Hacia Cataluña

Once you cross the border from France, the Spanish Pyrenees are a different story. Keen to avoid the Cadi tunnel and its €10 fee, I opted for the winding 50km N-road down to Ripoll, and what a decision... Flawless, wide (mountain road wide) roads wrap right along the ridge of the mountains and mean you can see approaching traffic (nada) a longgggg, long way ahead.  These are roads made for bikes - or bikes are made for these roads?! I can't explain exactly how perfect these roads are but anyone who has ridden them will relate, and if you haven't, do so! The ability to use both lanes and the sharpness of the turns had me, for the first time, wishing to be on a different bike - or atleast a luggage free one. Your confidence soars as you dip left and right across endless corners: I was really pushing the limits of 3" wide tyres and on a particulary tight corner I managed to get a knee down - unfortunately along with the rest of my body and the bike! Somehow the bike came off with not a scratch though still (unlike the rain covers). Highly recommended.

Highlights: N-152

"Snow chains only beyond this point"

Dying a cold death in Haute-Garonne

Awoken dark and early to an even colder morning than the previous night by Toulouse's commuting workforce. I was genuinely surprised at how cold it was, I really wasn't expecting such a dramatic change in weather in such a short amount of time. Standing still was just about bearable but as soon as you got moving everything exposed to the icy wind would freeze immediately. Not being able to see through the visor meant again driving stupidly slowly down the country lanes, but, even at such low speeds it still meant stopping every 15 minutes to literally thaw out my gloves on the silencer.

I was initially heading towards Perpignan with the intention of entering Spain via the AP7 to Girona, but once I got to Limoux I passed out of the fog clouds and the weather swung again, it was suddenly mild and sunny as it had been the day before. It was looking so good that I decided to drive directly south and risk it straight over the Pyrenees. Words can't do that journey justice, the scenery is incredible and you can't help but look right around at the towering mountains surrounding you, which isn't great when your driving on icy roads bordering a sheer drop. There are unfortunately not many pictures, but then there was not many places to stop and take them along a single lane mountain pass. At over 2000m, the bike began to struggle and passing increasingly frequent signs warning about the road conditions ahead, I was beginning to have serious doubts about using the back routes in January. However, having left it so late in the day and not keen on heading the 50km back down, I had no choice but to continue. This was not a good place to break down, or if you don't have a head for heights, even look down! 

Eventually of course, I did make it up. Driving past the ski slopes on a bike was a strange experience. Once you reach the plateau everything seems to smooth out, there's lakes and farms, villages, a golf course, even a Lidl! And its an easy ride down the main road to the border town of Puigcerdà, and across into España, where the adventure really begins...

Highlights: Mont-Louis, Leaving Toulouse, Making it to Spain