Tour Reports

Posts from the 'Biking Routes – Spain' Category

Picture this: You’ve finally got your annual free pass and now you’re back on two wheels, heading south roaring through picturesque landscapes, fueled by adrenaline, and destined for adventure. Slapped between France and Spain, the Pyrenees mountain range stands a monumental testament to the forces of nature, its majestic rugged battlements a captivating playground for [...]

My 1st full self guided motorcycle tour of the Pyrenees is based on both my guided tours and my own explorations over my 12 years living in Spain/France and works in exactly the same format as my .gpx motorcycle routes for Ireland.

I felt good for another long ride today. I had a great night’s sleep. The storm has passed and hopefully took the wind with it. The sun was already up when I weaved the bike out of the car park and the day time staff arrive. I’m back on the E-803 and looking to sail [...]

There are lots of options for places of interest I could visit from here. Lovely beaches are due south. Córdoba, an ancient city with Roman, Moorish and Jewish influences is 70 miles north. Gibraltar is half a tank of fuel to the south-west and the Algarve would cap a star-studded ride west via Seville and [...]

I needed to sharpen my wits to avoid any early morning mishaps on loose, chalky rocks as I left the hotel grounds. I also need to revert to a closet sized room with articulated lorries backing up outside before I get too accustomed to all this finery. I’ll be wanting sheepskin padding for the seat [...]

I’m up nice and early again, raring to get on the bike and go despite having less than 100 miles to cover to reach my bed for tonight. It’s a fairly direct route too, with nice open roads to begin with, ending with a steep climb and some squiggly bits before the plateau, to one [...]

Stocked up and packed up, I’m ready to go. It’s a beautiful sunny morning and only 09:00 as I pull away from the fuel stop. I would have been away five minutes earlier but a guy went into the store to buy his bread and then came over to ask about my bike. He then [...]

It’s all very well sitting comfortably in your favourite armchair, reading tales of leather clad bikers riding top of the market machines with matching accessories, off to conquer the mountains that separate countries, as they brave altitude sickness, sub-zero road temperatures and hairpin bends that make your bald spot tingle. It’s inspiring when they grind [...]

As another long cold winter comes to a close many you ye in northern Europe will looking to your next motorcycle adventure or just a simple cruise south in search of blue skies and a little headspace. If the Pyrenees or Spain is the direction your headed I’d highly recommend a little detour into your [...]

The Spanish Guardia Civil Trafico will be targeting motorcyclists in a new safety campaign over the coming months.

Day 1. Saint-André-les-Alpes to Briancon via Gorges de Daluis, Colle della Lombarda, Col de Larche/Madeleine and Col d’Izoard Distance – 280km I only had a window of a few days for this trip as a trip to the West of Ireland and two more to the Pyrenees earlier in the year was starting to drain [...]

Day 1. Torrevieja to Ainsa, Spanish Pyrenees Distance – 666km The May trip had been a washout, so after two weeks drying out in the Spanish coastal town of Torrevieja (home) I had returned for a 2nd crack at the Pyrenees. It’s now June and it’s finally proper hot. I’d ridden up the coast from [...]

Day 1. Roscoff to Le Relais de Touvent, Bordeaux Distance – 550km A humbling experience came my way on my 2013 trip to the Pyrenees. Day 1 was mostly N, D and A roads south, pleasant enough if a little boring. I left the ferry in Roscoff around 11am riding 550km under blue skies to [...]

Route – Col du Pourtalet, Col de Marie Blanque, Col de la Pierre St. Martin, Porte de Larrau Col du Pourtalet The next morning I wake at dawn feeling refreshed and still elated from the previous day so I’m back on the road by 7am. I had no real plan for my last day in [...]

France, St. Beat The next morning I wake up with the strangest feeling that I’m not alone and I sit up to find a squirrel gobbling my nuts! I’d left the window open and a bag of mixed nuts and dried fruit on the window sill. A rather unlikely event I’d agree, but I’m in [...]

Departure: Spain – Valencia, Aragon and Catalonia Arrival: France – Hautes-Pyrénées

Route Description – From Carcassonne through Cathar country, entering Spain through one of the highest passes, ending in Andorra la Vella Distance – 470km of mostly Pyrenees mountain roads with 11 great Cols Cols/Passes – Col de Portel (1,432m), Col de la Crouzette (1,246m), Col de Péguère (1,375 m), Col de Port (1,249m), Port de [...]

Route length 168KM At 1236 metres (4055 ft) above the valley floor, Montserrat is the highest point of the Catalan lowlands whose name means serrated mountain, it’s about an hours ride west of Barcelona and easily possible as a return bike ride from Tossa, plenty of petrol stations and places to eat and stay. Barcelona [...]

This route takes you from coastal Mediterranean cliff side roads through Gerona, farmlands and low hills to the wonderful medieval walled town of Besalu.

Guadalest is the most visited town in Spain with more than 2 million visitors a year. The picturesque Guadalest bell tower perched on a rock pinnacle is now the icon for the Alicante province of Spain. It’s well worth a visit and the only Spanish village in the region that’s remotely like the perched villages [...]

I am not a real fan of the coast here, its crowded, over priced, polluted, seriously packed with tourists, car drivers are aggressive and the cops here seem to be worse then anywhere else. But in fairness I used to live here so have a different opinion than the normal biker just riding through.