Pyrenees Extreme - 4PE2602
Everyone's in a great mood as we hop on the motorcycles... I'd promised some sweepers for the morning, and everyone's immediately enthusiastic about the route in Montserrat... yes, okay, a few more curves than back home :-) A quick stop at Cardona Castle, then on to Berga. Now things really get going, on a winding mountain road, including two passes. Over the Coll de Nargo, we continue to the Col de Boixols, another highlight of our route. Then past lakes and canal systems, through a canyon to our 12th-century monastery, where we'll be spending the night. Yeehaw!
An incident in the morning split us into 3 groups, but all good, and everyone arrived safely in Pamplona. Strong winds, a bit Patagonia style challenged us on the last 150km, wow!
Our Irish crew is riding a self-designed route, while the other six of us are doing the rest-day loop. Everything is nice and relaxed, and the roads and scenery keep changing all the time. It's absolutely beautiful out here in the countryside—ancient forests, narrow mountain roads, tiny Basque villages. Then we really go for it one last time and end up in an alpine landscape at the Santuario San Miguel de Aralar. The innkeeper up here is a real character. So much fun!! After our "little" performance, we're heading to Casco Viejo: La pura vida!!
We find our way out of Pamplona, take a few kilometres of highway, and then we're back on sweeping roads, partly through stunning forests with virtually no traffic. We complete the loop via Anso before heading into alpine terrain, where we stop for lunch at a mountain refuge popular with hikers. The atmosphere is fantastic. From there, we ride down a series of incredibly twisty roads before climbing the Col Saint Pierre at 1,750 metres. Next, we descend into the valley on narrow one-and-a-half-lane roads, followed by a short connecting section, a fuel stop, and a coffee break. Then it's up to the Col d'Aubisque at over 2,100 metres—unfortunately hidden in the clouds. We continue over the next pass and through picture-perfect scenery before finally reaching the hotel. What a day! Well done, guys!
Today is all about the mountain passes! Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin, Col de Menté, and many more... ten in total, each set in spectacular scenery and every single one completely different! What a ride! Covering 265 km in this kind of terrain takes the entire day. The Pyrenees at their very best!
From our lovely hotel, we rode through the village and headed straight into the mountains, following tiny roads through small villages and over two mountain passes. It's incredible where all these little roads lead! Halfway down the descent toward Ax-les-Thermes, we climbed up to the Col de Pailhères, one of the famous Tour de France climbs. The race starts tomorrow, and the riders will be coming the opposite way. Later, we could already see spectators claiming their spots with camper vans and tents, and barriers had been set up all along our route where the cyclists will pass tomorrow. Then it was three more fantastic mountain passes for us. Back on the border with France, we noticed smoke filling the air. Forest fires are burning in France, and we were fortunate to make it over another pass and back into Spain to our hotel. By the time we arrived, ash was actually falling from the sky onto the tables, and the sky had taken on a dark yellowish tint. Perhaps that's a sign that tomorrow it's time for us to make our way back toward the coast, which is also our destination. Once again, it was an extraordinary and unforgettable day in the Pyrenees. We are all amazed by the incredible variety and beauty of this region!
It was already scorching hot in the morning as we set off heading southwest. The roads were absolutely fantastic – winding through rolling hills with every kind of corner imaginable and plenty of grip. After our coffee stop in Banyoles by the lake, we continued along some faster connecting roads before reaching the highlight of the day near Osor: the road to Sant Hilari Sacalm. Wow – what a road! You could flick your bike effortlessly from one corner to the next. Simply brilliant, and everyone was absolutely blown away. After a short lunch stop, we all agreed to take the short way back. The display showed 35°C, and later it even climbed to 39°C. Despite the heat, it was a fantastic way to wrap up the tour, and we were all looking forward to our farewell dinner together. Well done, everyone! THAT was a ride!!! Thank you so much, guys!!