Blog Retired.

The event is over and so the blog is now retired.

Aragón Stats

I don't usually bother other than to enter my odometer reading into Fuelly to calculate mpg.

Best mpg of this trip was 67.96 to the UK gallon.

A total of 155.513 litres bought during 13 stops and mostly burned... The final tank was at Calais and I have still a full tank.

The first top up was at Calais on the way over. Form Calais Auchan back again was 1972 miles ridden.

Another trip over and out.

Too lazy to Blog!

My brother has been less of a lazy git and has blogged the entire trip:

https://ndtea.blogspot.com/2022/08/aragon-here-we-come.html

So I thought, "Why bother".

Day 3 - Orthez to Somport

Another day started with waterproofs on! 

We had to decide whether to take the Pass or the tunnel at Somport.

The rain turned to drizzle as we headed further south. A short distance before the left turn up to the pass we stopped at some lights for roadworks. We decided to go for it. 

It was clearing up and looked brighter. The twists and turn were exciting enough on a bike. The road surface shaming English roads!

As we neared the top we entered the cloud! 

We stil took a few photos. The pass is on one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago. There were a good few dozen walkers milling about.

Day 2 Tours to Orthez

The first job of the day was to junk the old boots and get some new ones. 

So once we left the hotel we went different ways. I had Google Maps which seemed to have no idea that it was straight forward to find and I had a great loop trekking about 4kms when 1 would have been best.

In the end the deal was done. Boots bought.

The first part of the non toll route was in rain that occasionally became drizzle. Today we had two fuel stops.

Sticking to the speed limits or there about produced over 59mpg for the first stop. 

We stayed on the N10 in its various states and departmental names.

Lunch was at a massive truck stop just off the N10. It had stopped raining but we weren't fooled. Waterproof gear stayed on until the fuel stop just after Bordeaux.

We guessed the owners might have been Portuguese!!

I had become separated from Neill as we turned onto the toll free A10. There was a single lane flyover looping to the right and left over the N10. It was nose to tail. Crunch.

Two cars into one don't go. Neill was gone by the time I slipped past and on to the A10. Traffic was heavy at the junction, but freer within a mile or so.

We had already crossed the Dordogne and Gironde rivers. They were both brown!!!

We re-united at the Carrefour petrol station. The mpg worked out at 61 or so. 

For Fuelly I use odometer readings, but use the trips on a fill-up to fill-up basis.

The air temp gauge was showing 29°C. In the traffic after the collision in had briefly touched 30°C.

The last section from the A10 was around 100kms or so on ordinary road. A little bit of dual carriageway thrown in. 

We finally arrived at the Kyriad in Orthez about 6.30pm. Checked in and decided to eat in tonight. The menu of the day €19 each.  The beer Heineken. Easy to drink and not too heavy.

The room is okay and the dinner decent enough.

Tomorrow the forecast is rain in the morning. What's new!!! 🌧️🌧️🌧️

Hopefully the Col du Somport will be okay and provide a decent photo op!!!

After Somport we will cross into Spain and then head to Huesca and Zaragoza before a call-in to see some MotoGP practice.

Our hotel is in Morella. It's the nearest place we could afford to Alcaniz and Motorland Aragón! Unless we wanted to pay up to £900 a night!  

Day 1 Home to Tours

Leaving home at about 0708 in lashing down rain doesn't fill one with enthusiasm for a near on 350 mile ride to the first overnight stop.

I had opted for the Triumph Steve McQueen ISDT replica jacket with my usual green Bikers Australia chino jeans. Fill waterproofs over the top.

I have three pairs of waterproof gloves and two non waterproof pairs! All in the left pannier! 

The first pair lasted until we were on the train. My hands wouldn't go back in them! Scratch Belstaff leather and hipora. 

Did I say it was lashing down?

We set off on the A16. I fuelled up at Auchun Calais. Scratch £100 worth of Alpine Star Goretex gloves. Couldn't get my hands in them. The lining sticking to the minutest damp. 

Cue the old Akito Mercury gloves my brother was ditching and I had taken. Went on okay and with careful management they lasted another 300 miles. By that I mean at the lunch stop drying each hand under the hot air blower in the loo and then putting each one one separately!!  

We came down on the non toll route. The A16 to Boulogne. The N1 or whatever it's called in different departments, D901 or D1001.. Then A28 from Abbeville to Rouen.

At one point it was thundering and lightning. We pulled into the services about 30k short of Rouen for lunch. We set off in rain!

Second fuel stop in Evreux. Vera managed over 61mpg on the run from Calais. Admittedly we did stick to speed limits.

There was a brief break in the rain some where on the N10 and the air temp was showing as 27°C. Sunny and at times we rode with the front of the helmets in the open position. My face is a little red, but that maybe the Pelforth later on.... 😉

It wasn't to be. As we approached Tours it began to lash down again.

At a set of lights I felt something on my left boot. Maybe I had a leaf or twig stuck to it?

Much worse.

The sole has detached from the heel almost to the toes!

If only it had done this last week. Now I need to find a bike shop. There is one about a mile from the Kyriad where we are staying. A Kawasaki and Yamaha dealers. They must have boots?

Dinner tonight in a restaurant nearby called Bella Citta. Pizzas and beer and ice cream to end with.

Ecstar Suzuki Poster

Featuring Alex Rins

Hoping after peeing rain on the way down it's this dry!!!!

Vera packed and ready to roll ..

Fitted the new tank-bag as well. Plenty of room in there for those essentials to save me dipping into the panniers and top box.  It is also expandable and I may need to do that on the way back!

Once loaded I checked the TomTom clearance and fitted the security strap in case the Givi bag decided to fly off.  

The view from the saddle isn't too bad and the new bag doesn't obscure the TomTom at all. I had to make a few changes so that nothing clashes with the steering especially when using full lock to manoeuvre.

The speedometer is digital on the right side of the clocks and so isn't obscured. I can change that to kilometres when I land in France.

One thing I have packed in the tank-bag is a towel!  I have learned from experience over decades that waterproof gloves with a variety of linings, from Goretex to other copy versions, don't like wet hands going into them! So a small towel to dry them is essential.

According to the miles to empty display I have 123 miles before a fuel stop. I was going to do it on the way to Eurotunnel, and still might if the local garage is open, but it appears that French Unleaded 95 is about 30p a litre cheaper than locally in this part of Kent. We are royally ripped off down here!

With the weather hardly looking to have improved since I last looked on the BBC Weather app it looks as though we will be in waterproofs for the first couple of days.  First overnight stop is near Tours on the Loire.

Luckily it looks as though it improves to mid-20's in Spain and seems to be something similar for the ride back up the A20/N20 route towards Cahors and Orleans. 

Our last night in France on the way back is in Chartres.

So an early start tomorrow to make sure that we are on the train we have booked. It will be a miracle if that actually happens as my experience with Eurotunnel over twenty plus years isn't favourable! Whether in the car or MoHO or indeed, on the bike.

Decision made!

So it will piss down for 300 miles on our first day. And for part of the day after.

So I have decided to wear my Triumph Steve McQueen jacket. 

It's not going to be waterproof so like in Czech when it lashed down I will wear the Triumph overjacket to protect it. But it has loads of pockets that the Rev'It lacks!

When the going gets warmer it also has zipped vents that can be opened front and rear.

It looks once we cross into Spain early on  Friday that we will be into better weather with temperatures in the mid 20's centigrade.

I am hoping the crappy weather through France will have passed by the time we get into the Pyrenees.

Typical!

After a summer where the powers that be called a drought it has begun to change. 

Of course the change couldn't wait a few days. It will start on Wednesday. The day we are going to set off on this trip!!!!

The nearest weather to where I live and the Eurotunnel Terminal.

Then on the way on Wednesday once we have crossed the channel.

Our first overnight is just to the south of Tours. For some reason BBC weather couldn't show Tours but worked for nearby Amboise.

Thursday when we leave Tours and head for Orthez in the south looks pretty nasty as well.

Five days to go...

Now that we have no football this weekend as a show of rspect for the dath of HM The Queen, it gives me more time to fettle Vera for the trip. 

I have wasted too much time in trying to get my Shoei Qwest and the Cardo SHO-1 to work nly to find that the helmet lining has fallen to pieces rendering it useless!

I have managed to sort out the LS2 Metro reafy to wear. I bought it in 2016 and although some of the lining is showing a little wear, its foam hasn't turned to dust like the Shoei! The bluetooth kit is working.  

So back to Vera. I have already (touch wood) sorted the charging problem with the TomTom using the dashboard power socket. Making a cigarette lighter style plug was totally useless as it wobbled about in the socket and lost connection.  The TomTom then went crazy!

So I have bodged up what I hope will work. Photo to follow here!

The tyre pressures need checking and I will have to get the electric pump and gauge out of the MoHo and use that.  The PR5's are 40psi in the rear and 32/33 psi in the front.  

And of course, check the oil. Vera was serviced when I bought her 13 months ago and in that time I have only covered about 4500 miles. This trip will be about 2500 maximum and so still within the service period.  It's out of warranty so a few extra miles between services won't be too much of a bugger.

Less than 3 weeks to go...

We have had the routes sorted out for quite a while and the outward journey will be taking the westerly "N10" route nearly as far as Bayonne before cutting inland.

The first stop will be at the Kyriad Hotel in Chambray-les-Tours to the south of the main city of Tours. Claire and I stayed nearby many years ago at a Campanile Hotel.  I don't remember ever staying in a Kyriad before but they are part of a larger chain.

According to the route planning software it should take us the best part of seven hours to complete a non-toll journey of over 310 miles.  

Neill has planned the outward journey and we will follow a route he took a few years back when he did the trip solo.

There is a fuel stop around halfway where we can have lunch at a McDonalds. I don't tend to use them when away, and rarely at home, but they are good for free wifi and of course a McPee.

Day two is also a long day in the saddle. The planner shows it as 316 miles and another 7 hours in the saddle. The second overnight is still in France at another Kyriad in Orthez. 

I am hoping there ae some good cheap restaurants on both nights. As I have said I am not a great fan of dinner at McD!  But we need to try and keep costs down.

But before all that I need to make sure that Vera is up to the trip. She needs a good clean and the chain adjusted and cleaned.  Careful maintenance in the year since I bought the bike means that I have not had to adjust the chain myself. It was done when the new tyres were fitted.

On that front there should be plenty of life left in them and they may need replacing after I get back. The same goes for a service. I have done a little over 4000 miles in the last year and the interval is 7500. The trip to Spain will be about 2000 miles return.

This time I will take less with me as well. On the Czech trip many of the t-shirts and a pair of jeans had a round trip of 2000 miles without being worn or even removed from the bag!

You Tube Video Somport

Neill's Aragón Blog

https://ndtea.blogspot.com/2022/08/aragon-here-we-come.html

My brother has his own travel blogs to cover the trips he goes on. Most usually with his Route 66 mate Patrick.

I have then linked all on the right panel --------->

His are usually always one-off blogs for a particular trip and so this one linked above is different in that it covers different trips.

Tickets bought!

Eurotunnel was booked months ago and we have been waiting to see when tickets for the track went on sale.

This week as it happens.

To my amazement there is a 50% ticket reduction for those of us lucky to have lasted more that 65 years.

I tried for ages to book seats in Grandstand 1C but it didn't work. I messaged Neill and he tried.

I gave it one last time from the laptop and it worked successfully first time!

So two seats booked. I have offered to go 50/50 on the tickets. It means it will cost me €25 more than the senior ticket would have.

 Booking direct with Motorland rather than using the agents saves a few quid each.

Official Motorland Site

Moving Some Posts to Travellerspoint!

I decided that trying to maintain different platforms for the blog(s) was getting difficult to maintain and so I have decided to move most the travel blogs to Travellerpoint.

This one stays in Blogger though.

All the vehicle specific blogs such as "Suzi Triplo" will stay in Blogger.

Only any that are travel oriented such as "Cruising" and "Devall Travel" have been given up and entries in future will be in The new home of Devall Travels. 

How to get there?

https://invictamoto-aragon-2022.blogspot.com/2021/11/how-to-get-there.html

Only one option now unless I want to go a whole weekend before the racing as there are no ferries to Spain from the UK in the midweek. Not from Portsmouth and I don't fancy rising to Plymouth! It would take all day on our shitty roads to get there.

So ride there and ride back it is.

España Noreste Map

With there being a lull in planning I decided to buy the Michelin map that covers the area we will be riding through: Michelin 574 Regional España.

Computers are really useful for planning and sending those plans to the satnav. In our case it's a TomTom 410.

However, I do like to have a wider view of things and the feel of a map. I do like a Michelin Map.  

Planning Paused!

So we are at that stage where planning has got about as far as it goes. It's now a case of wait and see what happens with Covid and the new variants that pop up every few weeks.

Currently travel and return to the UK results in a whole raft of testing and possibly being stuck in a quarantine hotel for two weeks on return.

So who actually knows that will happen in September 2022?  

Outward Route - Pass or Tunnel?

As mentioned before Neill's outward route goes through the Somport Tunnel.  The tunnel is just short of 9kms long.

If we have enough time I'd like to go over the Somport Pass instead and get that chalked off! I prefer the passes to tunnels every time!

It might be quicker by tunnel but I don't think anyone would want to miss the mountain view to go through a dark and dank tunnel.

Using to two points on either side of the border Google Maps I calculated it would be 6.7kms further to go over the Col rather than the tunnel, and about 12 minutes added to the day's riding. 

To me that sounds like the Col isn't that much of a problem and we can tick off a 1632 metre pass along the way!  Plenty of photo ops as well.

The two maps below are using MyRouteApp and the Michelin Map overlay.

Tunnel route left, Pass route right.

I do like to have a photo of the bike,  and even me in them, by the sign that says the altitude of the pass. 

For example:

From 2014!

Outward Journey - Hotels Changed

I have cancelled the Première Classe hotel in Joué de Tours and the Campanile in Bayonne in favour of Neill's choice of a pair of Kyriad Hotels.

His Kyriads are a Chambray-les-Tours and Orthez.