Pyrenees Extreme 4PE2601
After some of the tour participants and the tour guides arrived a day earlier, we also met during the day. But the official start of the tour is as always with the welcome briefing at 5:00 p.m. So we meet in the pool area, and chat in a cozy circle over a drink about the upcoming tour. After we have talked about driving technique and traffic safety, we hand over the motorcycles and conclude the day with a wonderful dinner with a beautiful view of the beach. Tomorrow it starts we are already curious.
Today it really starts and we have the first day of our tour. Already a few minutes before the morning briefing is scheduled, everyone is ready and so we start a little earlier. Already for the trip out of the city we have chosen a beautiful route through the hilly landscape behind Barcelona, and we drive past the well-known mountain Montserrat to finally dive into the foothills of the Pyrenees. After an excellent lunch we dive into the world of mountain passes and test our tires and engines for the first time and are simply enthusiastic about the landscape and the roads. After a very long ride we finally arrive at an old monastery that will be our home for this night and end the evening with an excellent dinner, some local wine and good conversations about the course of the day and our expectations in the tour. We are already curious.
The second day of the tour has begun, and after we have adjusted to our motorcycles and teammates yesterday, things are progressing quickly. We are surprised by the beauty of the landscape right after our monastery where we spent the night, and after a short connection stage over the flat plain we meet again on the foothills of the Pyrenees. Just like yesterday, there are some passes on the program whose names no one knows but whose driving beauty is undisputed. After an excellent lunch in a beautiful medieval town, some spectacular curves along a reservoir are on the program before we drive into Pamplona via the motorway. We are already quite exhausted, but tomorrow is also a rest day. Let's see what we do.
Today is a day of rest on the tour and what could be better to switch off and rest than to ride a motorcycle through the area. We offer a short and a long motorcycle trip on this day. So almost the entire group starts together in the direction of the French border and at the first coffee stop a small part of the group separates and drives the short route back to Pamplona to explore the city further. The rest of the troop goes over wonderful curved roads to San Sebastian and after a small lunch snack on the viewpoint of the city we continue to separate into a group that drives back on the highway to Pamplona and a group that takes the complete planned route under the wheels. In the end, we all had a nice day or enjoyed our time with sightseeing. For dinner we meet again in a restaurant on one of the large squares in Pamplona and enjoy our dinner and the wonderful architecture of the city. Satisfied we fall and our pillows and are already curious what tomorrow will bring us.
Today our tour takes us to the highest part of the Pyrenees. First we start in the foothills of the mountains where wonderful curvy roads await us that lead us higher and higher. After lunch just before the French border, we drive back to the valley on the passes of the Tour de France through the high mountains at up to 2000 m above sea level and via picturesque small side roads. On the way we encounter not only the legacy of various animals that live on the alpine heas but also whole herds of wild horses, sheep and cows that can also wait right behind a curve. After an exhausting but varied and interesting ride we finally arrive at our hotel where we have dinner and fall happily and satisfied into our pillows. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Directly after breakfast, a nice ride to the Col de Tourmalet awaits us and we prepare ourselves for a quick start to the day. But it was far from it. A cycling and hiking event takes place on the pass and we hardly make progress, but this allows us to enjoy the beautiful landscape all the more extensively. After we left the first pass behind us, nine more, which had much less traffic followed. So we get what we wanted on a Track that doesn't sound very long according to numbers, namely 260 km and are pleasantly exhausted at the end of the day. After we have reached our hotel shortly after refueling, we had our traditional boat beer before we take a little walk in the city in the evening and also have an excellent dinner in a restaurant by the river. Today we have experienced a lot and are already curious about what awaits us tomorrow.
Already at breakfast we are in joyful expectation for this day of riding, although today it goes out from the high part of the Pyrenees. Immediately after the start, it goes over the first passes first on narrow one-lane roads, then on multi-lane passes and then again on narrow roads through the forest. This diversity has already inspired us the last few days and even today we are very happy with the choice of route. Slowly we realize that the last few days are already somehow stuck in our bones but we are happily enjoying the last curves in this beautiful mountain massif. At the end of the day we have another beautiful route just before our hotel that mobilized our last reserves. At the end of the day we enjoy an excellent meal again and fall happy and satisfied in our beds.
Today is the last day of the tour, and we get on the motorcycles together one last time. Although the Pyrenees are already behind us, we still encounter some beautiful winding roads on the way to Barcelona. Of course, the day also has some surprises in store for us, but we manage to reach our hotel before the rush hours traffic jam. After almost all of us have arrived on time for dinner, we celebrate the successful tour and decide early in the evening to recover from the efforts of the last few days. The tour guides Tillman and Holger say thank you to everyone who was there and we would be happy to welcome you again on one of the next tours. See you soon!