Old Gits European Motorcycle Tours
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Old Gits European Motorcycle Tours |
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2024 Write-Up Trip Notes by David Mc --- Before the trip In 2021 we run the "Marks Farewell" trip, then said goodbye to Mark has he headed back to Australia. In late 2023 Mark and Cheryl announced they planned to visit the UK in spring 2024, returning to Australia in mid to late June. This lead to the possibility of Mark joining us on another trip but he'd need a bike and the appropriate kit, none of which he facied shipping from Australia I was planning to buy a new bike in March so I culd delay selling my old one allowing him to use it and I had just about enough spare kit in the cupboard to meet Marks needs. Mark would be attending another Old Gits trip! The first week of June was set for the trip, the Pyrenees was agreed as the destination and the hotels were booked. Mark arrived in the UK in Feb and we managed to get an afternoon out on the bikes in mid-May just to introduce Mark to the H2 SX and to confirm that the kit was comfortable. That all went well so we then just counted down to the trip. 31/May/24 - Friday Roger, Mark and Me.Mark arrived on time but but he still needed to pack his luggage onto the bike. I finished work having already packed my bike then we both headed down to Folkestone via the A12, the M25 and the M20. There was sSome traffic but no big hold-ups. It was a bit slow through the roadworks on the M20 and we waved a Glenn as we passed him, stuck in the lane with the slow moving lorries. We met Roger at Tesco filling station in Folkestone, said our hellos, filled the bikes with petrol then headed for the train. There .were no hold ups getting onto train or off in France. There was a little rain in France on run to Bethune but nothing significant although we did put the waterproofs on. We were first to arrive at the hotel so we checked in and claimed a number of slots in the car park so the others had somewhere to park.. Over the next couple of hours the others arrived and before long we'd all gathered in the bar, enjoying a beer or two. We then split into groups and some of us went to the Mexican restaurant on the other side of the road for dinner. Surprisingly, a couple of the staff in the restaurant recognised us from the year before. 01/Jun/24 - Saturday Roger, Mark, Glen, Gary, Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9718713 This was always going to be a long day of lots of motorway miles so we were all prepared for it. The weather was better than the night before and we were the first to leave the hotel. No waterproofs needed. The run down to Paris uneventful if boring The run around Peripherique was the usual excitement with loads of traffic, all manic, and lots of bikes filtering with huge speed differentials. We were filtering when the oppertunity allowe but Glenn managed to "pick up" a super scooter who thought he was going far too slowly and spend a few miles trying desperately to get Glenn to speed up. Unfortunately, the Indian makes for a big rolling road-block when the gaps are narrow. We periodically get split up into smallr groups showing that a lack of intercom tconnection between all does make life a little more difficult. I wonder if Glenn and Gary will be looking a purchasing a Cardo? We pass Willie as we get towards the south of Paris but then he passes us as we
slow down so we can to the mental arithmatic needed to calculate and re-calculate our
petrol stop strategy. We decided that one more fill up would get us to the hotel with
pretty much empty tanks if we kept the pace a little lower, but we'd still be there sooner
than having to make a second betrol stop. Roger, Mark, Gary, Glenn and Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9718744 The weather had improved again. Saturday had mainly been overcast with the threat of rain that never arrived but Sunday morning was blue sky and sunshine. This was what we anted! We were all short of fuel so the first challenge was to find a petrol station. Google suggested there was one nearby but that proved not to be the case. While we all left the hotel togethe the group got split up on the petrol station search but, after a few phone calls, we all manage to find each other and then fill with petrol. For the first part of journey we were back on the autoroute. While boring, the sunshine, the chat on the intercom and some wonderful views made the time pass quickly.Soon enough w turned off the autoroute onto the more interesting roads. We passed Andy and his group who were comparing sat navs a the side of the road. We had left before them but they must have been quicker on the refuel (if they actually needed fuel) than we were. After some absolutely lovely roads and some great riding, we arrived at the hotel. Some of the Old Gits were already there and they explained that secure parking would be in the hotel underground car park but that the hotel hadn’t opened that up yet, so we got the keys to our rooms and unpacked the bikes. The garage was opened after an hour or so and we all parked our bikes away safely
before enjying a few beers waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Richard and Lee
had WhatsApp’d the group to say they were held up by a road closure following an
accident and that they’d be arriving late so I checked them in snd left their room
keys in their unlocked rooms as the hotel reception was closing. Roger Mark, Philip, Gary, Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9718749 Monday morning arrived with more nice weather. We had the usual “where will we go” discussion over breakfast and agreed on the route that took us to the med at the French/Spanish border. We'd been there before in 2010 and had good memories of it. We got the bikes out of the garage, now without the luggage, and headed towards the coast. The roads in France are OK with some really nice views of the coast from the col on the approach to the Med, but, to be honest,the roads were nothing special. We ran along the coast road and stopped, still just in France, for a drink and a bite to eat, before heading on into Spain and the run back. What a change! The roads in Spain were excellent, with good surface, good visibility and the chance to really enjoy ourselves. We had some fun! The big excitement of the day was, as we rode through part of Spain near to a large lorry park, seeing the very scantily clad lady stood at the side of the busy road, looking for business. It was noticeable that Roger actively slowed down to observe the hazard!, giving it his full concentration! The ride from Spain back into France,over one of the cols was excellent and just what we'd hoped for. We arrrrived back at the hotel after a wonderful ride had a wash and brush up, a couple
of beers then walked into town for a very nice pizza. Roger, Gary, Mark and Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9718658 The usual breakfast “where shall we go” discussion had Phillip recommend a route that was not on any of our pre-defined routes and was, according to Philip, very quiet traffic wise. A quick adjustment to the routes in the sat. navs. and we were ready to go. Matt, Martin and some others were also interested in this route but decided to ride it in the opposite direction. We agreed to wave as we passed each other. We left first but unfortunately, the Spanish border was blocked by a large number of farmers using some very large tractors, and protesting about something or other. (I don’t think we ever did find out what the protests were about.) Having sat at the roadblock for a few minutes we decided to try and find an alternative way around, only to spend the best part of an hour on some really small, but still tarmaced, goat tracks. Eventually, we gave up and went for the route through Andorra. We managed to get some relatively cheap petrol just into Andorra before a fun run over the pass. However, that was the last of the fun for a while as the rest of the road through Andorra was rubbish. Eventually we arrived in Spain and stopped for a drink and a bite to eat. We encountered a biker from New Zealand, who was over with some mates and had hired some bikes. He was on a GS and one of the mates was on a Ducati. After lunch we headed south for a bit before turning west. Sure enough, the LV-5134, the road recommended by Philip, was brilliant. A great surface and lots of bends with good visibility. We were having fun and I could tell Mark had started to really like the H2 SX. As we turned north at the end of the road we passed first Martin, then Matt, then the rest of the group, going the other way. They too looked like they were having a great time. On the run back over the Puerto del Canto we encountered the New Zealand group coming the other way. They too were having lots of fun but it had resulted in the Ducati over-cooking the bend and being very much on our side of the road. A sharp intake of breath and a squeeze through the very small gap that remained avoided anything serious, but it was a little tight. The return to the hotel avoided Andorra as the farmers had given up protesting. That evening, we had arranged for a whole group meal in the hotel. I felt a little
sorry for the only 2 other people in the hotel restaurant. They were two British ladies,
in a restaurant with 19 men, all taking about motorbikes. They didn't stay very long! Roger, Gary, Mark and Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9722817 This was move day so we were all up reasonably early, packing the bikes and preparing to move on to Lourdes. We had breakfast and said goodbye to Philip as he was heading for Belgium, then had a discussion with the hotel as they didn’t want to open the secure garage until we were all ready to leave. I managed to get across in my pigeon French and with support from Google Translate, that we were all leaving in small groups at different times, and the garage was opened. As ever, the roads were good in France but excellent in Spain. The ride over the Col de Boixols was great. Although very close to Philips' road from the day before, it was very different with narrower roads and tight bends but it still had stunning views and a good surface. The run over the Port de la Bonaigua was great fun, and we enjoyed riding with the many other bikers also riding the pass. There were some very quick people on the road and some not so quick, we happily took our place somewhere in the middle. After a stop for a drink we were heading for the Port de Bales but a WhatsApp from some of the other Old Gits informed us that it was closed so we diverted. This was the point that we started to need petrol. We stopped at a supermarket but found only one pump working and that was 95RON. Those in most need filled first but Roger was at the end of the queue and, by the time he got to the one working pump, it too had stopped working, so he didn’t get any petrol. After a few miles, we passed another petrol station but, although that had 98RON fuel, all the petrol there was really expensive, so we ignored it and moved on. The next petrol station was a good few miles further up the road, by which time Rogers’ bike was getting very low. This station only had 95RON and was just as expensive as the previous one, but needs must, and Roger filled his bike. Yes, you’ve guessed it, the next station, only a couple of more miles down the road was a lot cheaper! We got split up coming into Lourdes with all the others ignoring the golden rule that the sat. nav of the rider at the front is correct even if it disagrees with yours, so I was on my own. Getting through the middle of Lourdes was a challenge with loads of pedestrians who seemed really keen to meet their god by simply walking in the middle of the road. Eventually we all arrived at the Hotel at the same time, but from opposite directions only to find that the hotel had allocated us all shared twin rooms. A robust conversation with reception and showing them my receipt for single occupancy rooms had them scurrying around and allocating us individual rooms. This was either a genuine mistake that resulted from poor organisation by the hotel, or an attempt to screw the Brits who have a reputation for not complaining. We never did come to a conclusion on that one. We unloaded the bikes and headed out to the town for something to eat, via the hotel
bar, naturally! If you’ve not been to Lourdes then it’s a “must see”
place but not for good reasons. My impression was that, if you were to ask Del
“boy” Trotter to set up a holy shrine, then it would be exactly like Lourdes. Roger, Mark, Matt, Martin and Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9337318 Another lovely morning but a challenging start for breakfast. The hotel restaurant was huge, and very busy. It took some time to discover that every group in the hotel, and there were lots of groups, each had their own allocated tables. We eventually found the tables allocated to “The Motorcycle Tour” and sat down to eat and discuss where to ride today. Everyone agreed that the roads in Spain were, in general, better than the roads in France so a route into Span was agreed. Martin and Matt agreed to join us and we all set off through the packed streets of Lourdes, trying not to run over too many pedestrians! Matt and Martin were both riding at a brisk pace and we had great fun riding over a couple of the Cols. Matt managed to get some decent videos from his 360 camera and we all managed to scrub the edges of our tyres and put some huge grins on our faces. Unfortunately, as we moved from France into Spain, Matt and Martin both needed fuel and we lost them as they went to fill with petrol at the same time as we rode up a slip road onto a piece of dual carriageway. While Matt and Martin had intercoms their Sennas didn’t talk to our Cardos. Hopefully, in the future … In the early afternoon we came across a road that was closed. After a short discussion we all agreed that the Spanish had no idea what they were doing and that we’d ignore the road closed signs! Well, the Spanish knew exactly what they were doing and sure enough, after about half a mile, the road was completely blocked by a large machine laying new tarmac. So, the only thing to do was to turn around and go back with our tail between our legs! The run back into France was uneventful but the roads were good. It was however, very hot, and we were all grateful of the run through a tunnel as the air in the tunnel was significantly cooler. We arrived back at the hotel, showered and changed then headed down for a few beers in
the bar before heading out for a meal. Roger, Gary and Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9724612 Mark decided that, as this was his second “farewell trip” (there may yet be another!) he would spend the day riding with Richard S so Roger, Gary and I agreed a route that included the Col de Tourmalet and a few other cols for our last day in the Pyrenees. I had big expectations of the Col de Tourmalet given the Tour de France but, I was really disappointed. There were some amazing views but it was crowded, and the surface was not very good. Add in the goats and alpacas, and the associated mess, all over the road and it wasn’t really a memorable ride. If you’re in the area then it is the best-known pass but don’t expect much beyond a few nice pictures. The rest of the ride was uneventful although, we did manage to pass the same small camper van a number of times, both going in the same direction as us and going the other way. We also had fun when we overtook a UK registered FJR1300 with a couple on it. We were travelling at a reasonable pace and when the FJR rider saw us in his mirrors, he picked his pace up to. When we went past he picked his pace up some more and hung on our tail for a while. I suspect his pillion was less than impressed as it would have been an uncomfortable place to be. Back at the hotel, we had a few beers, met up with the others then headed out for a
very nice Tibetan meal. Roger, Gary, Mark and Me https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/9731552 I packed the panniers then loaded them onto the bike. I packed clothing and toiletries for Saturday night into the tank bag, and then joined the others for breakfast. We agreed a route that would allow us to avoid motorways. We said goodbye to the Old Gits who were making their own way back or were heading off on further trips. The weather was great and we made good progress through the French countryside, although there were a number of occasions when we had to be aware of average speed cameras. Almost always they were on roads where it would have been both safe and easy to cover the ground faster than the limit. I suppose it’s because fitting average speed cameras on a road where it would be difficult and unsafe to exceed the limit would likely result in very few tickets! Roger, Mark and I have some friends that live near Limoges so we made sure our route passed their house. We knew they weren't going to be in but we took severl photographs of us in their garden to share with them on Whatsapp We arrived at Limoges and checked into the hotel, having worked out how we got the
bikes into the secure car park - a bigger challenge than you’d think! After a shower
and a change of clothes we all headed into town in small groups and found somewhere to
eat. Hamburgers were a popular choice, washed down with a few beers! Roger, Gary, Mark and Me The final day of the trip arrived. Again, this was going to be a long and boring day of motorway riding, but the weather was good and the forecast suggested it would be good for the whole of the journey. We set off and headed up the Motorway towards Paris. The traffic was light and we made good progress. As we arrived at Paris we had the situation of different sat. navs. suggesting different routes What we hadn’t allowed for was, although the sat. navs. were all “bike” units, their routing engines were really designed for cars, which meant that we ended up riding unto a tunnel that by-passed a large chunk of the Peripherique but the tunnel was meant for cars only and was low, really low, to the point that we all got the impression that if we stood up on the bikes pegs we’d catch our helmets on the lights and signs in the roof. None of us tested the theory!! The run from Paris up to the Tunnel was uneventful and we arrived
slightly ahead of schedule, checked in, cleared customs and got onto the train. Another Old Gits trip was complete. Most importantly, we’d managed to get Mark on the trip, all the way from Australia. He had really enjoyed the Kawasaki H2 SX, especially on the days when his lean “high scores” had bettered Rogers. I think that all the new “Old Gits” had enjoyed themselves and it was good to catch up with those who’d been on previous trips. The French Pyrenees had been a good destination, but not a great one. Those that I asked felt the Spanish side was better than the French side. I also though that, overall, the Pyrenees were not as good a destination as the Dolomites, the Alps, Provence or the Picos. All that said, the trip was relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other destinations. The only question now is, where to next year. I have an idea so keep an
eye on the next trip page of the web site if you’d like to more. |
