Introduction

Context . . .   

Hatching a cunning plan at the Ducati factory!

This Pyrenees ride has its origins when four of us were shooting the breeze in a lovely Bologna restaurant earlier this year.  We were all fired up because we had just been to the Ducati and Ferrari factories and we started musing what might be possible in terms of an adventure.  It was John who blurted out something like “let’s go for a ride in Europe” – and so we did.

Mind you, we were encouraged by some of our other friends who were just about to undertake an ‘insane’ ride through the Alps.  But we also remembered the comments we made in 2007 when we were driving along the N-260 in Spain – including how nice it would be do this road on a bike.

So over several glasses (or was it bottles!) of wine we made a pact to undertake this ride . . . and so we have!

There were several complicating factors that needed serious consideration – not the least of which is that Lorraine and I live in Australia, which is ‘half a world’ away from Europe and we needed a motor bike!  Other deliberations included the best timing, our other commitments and what bikes to use.

The short of it is that everything was resolved positively and we all agreed that a late August/early September ride would be the go – and so it was!

The Original Plan . . .

The biggest picture was that we would ride the Picos, Pyrenees and Cantals.  The only definite accommodation arrangements were Bilbao, Potes, Anduze and Mauriac – we decided we would make the rest up as we went along.

So we go from here to there . . .

More Serious Planning . . .   

We all started researching much of the available ‘literature’ in search of our own ‘motor cycling nirvana’ in these parts . . . there is a surprising number of biking and driving books on the subject.

Perhaps we should write our own book?

And given our propensity for organisation we decided to make a ‘master plan’- actually it was easier to keep the big picture in mind while investigating specific roads and potentially interesting things to see.

The original plan . . . which is very close to what we did
[Click map for a larger image]

Getting Under Way . . .  

 We made the ‘long haul’ from Oz to the UK via Ho Chi Minh City and then a shot up to Sheffield to see some friends for a few days before heading south to East Sussex.  I had come to know and love Lewes when I spent a month (plus) there last year building a guitar – so it was a bit like another ‘homecoming’ as we were also there in February this year!  Anyway, we spent a few days catching up with people and getting things organised for the ride . . . and enjoying lovely Brighton suppers with John and Liz’s family and, separately, Chris and Val.

The Power Rangers . . .

The key ‘cast’ members for this story are John and Liz (from Lewes UK and L’Isle Jourdain, France), Chris (a long term friend and business partner of John from Brighton UK) and Neil and Lorraine (all the way from the Antipodes).  Not only do we all share more than a passing interest in motor cycling, the ‘blokes’ just happen to be musicians (of varying ability!) and have spent our careers in and around the IT industry.  It only seemed natural that we end up undertaking such a ride.

Why the Power Rangers . . .

Frankly, I had never heard of the Power Rangers before this ride (maybe because we never had kids?), but John did such a good job with this running gag that it became part of the lexicon for the ride.  And the longer it went on the better it became – consider these ‘facts’ from the Power Rangers web site . . .  

• Power Rangers are teams of normal people who morph into costumed Ranger heroes and are able to use special powers and pilot colossal assault machines called Zords to defeat and overcome evil forces that threaten humanity.

•  When "morphed" Rangers become powerful superheroes wearing color-coded skin-tight battle suits and helmets with opaque visors.  Each team's costumes are nearly identical aside from individual Ranger’s colour and helmet design.  Morphed Rangers generally possess superhuman strength and durability.

• Ranger teams operate with five or three members and they may not disclose their identities to the general public.

It appears as though we meet nearly all the requirements!!

Can you see the similarities . . .

The ‘Zords’ . . .   

It is a complicated story about how each bike came to be on this ride . . . but they were a gorgeous Suzuki SV 1000s, a Suzuki Bandit 1200s and a BMW 800GS.

Our three bikes plus one interloper . . .

Helpful Locals . . .

As all will be revealed, we had a lot of assistance from Manuel/Jacques Garmin (Chris’ GPS) in finding our way around – but without being offensive to our electronic friend, he sometimes adopted a most indifferent attitude and we wondered if we would be better off without him.  It was here that some very helpful locals stepped in – take for example this interesting character in Pamplona!

Aye Aye shipmates . . . you’ve got a big job ahead of you!