I never book in advance, too many variables on a bike tour. Always beat any advertised hotel price at reception. Solo rider or two up will always find a room before 6 pm. Stayed in some really strange places in Europe. From a loft to 4*. Part of the fun.
Similar advice for routes... I always find general direction is best, if you try to follow an itinerary exactly you have the impression you spend half the time looking at the damn gps...
And if the weather is really bad, you can just pull off at the nearest hotel and wait it out. Also, stay for longer in those out of the way time trap places tourists don't visit.
Half litre stainless thermos flask; stop at petrol station, buy chilled water, drink some, rest in the flask. Nice chilled water at next stop. Put your helmet on before your jacket. Park in the shade as previously mentioned.
OK so due to a number of reaseons I may have to go into the Pyrenees, maybe centred at Pamplona. Anyone know of good routes around there. Road surfaces look poorer!
Why centred in Pamplona, plenty of other better situated places like Jacca, Sort or not so pretty (town)Andorra
Did this circuit yesterday... First time hooning in the Pyrenees..it depends on what you are riding, I found the white roads to be generally very twisty, and certainly larger bikes would struggle (I was on my 900ss) , if you are looking for fast A road style then the main yellow roads are better, still twisty but not so tiring. Aim for the cols! (As a side note I would say the roads in France are in better condition, and better constructed for motorcycling. )
I always book the first night and the last night in advance. The rest is just on the fly. This time though, I have booked a couple of nights in one hotel so we can enjoy a day off the bikes.
Just done 2100 kms in Himalayas. Temp range 0-35 celsius, altitude 2000-5500 meters. Road surface smooth tarmac to MotoX. Adventure style boots, t-shirt and merino socks, textile trousers and jacket with front and rear vents and lightweight summer gloves. Bottle of water in the pannier.
You wouldn't be saying that about France if you'd been in the south of Spain - it's Shell-gripped twisty perfection
If your gear has vents you can wet down your shirt beneath them and achieve a similar effect for a short while. I always ride with thin baselayers even in summer to keep the gear from getting stuck to my skin so can dampen these to get some convection going. As I tour with mates in groups of 4-6 then I do plan the days route and the hotel we will be in that evening. I aim with my route planning to have about 5 hours on the road and to start at 9AM and finish by 5:30PM which allows time for elevenses, lunch and a mid afternoon break or other stops. I do try to plan the route to go through civilisation around those times.
I've just come back from that part of the world ... here's some of the routes we did... We road from Santander to Bilbao to Pamplona to Foix to Aix en Provence I used this guide to recommend some of the best roads in the area: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Bikers-Europe-European-motorcyclings-best-kept/dp/B09T833WKH/ref=sr_1_1 The road from carcaconne towards Millau viaduct were amazing.
