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.