Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and Alps Trip

[lew600fazer]

If you want to see what some of the roads are like go to my you tube page
www.youtube.com search for Lew600Fazer McColl these were from March this year.

[Hedgetrimmer]

The bike fell over while I was taking snaps. I ought to know better than to park up in neutral on a mountain road    Nothing serious done to it, still perfectly rideable, so it's onward bound - headed for the Route des Grandes Alpes next   


Slaninar, I don't have any problems riding on the right. Only forgot briefly once - literally a couple of seconds while my mind was elsewhere pulling out from a stop somewhere. No traffic about fortunately!

[Slaninar]

The bike fell over while I was taking snaps. I ought to know better than to park up in neutral on a mountain road    Nothing serious done to it, still perfectly rideable, so it's onward bound - headed for the Route des Grandes Alpes next   


Slaninar, I don't have any problems riding on the right. Only forgot briefly once - literally a couple of seconds while my mind was elsewhere pulling out from a stop somewhere. No traffic about fortunately!

Asking because a friend went to Scotland and London this summer and said he just couldn't get used to the traffic - for the whole 2 weeks he was there. Cycling and renting a car, no motorcycle though. Had to make conscious effort to look at the "wrong" way first, even when crossing a street. 

For parking - I always stop in 1st gear, then turn the bike off by putting the kick stand down. That way I'm sure it's not in neutral and the kill switch works, in case I forget to lift up the kick stand when starting. Being one of the most absent minded people I know - always make "procedures" so I don't mess up. 

Seems you had great weather and those sceneries look lovely. 
Scratches to your bike are cosmetic and will always remind you of a great trip - unless you bother to polish and paint them. 

[Hedgetrimmer]

Asking because a friend went to Scotland and London this summer and said he just couldn't get used to the traffic - for the whole 2 weeks he was there. Cycling and renting a car, no motorcycle though. Had to make conscious effort to look at the "wrong" way first, even when crossing a street. 

Scotland?! Ffs, don't let him ride anywhere near London!

For parking - I always stop in 1st gear, then turn the bike off by putting the kick stand down. That way I'm sure it's not in neutral and the kill switch works, in case I forget to lift up the kick stand when starting. Being one of the most absent minded people I know - always make "procedures" so I don't mess up. 

You can bet that's a habit I am trying to reinforce. Usually do it anyway, but for some reason, didn't this time 

Seems you had great weather and those sceneries look lovely. 
Scratches to your bike are cosmetic and will always remind you of a great trip - unless you bother to polish and paint them. 

Weather has been great - a bit too hot if anything, 35deg.


Battle scars 

[Hedgetrimmer]

N116 en route to Perpignan, for one night:

[red98]

More great pics nick  ....how you getting on with the SAT NAV ?

[Hedgetrimmer]

More great pics nick  ....how you getting on with the SAT NAV ?

Cheers Paul. The sat nav has been a godsend, has taken a lot of stress out of the trip. I've still used it in conjunction with maps and Google maps. I use Google to select waypoints to program a trip, but keep the maps handy to see more clearly where everything is in a region, and to see if there are any little detours I might like to take. I've had a few moments where i've cursed the tech., but it's most likely down to operator error 


Example: did a ride this evening down to the coast. Relied entirely on the sat nav. to do a loop. At one point, it decided to recalculate the route, and left me going round and round a roundabout until it had it sorted. But without it, I wouldn't have been confident in just doing a little local ride on a whim like that. There's probably ways to do things simpler than I manage, if you're familiar with them, but it was worth the layout for this tour alone I'd say 

[mtread]

Try MyRoute together with the Satnav. Free version works on laptops and tablets. Create your own route via Google Maps then download to the Satnav. Just been to the Czech Republic and back using it. Brilliant 

[esetest]

N116 en route to Perpignan, for one night:
Great pics , looks like you had an epic trip .

[Hedgetrimmer]

First half of the Route des Grandes Alpes today, from Menton to Briancon:








Sospel:











Then broke through into hot sunshine:











Top of the Col de Bonette closed still:





But only missed out on a couple hundred feet or so:





Back down the other side:









Thunderstorm quickly closes in:





So hid in a tunnel until it passed 





Top of the Col de Vars, and another thunderstorm in my way:





Just skipped it though 





View from the hotel window at Briancon:

[Hedgetrimmer]

Home now, after a 948 mile, 1 hit slog from Gresy-sur-Aix near Annecy to Carlisle.


Route des Grandes Alpes from Briancon to Annecy:






















Col d'Iseran:




















Chateau de Menthon, near Annecy:








Would have carried on, but once again, defeated by the weather; too damned hot this time 

[robbo]

Great pics,thanks for posting.Wow 948 miles in the heat we've been having,and obviously hotter where you've been,total respect.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Thanks Robbo. Last year, me and midden were defeated by the weather - too much rain all over Europe. This year, it was the weather again, only too much heat this time. Otherwise, I'd still be going now. A brilliant trip though