Advice Please - Pyrenees Route OK for May??

force4fun

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I'm going to the Pyrenees early May 2017 with 3 friends. Arrive Santander, 4 days around Pyrenees and then up to La Rochelle. Return is St Malo.

Anyway, will we be ok at this time of year on this route? https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m3mG7DxLE29Zs9SRGXRG31oOizA&usp=sharing

Just wondering if we will hit snow, etc or if we are far enough away/low enough.


We are doing Spain side first - hopefully better weather - then France. Avoiding Andorra as everyone says it's ugly! Also figure there may be snow.

Route is based on RIDE magazine route http://www.ride.co.uk/routes-1/the-ride-guide-to-spain

Due to timings, we have amended the RIDE days and miss the trip to the Mediterranean - so off the boat at 7pm and 120 miles to first stop.

Any feedback appreciated.

Many thanks
 
You're going a month earlier than when we scouted the routes, but we had no problems in June and the roads - even the higher ones - had clearly been clear for a while.

There are no guarantees of anything in the mountains, of course and I've had hideous rain there even in July. But I've crossed the Pyrenees from Spain to France, over the St Pierre Martin in March (or possibly April - it was a few years ago) and though there was snow by the roadside, the road was clear.

In May you should be fine, but there are several guys on here who live in the area who will be able to give you more accurate feedback.
 
Have crossed the Pyrenees both ways in Spain and France but the trip I remember most was on the Spanish side in early May. You might find the weather at this time of year interesting. For instance, I recall, in bright sunshine, rounding a left hand bend only to be greeted with the road surface two inches deep in hailstones for as far as the eye could see and I had the devil of a job getting pulled up and was lucky not to go down. On the same trip there was one of the most spectacular lightning storms I've ever seen, complete with ground strikes and unbelieveable torrential rain. I remember thinking I should have done a little research before going so early in the season. But don't let me put you off...
 
I went May 2005 and several passes where still closed.
 
As Simon has said There are no guarantees of anything in the mountains, we were there this year May 27th and very little snow on the tops, best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
 
PM 'The Spanish Biker' - Simon, he is the font of all knowledge for this area.
 
Went to Morocco in April '16. Started in Santander travelling south to Algerciras. There wasn't any snow.


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There was heavy rain on the way back to Santander however.


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Did two weeks in the Pyrenees in 2003 - at the beginning of April.
Lots of snow around, but roads open and managed to get around ok.

Cold enough though.
Hard enough to predict what it will be like this far out.
 
As most of the above, the weather will be what the weather will be. Will it be as hot as it could well be in August? Probably not. Will it have much less snow than it might well have had in February? Probably, yes.

For whatever reasons, you've decided on your routes and dates. Now just go and find out, would be my suggestion, ummming about it months in advance won't change what'll be there to greet you each day of your stay. If you do go (which I hope you do) follow the keenest advice on here: Prepare for the worst, expect the best.
 
Thanks all for advice so far. We are going, no matter what but trying to get some pointers on the route we have chosen in case there are obvious high risk access problems due to weather/snow at that time of year.

Also, interested if those who have used the RIDE route found the distances challenging each day - they are about 200 mile days.

Bottom line is that we will go, and if needed take detours but as we are planning to use B&B we want to book that soon.

Cheers
 
Yes, all that's been said above.
Went down on my own in may 2006? and some of your Wednesday route was still closed from the winter.
Also, much accommodation in the Western half was still to wake up.
"Prepare for the worst, expect the best" seems about right - keep your options open, focus on the journey not the route and you will have a grand time.
Brian
 
Your route, how long have you allowed for each section, or are you planning to just ride until each section is finished, i am only mentioning this because a couple of your days will be (possibly) longer than you imagine, and if you have to be some where for a certain time you may need to allow yourself a little more time.
I have done a couple of the sections of your actual route, and this one PYR3 Monday, google recons on 6.5 hrs without a stop, it may take considerably longer than you expect, just heads up for you and its in no way meant to put you off.
 
Your route, how long have you allowed for each section, or are you planning to just ride until each section is finished, i am only mentioning this because a couple of your days will be (possibly) longer than you imagine, and if you have to be some where for a certain time you may need to allow yourself a little more time.
I have done a couple of the sections of your actual route, and this one PYR3 Monday, google recons on 6.5 hrs without a stop, it may take considerably longer than you expect, just heads up for you and its in no way meant to put you off.

Great feedback and that is what I am wondering. Each leg is a day - may need to shorten and take a tunnel or something over to France. Any suggestions on where to cross more centrally rather then east of Andorra??
 
im not a seasoned traveller but in 2000 I left London in june...rode thru france and spain too see friends in gib...
I rode till I wanted to stop..didn't plan anything....ended up in places I wouldn't have ever planned..for me the only plan was to get there when I got there...and get back about a month later....you can plan as much as you like....stops....b&b....hotels.....imo by doing that your putting yourself under a pressure which imo spoils the whole experience....
I know you've got to be prepared but just go for it....take what you need for any eventuality..but you can always buy things you need on route....
 
The part of your route i refered to is a cracking bit of road and i would not alter it, by mentioning it i was trying to give you a heads up on how it may take a little longer or a lot longer than you imagine, i was not trying to put you off doing it in any way, only you and the people you are traveling with will know what mileage/time you wish to spend on the bike, or where you need to be and at what time.
There are are parts of your route that many would suggest alternatives to, but the bottom line is its your trip so go where you want to go and see what you want to see, and most of all keep an open mind and be ready to deal with any changes you may have to make. Nothing is written in stone and there will be plenty of places to stop at if you do have to alter your plan, just poll up somewhere and you will find a place to stay, or alternativley as many do, use booking.com or similar for your next stop.
 
Re the mileage per day.

Everyone has their own preferences. I reckon a reasonably good rule of thumb based on: Starting -preferably with everyone with a full tank of fuel - at 09:30, lunch for an hour or so at 13:00, finishing at 17:30 with a coffee break in the morning and mid-afternoon, along with probably a fuel stop (preferably combined with the lunch or coffee stops, to save stopping an extra time somewhere) is:

250 miles a day on a mixture of say French D and N roads, increasing to 350 miles if you lob in a chunk of motorway or decently quick proper main roads.

That holds fairly good for me whether I am in the U.K., Germany or the Italian Alps. Stop every 30 minutes to have a cigarette, get your fuel stops out of kilter with your travelling companions, pause (or longer) at every photograph and flower pressing opportunity and your day will be much longer. One last basic rule of thumb is that an hour in the morning translates into two hours in the afternoon.

Of course you can go much further or a lot less, but that all depends on you. Nobody can tell you what you'll do, what you'll encounter or how often to stop. Follow the RiDE suggestions; most of them are based on 'reasonable' daily mileages but don't just rely on your satnav. Take a decent map and a phone with an internet connection. If you get stuck or tired or bored or boiled or freezing or soaked or breakdown or worse, you'll easily be able to find a different route or a hotel or help.

Now enjoy your holiday.
 
It's impossible to plan a route that satisfies everyone - some people like short days, some like long ones; some people like to stop a lot while others stop only for fuel and a very quick snack at lunch; some ride fast, others ride slow. The RiDE trips have to strike a balance where the mileage isn't so short that brisk solo riders find the days too short on the one hand, or being so long on the other hand that pillions are cursing their partners because they're still on the bike as the sun goes down. So the rough yardstick is to allow for a pillion couple to make a 9am departure, have stops for coffee in morning and afternoon, a slightly longer lunch stop, two fuel stops, but still be off the bike by 6pm. Clearly, faster riders may have a later start and an earlier finish, but actually it's usually a 9:30-5:30 kind of time scale. And it is possible to make the days take even longer, if you're stopping all the time and riding VERY steadily – the thing that makes the biggest difference is how long is spent over lunch... However, the mileage isn't picked out of a hat: the roads are selected after having been ridden so the length of the routes is varied according to the road conditions to try to keep the actual riding time the same on each day.

ETA: It's much easier when planning a trip for an individual. You know what kind of roads they like, how they ride, how long they'll happily ride in a day, how they're likely to stop – plus the tank range of their bike. Then it's possible to produce really well-tailored tours. When looking to use our routes to plan your own tours, it's definitely worth adapting them to suit you – ultimately they're suggestions, to help get you started. But the best tours are the ones that are tailored to your own preferences. But hopefully knowing our ballpark timings will help you adapt it the routes to suit.
 
Simon's comments are spot on.

Bods know themselves better than anyone else knows them. Use the RiDE suggested (that's all they are) routes *. See how you get on and amend your days and plans as circumstances dictate. It's a great service Simon and the magazine have put out, not requiring anyone to subscribe to the magazine to access the GPX files. Make use of them and enjoy yourself; if you find something better, be happy and be sure to let everyone know.


* Or anyone else's.
 
Simon's comments are spot on.

Bods know themselves better than anyone else knows them. Use the RiDE suggested (that's all they are) routes *. See how you get on and amend your days and plans as circumstances dictate. It's a great service Simon and the magazine have put out, not requiring anyone to subscribe to the magazine to access the GPX files. Make use of them and enjoy yourself; if you find something better, be happy and be sure to let everyone know.


* Or anyone else's.

Thanks Simon and Wapping, that helps and makes the distances sound viable for us.

Do people tend to book B&B etc on the day or in advance when on trips?We were planning to pre book whichI guess is fine if all goes to plan!!
 


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