little Drewps all ready for the off
5 of us in all went, me on the TDM, 3 other mates on XJR1300 and 1 on a Triumph thruxton Ace special.
Took the Portsmouth Ferry to Bilbao where I picked up a screw in the back tyre so we got that fixed and had a drinky poos whilst waiting. The guy was 2014 24hr winner at Catalunya for Suzuki and his dad a champ in the 70's riding Montessa's.
first stop was Pamplona and the Albret Hotel. typical city centre hotel, but they had underground parking which was a bonus.
having a Leffe in an "Irish" pub
day 2 took us from Pamplona to castejon de sos, this was an amazing place, a little village and the best ride coming down the N260 at 9pm as the light faded, through this ravene, with the sound of the bikes echoing down was one of the many highlights of the trip.
this was the best place to stay IMHO Hotel PLaza, very traditional and great hosts. there was a fiesta going on and the small village was packed with guitar trio singin traditional spanish songs. great watch the senoras and senoritas dancing and the men doing those clapping beats
the next stop was to Viella which was a large ski town and again a fiesta was on, but not as personal as the last place.
here's some photos
it was a bit hot too, 45'C
Got a bit lost and pulled into a petrol station only to find this sign where you couldn't exit there anyway
bike struggled at 2000metres due to lack of air, ran very rich and had to keep revs at 4k which made thwe switchbacks erm, interesting
It was like being on top of the world though
so from Viella we did a round trip to Andorra, yes it was awful down in the main city but get up into the mountains and this is what greets you
it was a long day, 12 hours riding but it was worth it and had plenty of stops on the way.
aparently this was in top gear
sharing a joke
so from Viella we went into france and visited lourdes. we all agreed the french are rude and self centred. they don't give a S**T about motorbikes and trhe only saving grace was a lovely girl who styed and got us pizzas when the shop was closing. she couldn't speak english so i got by with my O level french
we were joined by a solo rider from Keswick, David, who never saw an English plate till now.
So we had a chat and bought him a coke
found this place ontop of the hill,
into france and made it to Lourdes
back into Pamplona and knackered.
Imagine visiting your 80 yr old aunt and that musty smell in the house with furniture that is well past its sell by date
the adams family springs to mind
mm, blue loo
we also did the "pots and Pans" in the Picos.
refreshment at the top
waiting for the slow coaches
we aslo called into san Vincente do Baquetta, a lovely seaside town near Santander
after 8 days of riding, it was all over, waiting for the ferry
final view of spain
on the way back from Plymouth, we called into Weston bike night as it was a thursday, it was rude not to
nice gt750 there with a 3 into 1 pipe which sounded great but I know they strangle the power
and also called into Tintern Abbey
and a slight detoar to Ponderosa in North Wales
loads more photos here, knock yourself out
photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOWf2vd2amq6GdH7uNZRd_1vEdZDsndaNTh5UWc