My 2 week Tour of France/Spain/Andorra

[tatters]

From the 3rd of September to the 17th l carried out a 2 week tour through western Europe coving almost 5,000 miles on my 1996 Honda VFR750F by my self using only minor roads and sometimes dirt tracks in Spain, There were highs and a lows of the trip but over all l was glad l did it.


Day 1

5.30am 3rd September l arrived at the euro tunnel station Folkstone after a freezing cold 1hr ride from south London to leave on the 6.18 train for Calais, very few others were brave enough to be up so early on a Monday morning but l got talking to a another biker who was on his way back to Holland after visiting family in the uk as the only two bikes on the train our bikes were loaded into the same train car.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/train_177.jpg

We arrived at Calais around 7/8 am (clocks forward 1hr so can,t be sure) and l waved bye to the other biker as we rode out of the station as it started to piss it down which lasted all day (not a great start) so instead of messing about in wet France l made way straight to Bordeaux, Nothing much happened on the way to Bordeaux which l manged to do by 5pm (with a very sore arse).

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/borduex.jpg



Day 2

I managed to get away from the forumle 1 l staying in the previous night by 9am after loading back on my panniers and carrying out the daily maintenance and made my way to Pau using my Nokia N95 with Tom Tom set on avoid motorways which found me some great roads just like it would during the rest of the trip but unfortunately some cunt in a small French village had build a stupidly high speed but that blended into the sandy clour of the road which l hit at 50mph throwing me and the bike into the air like a trails bike on a jump, after remembering what happened to waves duke l gave the sub-frame and suspension a good check over for damage which l could not see any of at that point in time........

I made it to Pau at around mid-day and spotted a orange phone shop which was a spot of luck as my N95 was,nt connecting to any network but as it is on the continent shops shut for a long period during the mid-day so l hanged about in a local bar till 2pm when the shop opened but they explained to me that l needed to call orange and that there was a public pay phone down the road which solved the problem as orange Uk sorted the phone out but cost me £20 on my credit card that the public phone charged me.

After that waste of two hours l made my way to what l though looked like a "Interesting" pass through the pyrenees on my map, the first 10km was greezy damp road with cow shit on every bend, "could this road get any worst" l though to my self and it sure as well it did the next, 20km which were in what l guess were clouds l had around 5-10 meter visibility and the place was completely silent and bloody cold to the point were ice was building up on me and the bike also the locals had paint graffiti all over the road which was mostly stuff about ETA and other crap to scare people which did,nt help when your a on your own in the middle of nowhere in thick mist.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/from_pau.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/first_mist.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/mist.jpg

After leaving a large open area in the mist which from the big red sign l guess was the border the road started heading down hill and the mist started to clear l was then suddenly hit by the sun and its warmth l had arrived in Spain

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/spain.jpg

I Decided to head toward Pamplona and road on some excellent roads there including at one point overtaking 4 Spanish bikers on a left hand bend while getting my left knee down, one of thoses truly gloryus moments that you wish someone had filmed . I arrived at Pamplona at around 6pm but over the day l was randomly getting a vibration through the bike that only seemed to happen at high speed which was a complete mystery and l could not located the cause.

That night l did my first night of camping at a nearby camp site which was,nt bad for 12 euros but as there was no other people who spoke English l had a few beers by my self at the bar and started to regret touring on my own.


Day 3

Once again l was ready go at 9am after a quick cup of black coffee and packing up my gear and my made my way to good old Bilbao were l had been before in the past to installed my first production line on my first installation trip when l was a apprentice, once again l had got to my first primary location my mid-day after some breath taking mountain views and had a iffy KFC in the city which made me ill, after having a look about l headed off to my next stop which was a small town by a massive lake called Arija to the west of Bilbao, but after about 40km the previous vibration returned but this time it got a lot worst to the point were the back end of the bike and the swingarm was jumping up and down.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/montain.jpg

l know knew that the rear shock had blown which was confirmed by the oil that had leaked over the shock dog bones when l checked under the bike after pulling over, l was now truly fu*ked Tom Tom had found a POI near me that was a car garage so l though l would try my luck and ask there if there was a Honda dealer in Bilbao, but once l got to the town there was no garage l was starting to lose hope and was siting by the village square on the bike looking for more garages on the Tom Tom, suddenly a business card with Loris Capirossis bike (just like my old rep Fireblade) advertising a bikers cafe was pushed in front of my face by a local unforutnly l know barley any Spanish and him and his mate knew no English but after a few minutes and me making a drawing of my bike with a blown shock they got me to follow them in there car to a local private bike work shop called JVH Racing which was ran by a father and son who manged to locate a fireblade shock which was the same size in a breakers yard in Bilbao for 200 euros, who his son and daughter took me took 1hr each way to collect.

Me and the owners son then set working to changing the shock which was a complete nightmare as we had to take the sub-frame off and disconnect most of the wiring and were really struggling so josh the owner got stuck in and did what us young lads could not do

After about 2-3hrs the bike was all ready to go and l let joshs son take the bike for a test ride while l had ago on his 125cc supermoto then l had photos with the family and the bikes shaked hands swapped email etc (kinda felt like una mcgregor on "the long way round" at that point ) and l headed off back to Bilbao for the night after they refuse to take any payment. complete Legends

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/jvh.jpg


Day 4


As normal l ahead off at 9am to Arija after spending the night in a 85 euro per night 4 star hotel as l could,nt be arsed with driving about to find a cheap place so check in to the first place l came across which was a bit foolish. at around 11am l got to Arija which its self it a bit of a shit hole but the lake its by is amazing, while siting outside a local bar to rest and plan my next route a old man walked up to me and spoke something which sounded a bit like English but was not quite right and l had,nt had a English conversation in 4 days so was a bit off ear, l said "sorry l,m English" which he reply "yes l know" in a broad Scottish accent

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/airja.jpg

Had a quick chat with the bloke before l left and rode around the lake towards the city of leon, the lake its self has some great roads and views but was swarming with police and l must of passed about 5-6 speed traps where bike cops were waiting with a speed gun. The roads to leon were quite like the picture below with some twistys hear the hills which l managed to get a indicated 140mph out of the fully laden VFR


https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/road_to_leon.jpg


Once l had reach Leon l did a bit of shopping for food and a new N95 car phone charger as mine had broke then headed for the town of Zamora were l found a nice little campsite which had a gorgeous 22y old Spanish girl called Iriena running the reception and bar who spoke fluent English, so it was tent up quick shower best clothes on and l was straight to the bar were spent most of the night talking to Iriena and was doing quite well and once she had finished work l got her to come and have a drink with me but as sods law has it a pissed dutch cyclist who l had spoken to earlier that night started talking to me just before she was going to finish and would,nt fu*k off, so instead of me possibly getting some that night l talked politics/history/randon shite with this bloke who turned out to be alright and Iriena for a few hours with a few beers.
____________________
Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[tatters]

Day 5

Left again at 9am after the normal routine with a slight hang over so was taking it easy plus now l was in the hotter area of Spain so my leathers were packed away and made way for jeans and a mesh armored jacket most which made walking around towns alot more comfortable, from Zamora l headed in a south-westerly direction towards a town called Sando which was a mistake as the whole area is desert and the roads are in a shit state (avoid this area at all costs) once getting to Sando and noticing that my left hand fork seal had blown l was,nt in the best of moods and was starting to lose faith in the VFR even though suspension wearing out is expected on a bike of this mileage (62,000 miles).

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/castleroad.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/to_the_desrt.jpg

I then deiced to leave Portugal out as l was already over buject and did,nt feel like heading anymore west as the road just seemed to get worst, my target for the day became the town of Merida to the south which l reached around 6pm after going through the hot place l have ever been, even in shorts and a t-shirt going 70mph it feels like theres a massive heat gun in front of you, by chance l came across another small castle up on a hill side which commanded the approach of the road l was on, unlike most castles in Spain this one was not claimed by anyone so was empty plus not all of the stone had been nicked so l manged to drive up to what was left of the lower gate house and climb up to were the single remaining later tower is after a 200 meter steep walk/climb in mid-day 45 degree heat which was worth it for the view as you can see from theses photos.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/view464574.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/view74674.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/view46462.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/view45641.jpg

Now Merida is a strange place is kinda reminds me of the film triggers as its a large town in the middle of know where surrounded by desert and is dead as a Saturday night in salt lake city, l once again found a nice campsite on the outskirts and camped there for the night.


Day 6


Off at 9am once again and straight on to the town of valencia des la torres were l stopped for a cold beer after having a headache all morning and panned my route to Ronda then on to san Rouge

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/08092007300.jpg


On the way pass the town of Alanis l came across another castle and once again l tryed to get inside for a look especially as this one looked Moorish, but after getting all the way up there off-road on the VFR the holes in the walls were being re-build with breeze blocks and it looked like someone lived there so once again another ruined ruine of a castle.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/off-road_castle.jpg


From there on the road were amazing once again as the area around Ronda and to the straights are extremely hills with wide twisty roads with perfect surfaces.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/view467562.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/view5645735.jpg

By 8pm I had made it to San rouge which is the Spanish town oppersite Gibraltar were l checked into a local hotel for the night and had my first proper meal of the week in a local Chinese following that l retired to the hotel bar where l came across a typical lot of English holiday makers, loud rude drunk chavs and a complete embarrassment for me sitting there as people like them give the rest of us a bad reputation abroad.
____________________
Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[TheDonUK]

..

[tatters]

Day 7


Took this day easy was up and out at 10.30am after a descent hotel breakfast and rode the VFR over to Gibraltar Which went trouble free with out being messed about due to the new agreements between Spain and the Uk in 2006, Did some sight seeing had a burger king and a proper pint of English beer

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr0.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr1.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr2.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr3.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr4.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr5.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/gbitr7.jpg


Later that afternoon l left the rock and headed for Malaga were on the way l had a little crash, while going down hill in a small village my front wheel gave way on a metal drain channel cover which caused the bike to smashed down hard on its right hand side, lucky there was no seroius damage just smashed fairing and a bent brake lever but l was wearing no gloves or jacket at the time and took gravel rash on my right elbow and had a flap of skin hanging off on my right hand


A local man helped me pick the bike up and sorted my injurys with the first aid kid l carried on the bike which meant l had to cut the skin back with a pair of scissors so l could bandage the exposed flesh, but l carred on to the town of Riogordo were l stayed the night.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/spaincrash.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/spaincrash2.jpg
____________________
Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[tatters]

Day 8


Up at 9am as normal and rode to Granada for breakfast and but made a big fu*ked in the city by jumping a red light at a crossing right in front of a police car, thinking the worst the car drove pass me without even a look


From there it was on too Cazorla and then Albacete, but once again l came across another "interesting" castle which l could get into and got lost in the near by town ending up facing a flight of steps on a hill, l had no chance of turning the bike around due to its weight and the steep angle of the hill so l had to slowly ride the bike down the steps hiting my front down pipes causing one of them to pop out of the manifold

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/castile_pipe.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/setps3531.jpg

I was stuck with a serious problem as not only would it be difficult to get a good seal again but the studs holding the header pipe to the manifold are extremely weak, but l gave it a go and loosen the nuts off and manged to bash the header pipe back into place and got a perfect seal with the old copper gasket without snapping the studs when tighting up.


From that near disaster l made it to Albacete for the night.


Day 9

Off at 9pm and on to utiel were north of on the N330 l found a perfect biking road of fast twistys on a slights gradients going through the mountains with a road surface worthy of a race track. From there l took it easy to Lieida were l spent my last day in Spain but was glad to be moving on as l was getting fed up of it all now and just wanted to start moving on to home.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/9878.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/castle6867.jpg


Day 10

Off at 10am but l now had the problem of the back tire which was almost bald so l had to find a replacement soon which l hope l could get in Andorra, at about 12pm l entered Andorra trouble free and located a bike shop that could fit a new back tire but as the guy who owned the place was a complete wanker and out right rude to me l left, On the way out of Andorra though l ran in to a bit of trouble with customs

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/12092007344.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/12092007346.jpg

As l was approaching the french customs officer while on the bike he came up to me and said something in french which l did,nt understand but he was making the impression of smoking a fag so l said to him "sorry mate l don,t smoke" which pissed him off so he ordered me over to the holding area were he search the bike (looking for un-declared fags) when he had found nothing l was allowed on my way.

From there l rode to Cahors in France were l stayed the night in a B&B above a cafe that was just like Allo Allo without the Germans


Day 11

9am start with black coffee and a crosoint, in the town l manged to find a bike shop that would fit and balance a new back tire to my bike for 180 euros which l made sure he confirmed he had the adapter to balance a single swingarm wheel which he said he had, so after waiting 4 hours to get my bike back off them l headed off on the autoroute to Tours but it was,nt till l had gotten on the autoroute that l resized that the bastreds had,nt balanced the wheel and the bike was vibrating over 60mph

Once South of Tours l manged to come across a french army surplus shop on a industrial estate near by hotel for the night, apart from the usual BB guns and army kit the bloke there noticed l was English a shows me a 1942 Sten sub-machine gun complete with a magazine that apparently was found in some ones garden the funny thing was it was in full working order the only way it had been spiked was a metal wedge in the breach!


Day 12


Left at 10am and rode up to Cherbourg and along to the American cemetery at ohama beach plus the museums around there, the cemetery was quite a erry place very quite and moving plus l felt odd in squeaking boots and full black leathers walking around a place like that. later that evening stay in Caen

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/14092007349.jpg

https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/14092007351.jpg


Day 13

Up and off 10am to Calais, one last push of serious riding l made it to Calais by the late afternoon and took it easy till my eurotunnel booking at 7am the following day but Calais is a shit hole so l struggle to keep my self busy and just stayed in bars/cafes


Day 14

6.30am at the euro tunnel

Once again l ran in to a bit of bother with customs this time British customs who took one look at me and my bike and wanted a few words with me which were varouis questions about when l brought the bike what l do for work etc but no search so after that l was on the train and home finally after two long weeks.
____________________
Past:NRG50,AF1125(x2),NSR125RR,ZZR250,CX500,VFR400,KR1S,ZZR600(x2),CB400N,YZF1000(x2),KH125,Z200,FX400R,CBR954RR(x2)GPZ500S,GT550,VFR750F(x2),RD350N,XR650R,CBR600F,CB250,KDX250,YZF750R,CRM250,400EXC,KLR650,TTR600RE,DR350S,R100GSPD,RGV250,VMAX1200,DL650,KZ750 Present:G650XC,C12,CRF450X,1190ADV

[tatters]

[Qube77]

I really enjoyed reading that. Thanks!

I am thinking about riding to Bazas, which is about 40 minutes south of Bordeaux. How did you get to Bordeaux? You got there pretty quick so was wondering if you used motorways or not for that part of the trip?

Lee
____________________
Current Bike - Bandit 650s
Next Bike - ????

[OLL1E]

Great write up.

Really enjoyed it
____________________
Present: Yamaha FZS 600, Red, 1998

[Nath]

Interesting write up!

I like the fact you had lots of interaction with locals, even if some of it wasn't good (eg wanker in tyre shop in Andorra). That's one of the things that makes travelling so special.

Think spain is definitely one of the best countries in Europe for motorcycle travel, perfect weather, amazing scenery, low population density, full of culture...
____________________
Hard livin', hard luck.

[tatters]

[colin1]

i have done a rough approximation of the route on this map, good read

click here for map
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[tatters]

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Was a decent read , the Castles look cool.

Had a few unlucky things happen too, think if I had seen my exhaust pipe snap out in Southern Spain I'd have cried .

Gravel rash is a bit of an occupational risk in Spain, can't realistically wear full gear in that heat, I still wear gloves though, hand scrapes are nasty , glad we didn't get pics of that.

[sagalout]

Great read that

With all your off road exploits and Italian Job style stunting down steps have you ever considered you're on the wrong bike

[Yoko]

That was fantastic! How did you find going alone?? Personally I think I'd have got board and started talking to my self!

Amazing pictures too!

Where you going next year?? Wave, M1ke and I have talked about doing a bigger trip like that next year Looking forward to it
____________________
Sheep Shagger

[Fallen Angel]

Excellent write up Tatters

Such an inspirational trip - making me REALLY look forward to Canada now
____________________
I have an asshole tolerance level of -10
www.cliqueyclanmcc.co.uk
www.bebo.com/fallenangelfran