the cars were Spanish…. WELCOME TO SPAIN PT! I rechecked my route to Barcelona and once on the motorway I got my head down and motored on, eventually the rain stopped but the roads remained wet all the way to Barcelona. I had dried out tho and once the sun came out in Barcelona it also warmed up too. I searched out a campsite on my satnav but missed the turning which caused me to end up in this lovely site, 3*, decent shop and bar and restaurant, and toilet roll and sit down loos…. I dont want to talk about the stupid squatting ones where you have to hover and aim! lol. I grabbed a beer and headed to the private beach! A chap turned up later on a KTM Adventure who came and said hello, he is from Pompey and called John and is a fireman. He had just ridden up through Morrocco and was heading roughly the same way back as I had just done in reverse Said I’d meet him in the bar later if he was up for it. Thought I would try the food in the campsite’s restaurant, it was quite odd there as it all looked posh but the food was not that good. I caught up with John later that eve in the bar for a natter. Found out we are dure some good weather and have decided to stay an extra night as I am loving it here. I went in the sea today, loads warmer than UK water but I was still squealing like a piggy! I was determined on my last full day here to go and do something so I got my satnav to point out some historic monuments, the first was a castle in a town but it was closed and didn’t look all that. I then found another out of town so headed along these lovely winding roads till I got to the bottom of a bloody great big hill with some ruins at the top and an old chapple at the bottom. There was a really craggy path so I parked up and headed off along it The path became rather quickly pretty hard going and my recent lack of exercise, the heat and dehydration took its toll on me especially as I was carrying my lid and jacket. I had to stop several times on the way up. When I eventually made it to the top it was also closed but a Spanish family told me I could sneak around the fence and climb in round the corner so off I went. I followed the fence round and as there was no path and quite a drop I had to hold myself up on the fence at times to stop me slipping down the cliff. I soon found the gap under the fence and squirmed my way through it. The castle was very ruined but incredible to think when it was built they would have had to carry the bricks up possibly the same route I had just struggled with. The views and rock formations were totally amazing but I actually felt wobbly at the cliff face and had to lay down holding on to the ground to take any pictures as I was just getting dizzy. I am really gonna miss this campsite, the beach and the staff in the bar/restaurant. It was nice meeting John too and hearing about his KTM adventures. Hopefully catch up with him again if I ever head to Loomies and he ever finishes his adventure body of a god!
Thanks guys.
Europe, Day 10. Barcelona (Spain) to Bilbao (Spain) – 380+miles
Not quite to the ferry port as still about 35min from there. This was a hard slog as I was so settled in the previous campsite, I also only wanted to pitch the tent once more so knew I had to get as close to the ferry port as I could in one hit so I could do as short a journey as possible to catch the ferry on the 21st. It was however in places the best part of the whole journey due to me wanting food and fuel so left the motorway into a sleepy village that just had a bar/restaurant and a petrol station, unfortunately they were both closed lol. My satnav now perked up once again and gave me a new route. I expected it to just take me back on to the motorway at the next junction, it had other ideas tho and OMG what a route!
It took me back into the mountains and it really was breathtaking; it looked just like the old spaghetti westerns with beautiful rock formations, old bridges that were now forgotten and ruined, reservoirs, dams, rapids, kayaks, underwater trees… there were so many different birds of prey too, am sure I spooked an eagle which escorted me away from its nest flying at the same height as me no more than 10m away for over 50m or so, it was huge! Catherine, you would have loved the rapids, the kayaking looked so much fun . The water was beautiful and mesmerising as it was reflecting the colours of the sky with such an eary glow. As I got closer to another set of mountains the weather became more and more storm like and the temp dropped quite a bit. There was fresh snow on the peaks and it started to rain quite hard so I braced myself to get very cold and very wet…. then, once again, my awesome satnav for no reason at all sent me off the road I was on and took me around the clouds away from the rain until we had passed it, then about 10miles later it put me back on the original road beyond the reach of the bad weather! This holiday has been an amazing adventure, made so perfect by my rash (others may say stupid) choices and a total overwhelming amount of shear luck and good fortune. I honestly can’t imagine how I have been so lucky, it makes no sense at all, but WOW, yes please, I’ll take all the good luck going while it lasts! Even the route into the campsite had no open petrol stations until I really was worrying I was gonna run out with over 185 miles already ridden on the current tank full. I was doing everything I could to conserve fuel, even not slowing down for corners so I’d not have to accelerate again after. When I really thought there was no way it could keep running I came across a Repsol forecourt and filled up. Turned out I still had around 5l in the tank and could have probs gone another 60miles, but I didn’t know that till then. What a bloody fantastic bike As I pulled into the campsite I was greeted by a thick Dublin accent and a smile, Paul and his lovely wife Clare,were just at the end of their holiday too so we shared stories and laughs and even their beer! Another chap called Trevor who was from London but now lives in Tenerife and an ex-Para heard us chatting so joined us too. It rained quite hard in the night but my tent kept the water out, it was soaking on the outside tho so really needs a good airing: “Look after your tent and your tent will look after you!” I am sure my dad taught me that? In times while I have been writing this diary I have honestly been close to tears of joy. If you love bikes and want to go on an adventure just go out and get it done! I am not saying leave your textiles/leathers/towel/spare clothes at home like I did (this was just how I wanted to do this trip), but just find a route and go explore! Thanks to Mic, Catherine, Marco, The owner of the campsite that gave me a lift, Bernardo and Fredrick, John, Paul and Clare, Trevor, Douglas, Bill and most of all my satnav that made the whole thing work out properly Great write up Pete, really got the feel of what the trip was like
Got to agree with Ses here. Inspirational write up and superb photos that truly capture spirit of just getting on your bike and heading out!
will post the final instalment tomoz
I really hope your adventures in the Pyrenees are as awesome as this holiday was for me!
Europe, Day 11, 12. Bilbao (France) to Portsmouth (UK)
all good things come to an end, so this is the last album of my story.
To get to the ferry port I had to cross the river at Bilbao, they had a cablecar for cars, was awesome and so much faster than a chain ferry!
Getting ready to board
there were over 100 bikes all in on the ferry
and then we were off
my cabin was far more spacious than the bunks on my last sub, and had a lovely on suite shower
I was a little concerned at our depth tho! lol
gotta have some food pics
nearly back on dry land. This is the Isle of Wight
I see no ships….
This was just one hell of an amazing trip for me, made more special by being my first proper adult holiday. My mate Matt and I are already thinking about doing another trip next year
Nicely rounded off, some posh nosh there!
I started riding abroad in 2007 and wish that I had done so many years before.
Done 5 trips now and they have all been brilliant.
Should be out in Europe next next year, be good to combine efforts at some point. Plus I want to go the 70th anniversary commemoration of D day for a long weekend.
I am thinking Northern Spain at this early stage
Thanks for sharing the adventure with us Pete…I hope the Pyrennes run…only three weeks now…is good too..getting excited!
I can’t wait to read your write ups and see your photos from your trip
Looking forward to writing them!
@Imperial Data…this is such a good review that it merits its own sub section. The same goes for Champs reviews of his trips too
and once again set off but quickly found myself regretting the choice of route. The temp went down to 4’C and visibility in the clouds was at best 30m (although with tinted goggles that was 20m) and hairpin bends with squared off tyres in the wet made me very slow and wobbly, my average speed was about 25mph and I was actually fearful of what could go wrong up there. I fortunately packed my yellow lensed goggles which helped me see better in the clouds but it was still pretty scary. I had my satnav zoomed in to give me as much detail as possible. I stopped at a lonely pertol station, not to fuel the bike but to get some chocolate in me as my energy levels were totally zapped. The ride down the other side was a little nicer and warmer 7’C, the rain dried off some too. I really needed a wee and some fluids so stopped at a town and noticed all the number plates on the cars were Spanish…. WELCOME TO SPAIN PT! 
lol. I grabbed a beer and headed to the private beach! 
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