Pyrenees; June 2009
Gallery
A Last Minute Chalet and The Millau Bridge
View the Pyrenees in a Google map.
Until the day before our trip the only planning we had done was to book the Brittany Ferry Barfleur for a return trip from Poole to Cherbourg, with outbound and inbound trips of Sunday 7th (0900) and Friday 19th (1830) June respectively. We also booked a chambre d'hote on the Cherbourg penninsula for our first night. As we thought we would be spending most of our time in France we invested in the book French Bed and Breakfast (Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay). We had used French B&B (otherwise known as chambre d'hotes) previously on our trip to the Nurburg Ring back in 2004 and found them to be of good value on the whole. It's also a way to get to know a bit about about the real France. The Saturday before our outbound trip it ocurred to us that it might be a good idea to think about where we might be going. We got on the web and started browsing for a homebase from which we could tour Pyrenees. We came up with a small chalet in the hills just to the west of Perpignan. As it was Saturday, the letting agent was unable to contact the owner and therefore unable to confirm whether we could rent the chalet. We tentatively booked the chalet for 4 nights, Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th June. After contacting the owner, the agent would contact us at the start of the week when we were already in France to let us know whether we could use the chalet or not. That was fine with us because firstly it had given us a specific objective, i.e. get to the Pyrenees, and secondly we could always get another chalet via the agent if it subsequently turned out that our chosen chalet was unavailable.
We assumed we would have a chalet to base ourselves at during the middle of our holiday so we packed 6 days worth of T shirts, pants and socks with everything else we needed into two Givi panniers. For those that have done this they will be familiar with what this involves. You start optimistically laying out all that you believe you'll need only to find out that it will not all fit into the panniers. You then gradually narrow it down to the bare essentials that will fit in the panniers. We didn't take our jacket liners because it was bound to be too warm in France for those! The rest of Saturday was spent doing some final checks on the Blackbird. The rear pads looked a bit thin so I took some new pads with us just in case. A good idea as it turned out.
In nice weather we turned up for the ferry at Poole, a trip all of 5 miles for us. The ferry was fairly empty and the trip to Cherbourg was very pleasant. However, as we were coming into Cherbourg the weather took a turn for the worse and we had a wet 50 mile ride to our first chambre d'hotes. The highlight on the way was watching 4 French Hercules doing some spectactular low altitude maneouvers as part of the 65th anniversary of D-Day celebrations. The chambre d'hotes was run by an English couple and was quite unremarkable in all respects, the bed in particular was awful which isn't good for a B&B. There's not much to say about Monday and Tuesday (8th and 9th) other than to say there were big storms over much of France and it was very very wet and cold. (Remember we left our jacket liners were back in the UK.) On Monday night we stayed at a chambre d'hotes at Chabonne, near Poitiers, which we had picked out from our Chambre d'Hotes book. Our French hosts were fine but a very strange French couple staying there at the same time as us soured it a bit. Our hosts seemed to be a bit embarrased by the behaviour of their fellow French citizens. On Tuesday afer leaving the chambre d'hotes we really did get a drenching. We ended up in a Campanile hotel at Aurillac that night which was fine as it was just what we needed at the time. We had taken our Asus netbook with us and the free wifi allowed us to confirm with the agent that we had secured our chalet and to MSN with people back home. There was also a MacDonalds nearby which as all bikers know are an oasis in very wet weather. (This was our second visit to MacDonald in our first two days in France.)
On Wednesday, the weather was much better and with the objectives of crossing the Millau Bridge and finding a chambre d'hotes near to Carcassonne we set off. In warm and sunny weather we rode down some lovely roads and crossed the Millau bridge. It has to be said that the Millaun bridge represents a remarkable feat of civil engineering achievement (designed by a Brit) but crossing it was a bit of anticlimax as you can't see much through the barriers that run along the side of it. We guess that's to stop people gawping at the scenery instead of watching where they're going?
We used our Chambre d'Hotes book to locate a chambre d'hotes at La Redorte, near to Carcassonne. Unfortunately when we got to it it was full (with bikers). We were redirected to an alternative chambre d'hotes a few hundred metres away but unfortunately they were no longer doing chambre d'hotes. However monsieur was very helpful and took to phoning around until he found us a chambre d'hotes at Homps just up the road. The chambres d'hotes at Homps was pricey but nice. It didn't look much from the outside but it was impressive inside. It had a spiral stone stairway at its centre and our room was huge. That night we sat outside in the sun eating pizzas with a litre of wine at a small restaurant besides the canal that runs through Homps. At last, it felt like our holiday had started. The Carcasonne area is somewhere we liked very much.
Roquefort-de-Sault and a Change of Brake Pads
On Thursday we made our way to our chalet in the Pyrenees at Roquefort-de-Sault. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and although not raining heavily it was overcast with drizzle and none to warm. On the final approach to Roquefort-de-Sault you pass through Quillan and Axat where the scenery becomes fairly dramatic with the roads carved into the sides of rocky gorges. The final road to Roquefort-de-Sault climbs steeply winding its way up the side of one of the gorges. It wasn't possible to get up to any sort of speed going up on this winding road. We seemed to be going forever and then suddenly Roquefort-de-Sault appeared around a corner. It seemed at the time that we had just ridden to the top of a mountain. When we got there we telephoned the chalet caretaker but he was proving to be a very difficult man to contact. (We never did get to meet him.) In the end we walked up to the small bar in the village and asked the monsieur who runs the bar how we could get hold of the caretaker. (We found out the caretaker was called Bernard.) Monsieur very kindly took us to where Bernard lives by letting us follow him in his car. What a nice man. When we got there monsieur tried to rouse Bernard but Bernard was nowhere to be found. Fortunately his very nice wife was. Bernard's wife took us to the chalet and got us settled in. The chalet was just right for us. We unpacked and then made a return trip to Axat to get some provisions in. When we got back it was still overcast, drizzling and cold so we turned the heaters on and sat there feeling a bit deflated. We had something to eat and ended the evening watching House DVDs. It wasn't quite what we had in mind when we thought of a place in the Pyrenees.
On Friday it all changed as the sun came out big time and it got very warm indeed. I did a few jobs on the bike. I took the back wheel off and changed the rear brake pads which had taken a bit of a hammering on the windy roads. It had been niggling me so I had to do it. I also had a look at my Honda push and lock petrol cap which embarrassingly had stubbornly refused to open at the pumps. Chris got on with recycling our clothing. The rest of the day we took in the rays, read our books, ate and drank. A lovely day and thankfully the weather remained warm and dry for the rest of our holiday.
Andorra
The plan for Saturday was to ride to Andorra, entering from Spain and exiting to France. Things didn't quite go to plan as we ended up entering and leaving Andorra via France. Approaching Bourg-Madame and the Spanish border you get a view of the Pyrenees in all their glory. Form Bourg-Madame we climbed the pass that took us to Andorra and to Pass de la Casa.
Pass de la Casse seemed a bit tacky to us. As you enter Andorra it looks like a multicoloured Lego construction protruding from the side of a mountain. It exists to attract outsiders into buying goods at favourable prices based on Andorra's tax haven status. Consequently there is no border check going in but there is a considerable Duoane presence on the way out checking vehicles. We had a look around but didn't see many bargains apart from a huge bottle of whisly for 19 euros. (It just wouldn't fit in the topbox.) We rode down the main road, the CG-2, to Andorra la Velle where we had something to eat in a fast food place, turned around and made our way back to France. Apart from the scenery and winding mountain roads around Pass de la Casa there didn't seem to be much to Andorra? The drivers there are defintely something to be wary of. Back in France we had a lovely ride through to Ax-Les-Thermes and Quillan back to our chalet. We met a group of British bikers two of whom were sensibly riding Blackbirds. The temperature in Quillan hit 35 Centigrade and there was a palpable temperature increase as we descended to it. Because of the heat we reluctantly rode in jeans.
A Dip into Spain and then North to Cherbourg
On Sunday we mostly stayed at the chalet. We did have a bit of walk and took a short ride further up the road from Roquefort-de-Sault to the top, around 1200 metres. Interestingly, further up, the road opened up into high pastures with farms. Other than doing these things, we read our books, ate, drank and lazed around. We did think about going the Catalunya MotoGP but the thought of riding in the heat to such a busy venue didn't tempt us. We subsequently heard that it was 40 degrees centigrade at the circuit. (We called our son back home and asked him to record the MotoGP.)
On Monday we loaded the bike up and with a tear in our eye left our chalet. The plan was to once more head for Bourg-Madame but this time go to Spain instead of Andorra. We skirted Andorra to the south for about 100 miles and crossed the Pyrenees back into France from Sort on the C13 and C28 roads. The Spanish roads were generally fine but I did noisly scrape my Blackbird's exhaust on the road as a poor joint between old and new sections of the road got the heavily laden Blackbird's suspension wallowing. Oh dear I thought! It's one of the Blackbird's weaknesses and not the first time it's happended (although this was the hardest I've done it.) Luckily no real damage done, just another mark of character added to the bike. At Sort, we stopped off at a nice roadside cafe where a couple of German bikers had stopped. (Good choice, one had an X11, i.e. a naked Blackbird.) We took the C13 from Sort followed by the C28 and rode the winding road through Bonaigua Pass. It rises to 2,072 metres at Port De La Bonaigua where we found a summer hibernating ski resort waiting for winter. They get a lot of snow in winter we undertstand. The views of the Pyrenees were stunning and Chris even managed to have a walk in the snow.
The road was enjoyable as it wound it's way nack and forth up and down the pass. Lots of gear changes and leaning into first rising and then descending 180 degree bends. In places the road was quite broken up and I did get caught out on a patch of gravel on the way down with the front wheel bottom-clenchingly skirting sideways towards the other side of the road. I guess cars with snow chains do a lot of damage?
That evening we stayed at a nice Chambres d'Hotes in Saint-Laurent-de-Neste. Our helpful hostess telephoned the local bar/cafe and booked us in for dinner. She said that it mainly did lunches and was mainly used as a bar in the evening. We were the only ones in for dinner. Instead of the menu arriving, Le Patron, who was a kind of an ageing hippy, arrived with our first course. We didn't get to choose anything as we worked our way through a four course meal and a bottle of maison rouge. One of the best meals we've had and all for 30 euros for the two us. We had a good chat with Le Patron and a local in the bar on the way out. A really good day.
On Tuesday the plan was to ride up to the Dordogne stopping off on the way at a place called Montcabrier, near Fumel in the Lot. We had a three course lunch on the way at a very pleasant road side restaurant. In 2002, Chris and I had stayed with our son with a couple in Montcabrier and had kept in touch. He was biker who unfortunately has since passed away (lung cancer) but she still lives there making a living. It was nice to meet with her and catch up. When we were there in 2002 I used to enviously look down on the bikers riding the winding road below that follows the valley and wish that I could be doing the same (we had gone by car back then). So it was with great pleasure that I rode along that road this time around. It lived up to expectations. Using our Chambre d'Hotes book we located a chambre d'hotes at Belves, just west of Bergerac. A very nice chambre d'hotes as it turned run by yet another welcoming lady. We slept like logs that night and breakfast on the sunny decking was a treat. OK it was June but you did get the impression that the poor economic situation had resulted in fewer visitors to the area this year. We were the only ones staying at a chambre d'hotes with seven chalets.
On Wednesday the plan was to get to the Loire vally. It was meant to be a travelling day but it turned out to be a quite a good day despite the travelling. We stopped at a Les Routiers on the way to the Loire. It was full of truckers and we were a bit confused about how you went about getting your food. A Madame took a lot of pleasure in teasing me about my ignorance of Les Routiers in front of a bunch of truckers at the bar. "I will teach you how it works in France" she croaked. "No thanks" I'm thinking. It was a bit rough and ready but it served good food at a reasonable price so it was defintely my kind of place (if not Chris'). Chris thought I was brave to try the prawns. (Left the oysters though.) This was our first time in a Les Routiers but we will definitely be using them in future. Strange thing was that wine was free and all the truckers were drinking. Not sure what the drink drive laws are in France but we stuck to water.
Our Chambre d'Hotes book probably came up with the best chambre d'hotes of the holiday at a place called Savigny-en-Veron, near Samur and Chinon. It's run by a welcoming retired couple who provide very good accomodation at a very reasonable price. It was about 30 degrees centigrade that day so we went into Chinon that evening for a stroll and dinner at a pizzeria. Yes, we like French pizzas. The only slight problem we had at the chambre d'hotes was a noisy cockerel which started cock-a-doodle-doing at a very early hour. I was tempted to go out and strangle the French national symbol. It was funny in the morning to hear a Flemish couple staying at the same place going on about a noisy cock.
Thursday comes around so we feel the need to make our way towards Cherbourg as our holiday is sadly coming to an end. We start off with a ride along the Loire and then make our way to Le Mont-Saint-Michel. We know it's down to individual preference but after the peaceful Pyrenees we didn't find Le Mont-Saint-Michel to be to our taste. It looks good from a distance but close up it's crowded and over commercialised.
From Le Mont-Saint-Michel we made our way to our last chambre d'hotes at Vergoncey near Avranches at the bottom of the Cherbourg penninsula. It is a traditional farm chambre d'hotes and we had a nice dinner there with 3 other French couples as company. The main dinner entertainment was provided by Le Patron who spoke at great length to the exclusion (and what also appeared to be frustration) of his guests. Some of the couples made the effort to work with us at communicating but when Le patron got going we understood around 10% of what was said.
Suddenly it's Friday 19th June, the last day of our holiday. We were a bit depressed about that because we had had such a good holiday. We made our way up the west side of the Cherbourg peninsula stopping of at a pizzeria in Barneville for lunch. (Not the best we had.) Quite a nice place with a bit of money by the looks of it. Even had a small version of Sandbanks. After lunch it's on to Cherbourg. As usual I get us there much too early and we spend some time wandering around Cherbourg and the Britanny Ferries terminal. (I'm thinking why didn't we spend more time in Barneville?) While were lined up to get on the ferry a flustererd Spanish lorry driver threatens to reverse his lorry over our Blackbird. He's in the wrong line and getting anxious about it! Despite the ferry being full, in particular with a load of school kids, we have a good crossing. We meet an interesting couple who we instantly get on well with. Very unusal for us and we end up chatting for the whole trip. They have place in France and invite us over. I think we'll be taking them up on that. Soon we arrive at Poole and disembark with a bunch of macho bikers intent on demonstrating to everyone around them how special they are because they ride a motorcycle. (Makes me weep. They must be insecure about something?) A bit later we're home in Corfe Mullen and it's nice to be home but it's also sad our holiday has come to an end. We managed to clock up 2,073 miles over the holiday and apart from a temperamental petrol cap the Blackbird performed flawlessly. (Although it did run a bit hot in the Pyrenees at times.)