Safely back from the trip down through the Pyrenees and I thought it would be good to share so you can see what it was like and maybe help with a future trip of your own. The bikes were an Aprilia Caponord, Ducati Multistrada and a Honda Fireblade.
Our plan was ambitious – end to end we planned to cover nearly 1,600 miles on the road in four full and two part days’ riding. The route was:
- Ipswich to Portsmouth
- overnight ferry to Caen
- Caen to Cognac via Le Mans
- Cognac to Argeles-Gazost, at the foot of the Pyrenees
- Argeles-Gazsot to Pamplona
- Pamplona to Bilbao
- 24 hour ferry from Bilbao to Portsmouth
- Portsmouth to Ipswich
We left late afternoon on Thursday 9 April and made it back by 1 pm on Wednesday 15 April, in the end covering over 1,600 miles. Routes were planned using Motogoloco and then exported to a TomTom Rider 5.
Day one from Caen to Cognac was great in the morning, with some fantastic roads, but after lunch turned into a bit of a slog as we soon realised the implications of the distances that we were aiming to cover, and that we were not making up enough time on the back roads, a combination of fuel and drink stops. The last two hours of the journey into Cognac saw heavy rain and we arrived pretty tired and damp but still in daylight.
Cognac is a rather unremarkable town, but there are enough bars and restaurants to keep you entertained in the evening. Of course, many cognacs were sampled, but not too many to hinder progress on day two.
For the ride to Argeles-Gazost (chosen for nothing more than looking like a place on the map that looked like a decent starting point to cross the Pyrenees) we decided to break the back of the journey in the morning by crunching up some motorway miles, stopping in Roquefort for lunch. The motorways were incredible – new and virtually deserted – a good place to do a few test roll-ons to compare bikes. Off the motorways though, and there were plenty of gendarmes around.
The investment in the boring motorway time was supposed to pay off in the afternoon, with a mountain route into Argeles-Gazost down the D934 and then across the D918, and it did but not in the way in which we expected. We encountered brilliant roads all the way before reaching the ski resort of Gourette when we started to make the serious ascent to Col d’Aubisque. Dodging around (and through) a few collapsed snow drifts we kept climbing right into the cloud bank until we reached the summit at not much more than walking pace, with visibility down to less than 10 metres. At this point, despite the signs in the valley saying the contrary, we found that the descending pass was closed and so we had to double back, again at a crawl, and add around 100 km to our journey to take lower roads. A few nervy moments but it was an incredible experience!
Argeles-Gazost is a small town with a handful of places to eat and drink. We actually ate in our hotel – http://www.hotel-arrieulat.com/anglais/ – who put on a fantastic 5 course meal for only £30 a person.
Day 3, armed with local information on which passes were actually open (there was only one!) we set across the Pyrenees on route D934, once again passing through Laruns, taking the opportunity to go down some very small back roads to get there. The D934 is a stunning mountain pass, with a mixture of road surfaces. The Caponord and Multistrada ate them up with no problems, but it was clearly less comfortable on the Fireblade by the afternoon.
We took a mix of the N240 and A21 into Pamplona, after stopping for lunch just across the border. Again near empty, the roads are new, in great condition and offered some fantastic sweeping curves especially along the long lake by the Aragon river. Pamplona provided a great destination, with temperatures now up to 24 degrees and lots of bars and restaurants around the main square and all the side lanes. It was a fun night but we didn’t go too mad because we knew that we had another long day ahead of us.
Day four saw us take a long route through the national parks south of Pamplona, dropping down nearly as far as Soria before heading back to Bilbao. On hindsight it was a little long, especially as the temperature start to reach near 30 degrees, but once again the Spanish roads were magnificent. We reached over 1,800 metres without really knowing it, higher than we had reached crossing the Pyrenees. The bikes all performed well at that height, although the loss of power in the thinner air is very noticeable.
The AP68 was our motorway entry into Bilbao – a little steep at £14 for the tolls, but is without a doubt the most picturesque and interesting motorway I’ve every ridden or driven on. Amazing and changing scenery, curves and hills, spoiled only by a very strong crosswind for much of it.
Bilbao felt a little disappointing, although this was partly due to fatigue. Despite it being our last night before getting back on the ferry we were done and dusted by midnight, the time at which the town was just starting to come to life again. It is a pretty city, but clearly one that is trying to balance being industrial and commercial with its tourist side.
The last day was a short ride out to the ferry and then enduring the 24 hour crossing which was fortunately very calm – not the norm as anyone who’s experienced the Bay of Biscay will know!
Verdict
I really enjoyed the trip, the aim of which was for all of us to experience the Spanish roads and Pyrenees for the first time and to make a comparison with the Alps. It certainly met expectations, although it would have been far better to have had the luxury of an extra day to cover all of those miles.
My Caponord performed admirably (some of you will have read about the last minute woes leading up to the trip) and did exactly what these sorts of bikes were invented for – ate up the motorway miles and then come alive in the mountains, all with decent range and carrying a good amount of luggage. The ADD suspension is simply incredible over some of the more uneven road surfaces and, one year into owning it, I think I’ve finally got to know it properly and even start to love it a little bit. Despite this, the new BMW S1000XR is in the corner of my eye and I think the Capo’s days are probably numbered. But it really proved itself this trip.
TLDR: the Pyrenees are great but don’t visit too early in the year or some passes will still be blocked. There are great mountain roads in Spain south and west of Bilbao. Next time we’ll plan fewer miles per day and probably ferry directly to Bilbao.
Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
Dam! by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
Col d'Aubisque selfie, in front of the pass closed the previous day by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
Descent from Col d'Aubisque by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
Col d'Aubisque by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
Our plan was ambitious – end to end we planned to cover nearly 1,600 miles on the road in four full and two part days’ riding. The route was:
- Ipswich to Portsmouth
- overnight ferry to Caen
- Caen to Cognac via Le Mans
- Cognac to Argeles-Gazost, at the foot of the Pyrenees
- Argeles-Gazsot to Pamplona
- Pamplona to Bilbao
- 24 hour ferry from Bilbao to Portsmouth
- Portsmouth to Ipswich
We left late afternoon on Thursday 9 April and made it back by 1 pm on Wednesday 15 April, in the end covering over 1,600 miles. Routes were planned using Motogoloco and then exported to a TomTom Rider 5.
Day one from Caen to Cognac was great in the morning, with some fantastic roads, but after lunch turned into a bit of a slog as we soon realised the implications of the distances that we were aiming to cover, and that we were not making up enough time on the back roads, a combination of fuel and drink stops. The last two hours of the journey into Cognac saw heavy rain and we arrived pretty tired and damp but still in daylight.
Cognac is a rather unremarkable town, but there are enough bars and restaurants to keep you entertained in the evening. Of course, many cognacs were sampled, but not too many to hinder progress on day two.
For the ride to Argeles-Gazost (chosen for nothing more than looking like a place on the map that looked like a decent starting point to cross the Pyrenees) we decided to break the back of the journey in the morning by crunching up some motorway miles, stopping in Roquefort for lunch. The motorways were incredible – new and virtually deserted – a good place to do a few test roll-ons to compare bikes. Off the motorways though, and there were plenty of gendarmes around.
The investment in the boring motorway time was supposed to pay off in the afternoon, with a mountain route into Argeles-Gazost down the D934 and then across the D918, and it did but not in the way in which we expected. We encountered brilliant roads all the way before reaching the ski resort of Gourette when we started to make the serious ascent to Col d’Aubisque. Dodging around (and through) a few collapsed snow drifts we kept climbing right into the cloud bank until we reached the summit at not much more than walking pace, with visibility down to less than 10 metres. At this point, despite the signs in the valley saying the contrary, we found that the descending pass was closed and so we had to double back, again at a crawl, and add around 100 km to our journey to take lower roads. A few nervy moments but it was an incredible experience!
Argeles-Gazost is a small town with a handful of places to eat and drink. We actually ate in our hotel – http://www.hotel-arrieulat.com/anglais/ – who put on a fantastic 5 course meal for only £30 a person.
Day 3, armed with local information on which passes were actually open (there was only one!) we set across the Pyrenees on route D934, once again passing through Laruns, taking the opportunity to go down some very small back roads to get there. The D934 is a stunning mountain pass, with a mixture of road surfaces. The Caponord and Multistrada ate them up with no problems, but it was clearly less comfortable on the Fireblade by the afternoon.
We took a mix of the N240 and A21 into Pamplona, after stopping for lunch just across the border. Again near empty, the roads are new, in great condition and offered some fantastic sweeping curves especially along the long lake by the Aragon river. Pamplona provided a great destination, with temperatures now up to 24 degrees and lots of bars and restaurants around the main square and all the side lanes. It was a fun night but we didn’t go too mad because we knew that we had another long day ahead of us.
Day four saw us take a long route through the national parks south of Pamplona, dropping down nearly as far as Soria before heading back to Bilbao. On hindsight it was a little long, especially as the temperature start to reach near 30 degrees, but once again the Spanish roads were magnificent. We reached over 1,800 metres without really knowing it, higher than we had reached crossing the Pyrenees. The bikes all performed well at that height, although the loss of power in the thinner air is very noticeable.
The AP68 was our motorway entry into Bilbao – a little steep at £14 for the tolls, but is without a doubt the most picturesque and interesting motorway I’ve every ridden or driven on. Amazing and changing scenery, curves and hills, spoiled only by a very strong crosswind for much of it.
Bilbao felt a little disappointing, although this was partly due to fatigue. Despite it being our last night before getting back on the ferry we were done and dusted by midnight, the time at which the town was just starting to come to life again. It is a pretty city, but clearly one that is trying to balance being industrial and commercial with its tourist side.
The last day was a short ride out to the ferry and then enduring the 24 hour crossing which was fortunately very calm – not the norm as anyone who’s experienced the Bay of Biscay will know!
Verdict
I really enjoyed the trip, the aim of which was for all of us to experience the Spanish roads and Pyrenees for the first time and to make a comparison with the Alps. It certainly met expectations, although it would have been far better to have had the luxury of an extra day to cover all of those miles.
My Caponord performed admirably (some of you will have read about the last minute woes leading up to the trip) and did exactly what these sorts of bikes were invented for – ate up the motorway miles and then come alive in the mountains, all with decent range and carrying a good amount of luggage. The ADD suspension is simply incredible over some of the more uneven road surfaces and, one year into owning it, I think I’ve finally got to know it properly and even start to love it a little bit. Despite this, the new BMW S1000XR is in the corner of my eye and I think the Capo’s days are probably numbered. But it really proved itself this trip.
TLDR: the Pyrenees are great but don’t visit too early in the year or some passes will still be blocked. There are great mountain roads in Spain south and west of Bilbao. Next time we’ll plan fewer miles per day and probably ferry directly to Bilbao.
Sierra de Cebollera Natural Park by Greg Kingston, on FlickrDam! by Greg Kingston, on FlickrCol d'Aubisque selfie, in front of the pass closed the previous day by Greg Kingston, on FlickrDescent from Col d'Aubisque by Greg Kingston, on FlickrCol d'Aubisque by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
