27/07 – Leaving Arrens under the sun around
10h30 am.
Col du Soulor; Col de l’Aubisque; Col de Marie
Blanque; Arrette; Col de la Pierre St Martin ; Larrau.
Camping Ixtila 5€40/nuit. Quiet but bath
room needs serious review, friendly staff.
Not much shops in the village (no bar!)
29 et 30/07 – A few rest and some small
trips with a interresting one to the "Porto del Palombera" and its
cows hide in the fog.
31/07 – A very nice trip with many very
different incredible scenaries. The temperature stay quit low because most
of the ride will be done between a 500 to 1000 meter of altitude.
Potes ; Porto de san Glorio ; Portilla de
la Reina ; Riaño ; Porto de Tarna ; Porto de Las Senales ; Puebla
de Lillo ; Bonar ; La Vecilla ; La Robla ; La Magdalena ; Piedrafita ;
Villablino ; Toreno ; Ponferréada ; A Rua Puebla de Trives.
Camping A Massa 7€38/night. Nice campsite
with not much customers, very comfortable, bar restaurant onsite, nice
staff. Next the village and shopping center.
01/08 – A nice trip, specially the tiny
small road C531 (It sometime looks like the end of the world), but rideing
through Pontevedra is a real mess.
Puebla de Trives ; Castro Caldelas ; Alto
del Rodicio ; Alto del Couso ; Maceda ; Bano de Molgas ; Allariz ; Ourence
; Ribadavia ; A Caniza ; Ponte Caldelas par C531 ; Pontevedra ; Caldas
de Reis ; Vilagarcia de Arousa ; Rianxo.
Camping de Rianxo 6€80/night. On the
side of the Rias, quiet despite the fact it is a bit crouwdy, confortable,
nice Bar & Restaurant, friendly reception.
02/08 – A trip to the Capo Finisterre by
the Rias with a nice pit stop in a sea food restaurant at Finisterre.
03/08 – No way to avoid the trip to Santiago,
some goes there by walk!
04/08 – The trip starts to be interresting
after Braga when the scenary shows more valleys and the road more motorbike
oriented.
Rianxo ; Pontevedra ; Redondela ; Porrino
; Salvaterra de Mino ; Moncao ; Ponte da Barca ; Vila verde ; Braga ; Guimaraes
; Trofa ; Amarante ; Vila Real ; Santa Marta de Penaguiao ; Lamego.
Camping at Lamego 5€25/night. Parque
de Campismo Dr Joao de Almeida. On the top of the hill over Lamego, not
very easy to find but for sure the best point of view on the Douros valley
in the area. The site is bruto, not easy to find a flat place, but the
bathroom are really in bad shape. You can find very nice restaurant in
Lamego in the Cathedrale area.
06/08 – Nice road but with no surprise
except a stop in Trancoso a fortified village.
Lamego ; Moimento da Beira ; Trancoso ; Celorico
da Beira ; Guarda ; Vale de Estrela ; Valhelhas.
Campismo do Rossio de Valhelhas 3€90/night.
Very well equiped and comfortable but to much crowded to be enough quiet.
The onsite restaurant is to be used if you cant really do else.
07/08 – This round trip was not what i
was waiting, but, after all Portugal is not really a Mountain country and
i did have to ride the top of Portugal called Torre, so i did it (not that
glorious).
A lot of Portugeses people seems to like coming
here Portugais, so let them have fun and just do the same.
08/08 – A very long road to Spain and to
the France direction. Some large road where you can see between Salamanca
and Madrid some very wonderfull scenery showing big round rock standing
in fields. Here again the main part of the trip happened at a average altitude
of 1000 meter.
Valhelhas ; Guarda ; Vilar Formoso ; Frontière
; Salamanque ; Avila ; Villacastin ; Col de Guadarrama ; Madrid ;
Guadalajara ; Calatayud.
Camping Calatayud 9€68/night. One of
the most expensive Campsite i have seen in Spain but also the worth. Not
well maintained it remembers me some of the french campsite of the past
bad périod. Unfortunetly i did not find another one near Calatayud.
It was probably the famous exception which make the rule!
09/08 – The longest day of the trip, the
kind of day which would be almost normal if you where travelling by car,
but that you will not forget for a long time just because it was with a
motorbike. It was not supposed to happend but the rain started just before
passing the border between Spain and Principad d'Andorra, i ride
up to the Col d’Envalira under the rain and in the fog a few kilometer
before the top (in fact it was a chance because my low speed helped me
not to fall down when being in gas oil while negociating a curve. From
the Col d'Envalira to the French border it was just a long line of
car queueing in the fog. Of course i passed all those cars and busses (and
bike because some german motorbikers did take their chance) the local police
very friendly helped me taking my way up to the border (thanks to you guys).
Once i went down to the valley i believed
that the rain would stopped when reaching the eastern Pyrénées,
i was simply wrong. I then dicided that i would not have a night in my
tent but what i was really not waiting was to have rain up to the city
of Arles (90km from Marseille). I think i should call this part of the
test trip: "looking for the lost sun". Start time 9h45 – Arrival
23h30.
Calatayud ; Zaragoza ; Lérida ; Ponts
; La Seu d’Urgell ; Andorra la Vella ; Col d’Envalira ; Le Pas de la Case
; Ax les Thermes ; Tarascon sur Ariège ; Lavelanet ; Quillan ; Couiza
; Mouthoumet ; Narbonne ; Montpellier ;Vauvert ; St Gilles ; Arles ; Fos
sur mer ; Marseille (my bed).
12/08 – After those climatic problem i
continie the trip to the Alpes and under a marvellous blue sky which will
stay up to the end of this test trip.
Marseille ; Manosque ; Sisteron ; Digne ;Col
du Labouret (1240m) ; Savines le lac ; Embrun ; l’Argentière la
Bessée ; Briançon ; La vachette.
Camping les Gentianes 9€55/night: Friendly
reception, bathroom in the midium area. The Campsite closes its door early
(22h00) take care not having to leave your bike outside when take from
diner in town.
13/08 – Here begins the Passes serie and
as the weather is at it's best, it's a dream.
La Vachette ; Col de l’Echelle (1766m) ; Bardonèchia
(Italie) ; Salbertrand ; Suza ; Col du Mont Cenis ( 2100m)
; Lanslebourg (France) Col de l’Iseran ; Val d’Isère ; Col du petit
St Bernard (2188m) ; Seez.
Camping Le Reclus 6€95/night : Very nice
reception, comfortable and well maintained. Shops, bar, restaurants in
the area.
14/08 – Where the Passes série continues.
Seez ; Bourg St Maurice ; Cormet de Rosemand
(1968m); Beaufort ; Albertville ; Col de la Madeleine (2000m) ; La Chambre
; St Jean de Maurienne ; St Michel de Maurienne ; Col du Télégraphe
(1566m) ; Valloire ; Col du Galibier (2646m) ; Col du Lautaret (2058m)
; Chantemerle.
Camping Caravaning de Chantemerle 7€/night
: Nice reception, confortable, wel maintained, bar restaurant onsite.
15/08 – The 5 grant passes.
Chantemerle ; Col du Lautaret (2058m) ; Col
du Galibier (2646m) ; Valloire ; St Michel de Maurienne ; St Jean de Maurienne
; Col de la Croix de Fer (2067m) ; Col du Glandon (1924m) ; Le Bourg d’Oisans
; La Grave ; Col du Lautaret ; Chantemerle.
16/08 – Back to Marseille with some more
famous passes.
Chantemerle ; Briançon ; Cervières
; Col d’Izoard (2361m) ; Arvieux ; Guillestre ; Vars ; Col de Vars (2109m)
; St Paul ; Barcelonnette ; Col d’Allos (2247m) ; St André les Alpes
; col des Robins ; Barrême ; Mézel ; Riez ; Aups ;Barjols
; St Maximin ; St Zacharie ; Aubagne ; Marseille.
Here we are, and not even tired! When do we
start again?