Need advice on pyrenees Touring

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w;;v
Can anyone out there give me some advice please as in september me and the misses are off down to bilbao from portsmouth on the ferry with our b bird on our first long distance toure we are planing on crossing the border into france on the first day as we arive there at 8 30 am as this will be my first time driving down there how far in to the pyrenees do you think we will xpect to get on the first day? as we are thinking of driving back up through the french alps as we love the mountains and all that, we have got about two weeks to do it and see as much as we can , as anyone out ther driven up this way any advice will be greatly apriciated thanks all :bow:

 

[SILVERONE]

w;;v If your touring every day you got all the time in the world, but as long as your in the Pyrenees or France you are never more than 2 very easy days from the northen French ferry ports.
It's that long, slow slog up the north of Britain that's the pain in the arse, stop in a northern French port over night (cheaper than here) before you tackle the last bit home.

Once you done it, you'll be bitten, but take time out to chill, :yo:

 

[a3derv]

Good question!! There are three of us from South Wales looking to do the same. Can't wait :yo: Leaving on the 2nd Spetember

 

[Allan]

w;;v
Can anyone out there give me some advice please as in september me and the misses are off down to bilbao from portsmouth on the ferry with our b bird on our first long distance toure we are planing on crossing the border into france on the first day as we arive there at 8 30 am as this will be my first time driving down there how far in to the pyrenees do you think we will xpect to get on the first day? as we are thinking of driving back up through the french alps as we love the mountains and all that, we have got about two weeks to do it and see as much as we can , as anyone out ther driven up this way any advice will be greatly apriciated thanks all :bow:

Yep, did it last year and doing the same this year, Sept 7th -15th but sailing to Santander as the crossing is only 18 hours as oppsed to 36 to Bilbao.

Got off the ferry at Bibao and headed for a small spanish town - JACA.
Thats about 200 miles.
Next day to Andorra - 250 miles. The route you take is along a brill road, the N260, DO IT !!!!!. Twisties, very senic, great surface.
Have a day in and around Andorra, great roads, great place.

From there we head back along the N260 and then peel off doing new routes, so the choice is yours.

We only have 5 days so our routes are limited, but if I had two weeks, from Andorra I'd head east and go into France, across and into Italy, then back up maybe going iton Germany and then home, so much choice with so much time.

The drive up through France can be very boring and you need to choose your routes carefully, keep off the tolls, use the N roads. much nicer.

Buzz

 

[nigs]

Went in the last week of September and first week of October 2004. The French side of the Pyrennes was very quiet - a lot of places were shut (including restaurants), and finding places to stay that were open wasn't that easy on the French side. The Spanish side of the Pyrennes was busier and cheaper - roads were equally as good fun on both sides.

Agree with Buzz, the N260 is a fantastic road. But instead of staying at Jaca go a bot further and stay at the Hotel Pradas (www.hotelpradas.com) - very bike friendly hotel (owner even gave us the automatic key fob of his own private garage to park our bikes in). If you're interested in other outdoor activities there's plenty of waking in the Spanish Pyrennes National Park, horse riding, guided 4x4 off roading etc. etc. so you can spend a couple of days here if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Soldeu in Andorra is not a bad place to stay. I personally thought that the Spanish side of Andorra was crap - looked like one big industrial site, but don't let that put you off. Once the road starts rising up into the mountains, the views are fantastic - just don't let your first impressions of Andorra get in the way of the nice stuff.

We then took the road to Ax-les-Thermes - then turn right and went on some cracking roads east and north - can't remember where at the moment. But will di out the route if you're interested.

The journey from Northern France can be broken up quite nicely as well. Depends which ports you are coming in from. La Rochelle on the west coast is a good place to stay on the way down / or up. If you're think of travelling to St Malo, then Dinan is a good place to stay (about 20 miles south of St Malo).

 

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Thanks

:-: Thanks all for your reply cant wait to go now having heard all your tails we are from south wales to, the only thing i,m not sure of is which ferri to go on any info will be helpfull ariving at 8 30 Belbao in the morning there will be less traffic and more room to get used to the right hand side and all that ,
but i like the shorter time it takes from plymouth :bang: dicisions dicisions ariving at 11 30 mid day straight into it more or less, any advice boys which ferry sould we take? as we have not booked the ferry as yet
cheers :beer:

 

[Gerrard]

Andorra

Hi BB.
Just reading your post.
Just a few tips.......When you get off the ferry/boat don't be in too much of a rush, let a few bikes go first and let someone else take the lead as you will all be going the same way at first anyway.
Plan which road you want to go on well in advance a just take it easey.
When you fill up at a Spainish garage the pumps are marked and use the green one marked SIN PLOMO 95 thats what mine runs on, make sure you take some Euros in cash for petrol and tolls though you can use your credit card.... its just better with cash.
Stick to the speed limits or the flow of the traffic just for a while till you get used to things.
What dates are you going to be there, as we ( Paul & Trudi) will be going to a few places up that way for our tour round we have no plans as such,we just go where and when we want too. We are going for 14/16 days or so from about the last week in August onwards.
By the way ...You will luv it over here, have a great holiday. :beer:

 

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Thanks

Thanks all for you help cant wait to go now going from plymouth first week in sep never now prob see you on the ferry all the best thanks
BB :yo:

 

[D.S.]

why oh why

does everyone bang on about the N260 :dunno: . Yes it's a nice road, but it's an "N" road which is a "main" road. There are far, far better roads to be ridden which run parallel to the N260, but further up in the Pyrenees. But if it's your first time to the Pyrenees, I guess I'd stick to the N260, but don't expect to find too many locals using this route. Solo Moto (the equivalent to Bike Mag in this country) recently published an article about the Guardia Civil setting up Radar traps along the N260 in order to pick up valuable revenue from Jolly Foreigner, so just be aware.

 

[Allan]

does everyone bang on about the N260 :dunno: . Yes it's a nice road, but it's an "N" road which is a "main" road. There are far, far better roads to be ridden which run parallel to the N260, but further up in the Pyrenees. But if it's your first time to the Pyrenees, I guess I'd stick to the N260, but don't expect to find too many locals using this route. Solo Moto (the equivalent to Bike Mag in this country) recently published an article about the Guardia Civil setting up Radar traps along the N260 in order to pick up valuable revenue from Jolly Foreigner, so just be aware.

So which roads do you choose insted of the N260 if we want to get to Andorra?

Buzz

 

[nigs]

You could sort of zig-zag between the French and Spanish sides, but if you want to get from Santandar to Andorra in a couple of days that would be quite a bit of riding.

The 2 speed checks that we saw on the N260 were pretty obvious - you could spot them way off.

Come on DS - give us a clue on some of the better roads then so we can include them when we go back again.

 

[graham]

Pyrennes !!

just buy Michelin Regional maps nos. 573 & 574 (www.stanfords.co.uk are great for mail order) Follow the green hi-lited routes, green = scenic, these roads twist thro mountains, follow rivers, lakes etc. It really is that easy, you can't go wrong in the Pyrennes.

Andorra is nothing special, but the roads around it are great. Also useful if you want to buy some new kit but you need space to get it home.

For accomodation use local tourist offices, most helpful for finding a room at the right price. Hostals are good, something similar to b & b, or if you have the cash try a few Paradores......stunning!

If you don't enjoy the Pyrennes you dont deserve to be there!!

If you have time also take a run to the Picos Mountains (west of Santandar) :beer: :beer:

 

[D.S.]

just buy Michelin Regional maps nos. 573 & 574 (www.stanfords.co.uk are great for mail order) Follow the green hi-lited routes, green = scenic, these roads twist thro mountains, follow rivers, lakes etc. It really is that easy, you can't go wrong in the Pyrennes.

Andorra is nothing special, but the roads around it are great. Also useful if you want to buy some new kit but you need space to get it home.

For accomodation use local tourist offices, most helpful for finding a room at the right price. Hostals are good, something similar to b & b, or if you have the cash try a few Paradores......stunning!

If you don't enjoy the Pyrennes you dont deserve to be there!!

If you have time also take a run to the Picos Mountains (west of Santandar) :beer: :beer:

Best advice so far :beer: but try to keep the Picos thing quiet mate; let 'em all head for the Pyrenees :}

If it's Andorra you're heading for and want to avoid mainstream routes such as the N260 as much as possible, I suggest the following:
Head for Pamplona and take the N240 to Jaca.
At Jaca take the N330 to Biescas.
At Biescas head North on C136 which becomes the D934 in France to Laruns.
From Laruns take the D918 to Argetes Gazost (this stretch is very technical).
Argetes Gazost D921/D918 to Arreau.
Arreau D618 to Bagneres de Luchon.
Bagneres de Luchon D618 to Bossost.
Bossost N230 to Vielha (Spain).
Vielha take the C142 which becomes the C147 to Sort.
From Sort take the N260 to Le Seu d'Urgell.
Le Seu d'Urgell take the N145 to Andorra.

If you've time to spare on the way to Andorra try this little circuit. In fact, do yourself a favour, forget Andorra and just ride this.

When at Pamplona take the N240 to Jaca, but at Sigues (approx half way between Pamplona & Jaca) head north on the NA137 to Isaba (the starting point).
From Isaba take the NA1370 - C137 - D132 to Arette.
At Arette take the D918 to Lanne-en-Baretous and continue on the D918 to Tardets-Sorholus.
From Tardets-Sorholus take the D26 which becomes the NA2011 in Spain and pick up the Na140 to Uztarroz and back to Isaba.

This route is technical with loads of switchbacks and challenging, but most corners are open with excellent vision.
The surface is generally good and so rewarding if you ride it well.
I've yet to find a better stretch of road in Spain/France, however, unfortunately BIKE magazine published this route in a "10 Best Routes in Europe" article about two years ago, so I don't know how popular it is now.