Landed at St.Malo on Tuesday at 8.00a.m. we set off for Bordeaux and our first overnight stop. This is a good route if you have a lot of ground to cover as you are on dual carriageway all the way. All went well until, after a comfort stop just short of Bordeaux, the bike wouldn't start until pushed and otherwise encouraged. This problem, which has yet to be solved, continued until we returned home. We did about 350 miles that day, speeding through the beautiful spring countryside of the Vendee on relatively quiet, sometimes deserted, roads in glorious sunshine. In fact on our travelling days we didn't see a drop of rain from start to finish.
The second day took us down to Biarritz through the pine forest of the Landes region (imagine driving through Thetford forest at 85mph for two and a half hours non stop) and on to the western edge of the Pyrenees to cross the Spanish border heading for Pamplona and our next stop at Zaragoza. This is grand mountain country but the road signs being in Basco, the language of the Basque people, are a little disconcerting when you've just started learning Spanish - example - Pamplona translates as Irun in Basco! Buzzard and Kites, of which we had seen a lot on the way were here joined by many Vultures and a memorable moment occurred on the road south of Pamplona when a Griffon Vulture drifted alongside us then crossed our path at a height of no more than 50 feet. We wondered if it had heard of our mechanical problems and was thinking of dinner.
Zaragoza was somewhere to return to. Our hotel, the Ibis, was bang in the centre, overlooking the great cathedral of Nuestra Senora de Pilar and the Rio Ebro. At 55 euros ( about £40) for a double room it was a bargain, and brand new. The highlight, however, was the Aljaferia , a Moorish palace at the other side of the city. In the cool of the early evening, to be in its quiet courtyard filled with the scent of orange blossom was somehow a very moving experience, and a world away from the rather " in your face" brashness of the Cathedral.
Next day it was on to ordinary roads full of holiday traffic heading for Valencia via the old hill town of Teruel. A lot of the central part of Spain is surprisingly high country and at one point on the way we came across a skiing centre where snow still lay on the hills. Here the BM showed its mettle, and despite being fully loaded it could still be hustled through the traffic and up the twisty hill roads to get by the lorries. Handling was barely compromised by the full load. And so, in the late afternoon of Maundy Thursday we came eventually to my Brother's house in la Drova, a small hill village about a thousand feet up in the hills inland from Gandia on the Med coast, where we rested, walked and toured until Monday. It rained ! - but not as much as it had done two days before we arrived - 10 inches in 24 hours.
So on Easter Monday, along with most of the rest of France and Spain, we set off up the A7 heading for Perpignan. This day's journey, nearly 400 miles, is best forgotten save for the dramatic views en route of Montserrat, inland from Barcelona, arguably one of the most dramatic rock landscapes in Europe. The following morning, whilst negotiating the Perpignan one way system, a French truck pulled alongside at traffic lights and a Yorkshire voice yelled through the open window " You're a long way from 'ome" !
On Tuesday we set off for Carcassonne, a complete preserved mediaeval town in
the lovely valley of the Aude and with dramatic views of the distant snow clad
Pyrenees. We spent half a day here and were not disappointed despite its being a
real tourist trap. We left at tea time for our next overnight at Agen beside the
Garronne nearly 200 miles away, and once past Toulouse had a lovely fast ride
along a quiet autoroute amongst endless countryside and woodlands of the kind
you usually only see in pictures, all in its spring freshness and bathed in the
evening sunshine. Next to our hotel I found a BMW bike dealership. The answer to
my starting problems? No, they didn't open until 10.00 am, by which time we were
on the road again and long gone.Wednesday took us back via Bordeaux and up to Saumur, in the Loire valley, for our final night. On the way a friendly toot and a wave of the right boot ( the customary salutation as you pass in France and Spain) from two French police who shot past us on their R1150RTs in perfect formation reminded us why we were doing this trip on a bike and not by car.
Here it was even hotter than further south, and after a refreshing glass of Heineken and a wander round the town ( if ever you need an accordion repaired I now know where to find a man who can !) we dined in fine French style in the open air beside the river Loire.
On Thursday we set off for Caen and our return ferry. The first 100 miles or so were accomplished in an hour and a half along autoroutes which were for the most part completely deserted, again through lovely quiet countryside in warm spring sunshine, and we reached Caen at 1.00 p.m. giving plenty of time to enjoy a disgusting lunch at a creperie nearby before it was time to board the ferry. Next day the journey home from Southampton was utterly predictable and depressing.
So to the practicalities. It says much for the bike that we were able to do these mileages day after day with no discomfort either for rider or pillion ( My Wife has a hip disability so soon discovers any problems in that department). Its performance and handling were everything you could have wanted, and it returned in the region of 48 -50 mpg all the time, giving a range of comfortably over 200 miles between fill ups whilst using virtually no oil. Equally important, the fairing was most effective so that it, rather than we, collected all the flies. It was easily cleaned at the end of each day. The Bridgestone BT 020 tyres have shown remarkably little wear, nor has the rear squared off as much as I had feared it might.
For hotels we used the Ibis and Campanile chains, apart from the Kyriad ( in the
same group as Campanile) in Saumur. Campaniles tend to be on the outskirts near
the main roads, Ibis and Kyriad in city centres. Average cost per double room
per night is around 55 euros. They all have web sites. You could cut the cost to
around 30 euros per room by using the budget hotels such as Premier Classe or
Fomule 1.Overall I think it has cost around £1,000 for the fortnight, but that includes absolutely everything, ferries, accomodation, meals, fuel, and all spending money.