Fri 27th Sept left Jersey on Condor ferries for St Malo, fairly uneventful apart from meeting 2 South African bikers on their way to Cap de la Hauge, had a good chat about bikes! 
Departed the ferry and headed off to Rennes made it in one piece after about 40 min on the unlit dual carriageway staying at the Ibis Centre Gare. Nipped out to the local bars in Rennes for a few sherbets but the clientele was pretty shady to say the least, was back in the Ibis after a couple of quick beers. Forgot to stop and take any photos on the 28th so stay with it there are some later
28th Left Rennes at about 9am direct route to Nantes stopping at McDonalds for a delicious Egg McMuffin and coffee. Hacked round Nantes Ring road avoiding the toll road south to Noirt by passed La Rochelle for Royan to get the ferry to Le Verdon Sur Mer on the west coast peninsular.
When i arrived the ferry wasn’t going to be in for another 2 hours
so decided to take the coastal/estuary route, part way to Bordeaux. Was treated to some stunning twisty roads with beautiful views, this was a complete surprise as soon as i diverted from the planned route it suddenly got interesting. Forgot to stop and take any photos on the 28th so stay with it there are some later.
After Bordeaux i made my mind up to aim for the coast instead of following the main artery to Spain, i diverted west and experienced some really isolated country roads through pine forests.
Closer to the coast the campsites and tourist towns became more frequent i eventually ended up on the coast at Hossegore a really vibrant town and very busy and i was desperate to stay but couldn’t find a hotel for love nor money ended up getting the gps to find a campsite at Labenne-Ocean unfortunately it was 7 K’s away slightly too far to go back to.
The Campsite had a fantastic restaurant and bar so stayed in there for a great meal and a few drinkies.
The campsite was close to the beach, rode there after leaving It was fairly windy and overcast so not a day to get the budgie smugglers out.
Labenne-Ocean
Did notice German bunkers dumped halfway down the beach amazing what 70 years erosion can do.
I left the beach and headed for the border i went to Biarritz via Bayonne for some brekkie, I decided Biarritz isn’t my cup of tea it’s a pleasant enough place don’t get me wrong but felt like a smaller Monaco and although that’s also a cool place to visit, I hate all the flash shops and fancy cars.
I left fairly sharply 11 Euros for a petit dejonair what do you expect!, GPS said 30 min to San Sebastian so made a quick dash across to Spain.
Biarritz
San Sebastian really is a cool place to visit especially the old town.
I spent the afternoon and evening people watching with a beer or two.
One thing to note is San Seb has quite a lot of elderly there i mean more older than younger.
San Sebastian
Next morning, prior to leaving I spent probably 45 min looking for a petrol station in San Sebastion in the heat of the morning sun. It’s only while you are trying to get somewhere you realise how many red traffic lights there are and in San Sebastian they are on every junction, I was sweating like a P. I. G.
Finally found one then made a break for the country, took a lovely twisty road to Pamplona then on to Jaca. The road to Jaca was different from what i imagined i was expecting mountain vistas but it was more flat plains than mountains. From Jaca i headed north then east and ended up in Broto a lovely little town with a mountain river flowing through it.
From Jaca I spent 30 min filming the route with my Gopro thinking this is going to turn out fantastic only to find the bloody Gopro switched off after about 5 seconds totally gutted still enjoyed the ride though.
My Hotel Broto
Broto
Had a superb Pizza at the restaurant on the river,
There isn’t much to choose from restaurant wise in Broto but I found the Pizza place. Anyhow downed the pizza and a beer or two and went to bed.
Woke up to drizzle I had plans to ride back up the mountain to re-try filming the stunning scenery with the Go Pro but it’s not the same in the rain....
Headed off to Sort and the further down the road i got, the brighter the weather became and eventually the sun shone. Had a great day of stunning roads especially from Vielha on to Puigcerda my cornering skills are well practiced now no chicken strips anymore!!
Puigcerda
Left Puigcerda early heading direct route to Perpignan initially the road was not much to write home about unless you hadn’t been in the mountains for the last few days. However after getting over the pass and the drop into France was utterly fantastic, stunning scenery and the hill down seemed to be endless about 25 miles of stunning road luckily the sun was shining so had a fantastic time.
After arriving back in France and getting over the fantastic entrance i decided Montpellier was where i wanted to head after returning to a place i visited about 30 years ago Pavalas Les Flots a small fishing port very close to Montpellier.
Pavalas Les Flots
The forecast was for rain on Thursday so i decided to stay put and check into a local hotel, Montpellier will have to wait for another trip. Pavalas was really vibrant when I arrived in the afternoon all the shops bars and restaurants open with loads of people enjoying the afternoon. I when to the hotel for a shower and change when I came back pretty much 70% had closed leaving a handful of restaurants open I was quite gutted.
Next morning the clouds and strong wind were here with the threat of downpours imminent I headed north to Millau over the lovely new bridge as I approached I stopped in a maintenance gate at the side of the motorway to fit the HD hero but the damned thing kept locking up I took the battery out 3 times when it finally started to work it switched itself off and wouldn’t turn on again.
Milliau
I just wanted to smash the bloody thing into the tarmac! aarrgghhh!!! I have got some great footage with the Gopro on some of the mountain roads, I have since i returned home updated the firmware it works fine now!!
With the south of France over for this trip I was thinking of just getting home I had pretty much done all the things I wanted Limoges was the town I had planned to stay in next, I got there quicker than expected and headed for Poitier and wasn’t disappointed a really nice city centre.
Nantes
A friend at work recommended Nantes as a nice city to stay so after Poitier the last town before home I had a night in Nantes really vibrant loads of bars and cafes. I went out early and had a meal which left me bloated I tried to wash the food down with beer but I was struggling in the end I had to give in and head back to the hotel, well I wasn’t too upset I didn’t want to spend 8 Euro’s 40 on pints of Guinness all night. And was getting tired of the French lager hey ho!!
By mid day the next day Sat I was at the ferry terminal St Malo getting my ticket changed for home only a few hours to sample St Malo’s bars and holiday over.
Departed the ferry and headed off to Rennes made it in one piece after about 40 min on the unlit dual carriageway staying at the Ibis Centre Gare. Nipped out to the local bars in Rennes for a few sherbets but the clientele was pretty shady to say the least, was back in the Ibis after a couple of quick beers. Forgot to stop and take any photos on the 28th so stay with it there are some later
28th Left Rennes at about 9am direct route to Nantes stopping at McDonalds for a delicious Egg McMuffin and coffee. Hacked round Nantes Ring road avoiding the toll road south to Noirt by passed La Rochelle for Royan to get the ferry to Le Verdon Sur Mer on the west coast peninsular.
When i arrived the ferry wasn’t going to be in for another 2 hours
so decided to take the coastal/estuary route, part way to Bordeaux. Was treated to some stunning twisty roads with beautiful views, this was a complete surprise as soon as i diverted from the planned route it suddenly got interesting. Forgot to stop and take any photos on the 28th so stay with it there are some later.After Bordeaux i made my mind up to aim for the coast instead of following the main artery to Spain, i diverted west and experienced some really isolated country roads through pine forests.
Closer to the coast the campsites and tourist towns became more frequent i eventually ended up on the coast at Hossegore a really vibrant town and very busy and i was desperate to stay but couldn’t find a hotel for love nor money ended up getting the gps to find a campsite at Labenne-Ocean unfortunately it was 7 K’s away slightly too far to go back to.
The Campsite had a fantastic restaurant and bar so stayed in there for a great meal and a few drinkies.
The campsite was close to the beach, rode there after leaving It was fairly windy and overcast so not a day to get the budgie smugglers out.
Labenne-Ocean
Did notice German bunkers dumped halfway down the beach amazing what 70 years erosion can do.
I left the beach and headed for the border i went to Biarritz via Bayonne for some brekkie, I decided Biarritz isn’t my cup of tea it’s a pleasant enough place don’t get me wrong but felt like a smaller Monaco and although that’s also a cool place to visit, I hate all the flash shops and fancy cars.
I left fairly sharply 11 Euros for a petit dejonair what do you expect!, GPS said 30 min to San Sebastian so made a quick dash across to Spain.
Biarritz
San Sebastian really is a cool place to visit especially the old town.
I spent the afternoon and evening people watching with a beer or two.
One thing to note is San Seb has quite a lot of elderly there i mean more older than younger.San Sebastian
Next morning, prior to leaving I spent probably 45 min looking for a petrol station in San Sebastion in the heat of the morning sun. It’s only while you are trying to get somewhere you realise how many red traffic lights there are and in San Sebastian they are on every junction, I was sweating like a P. I. G.
Finally found one then made a break for the country, took a lovely twisty road to Pamplona then on to Jaca. The road to Jaca was different from what i imagined i was expecting mountain vistas but it was more flat plains than mountains. From Jaca i headed north then east and ended up in Broto a lovely little town with a mountain river flowing through it.
From Jaca I spent 30 min filming the route with my Gopro thinking this is going to turn out fantastic only to find the bloody Gopro switched off after about 5 seconds totally gutted still enjoyed the ride though.
My Hotel Broto
Broto
Had a superb Pizza at the restaurant on the river,
There isn’t much to choose from restaurant wise in Broto but I found the Pizza place. Anyhow downed the pizza and a beer or two and went to bed.Woke up to drizzle I had plans to ride back up the mountain to re-try filming the stunning scenery with the Go Pro but it’s not the same in the rain....
Headed off to Sort and the further down the road i got, the brighter the weather became and eventually the sun shone. Had a great day of stunning roads especially from Vielha on to Puigcerda my cornering skills are well practiced now no chicken strips anymore!!
Puigcerda
Left Puigcerda early heading direct route to Perpignan initially the road was not much to write home about unless you hadn’t been in the mountains for the last few days. However after getting over the pass and the drop into France was utterly fantastic, stunning scenery and the hill down seemed to be endless about 25 miles of stunning road luckily the sun was shining so had a fantastic time.
After arriving back in France and getting over the fantastic entrance i decided Montpellier was where i wanted to head after returning to a place i visited about 30 years ago Pavalas Les Flots a small fishing port very close to Montpellier.
Pavalas Les Flots
The forecast was for rain on Thursday so i decided to stay put and check into a local hotel, Montpellier will have to wait for another trip. Pavalas was really vibrant when I arrived in the afternoon all the shops bars and restaurants open with loads of people enjoying the afternoon. I when to the hotel for a shower and change when I came back pretty much 70% had closed leaving a handful of restaurants open I was quite gutted.
Next morning the clouds and strong wind were here with the threat of downpours imminent I headed north to Millau over the lovely new bridge as I approached I stopped in a maintenance gate at the side of the motorway to fit the HD hero but the damned thing kept locking up I took the battery out 3 times when it finally started to work it switched itself off and wouldn’t turn on again.
Milliau
I just wanted to smash the bloody thing into the tarmac! aarrgghhh!!! I have got some great footage with the Gopro on some of the mountain roads, I have since i returned home updated the firmware it works fine now!!
With the south of France over for this trip I was thinking of just getting home I had pretty much done all the things I wanted Limoges was the town I had planned to stay in next, I got there quicker than expected and headed for Poitier and wasn’t disappointed a really nice city centre.
Nantes
A friend at work recommended Nantes as a nice city to stay so after Poitier the last town before home I had a night in Nantes really vibrant loads of bars and cafes. I went out early and had a meal which left me bloated I tried to wash the food down with beer but I was struggling in the end I had to give in and head back to the hotel, well I wasn’t too upset I didn’t want to spend 8 Euro’s 40 on pints of Guinness all night. And was getting tired of the French lager hey ho!!
By mid day the next day Sat I was at the ferry terminal St Malo getting my ticket changed for home only a few hours to sample St Malo’s bars and holiday over.
