Well my last day in France unfolded as planned with a lovely scenic ride avoiding motorways and following the course of the Loire to avoid major cities in the morning. I rolled up in Le Mans after lunch, did a lap of the 24 Hour circuit, toured the museum and had lunch in the circuit cafe.

Le Mans GSXR1000

Le Mans Circuit

Made it to Le Havre around 5PM without rushing and changed the ferry booking. Took a last ride further up the coast to Etratat instead of hanging around in Le Havre and boarded the ferry around 10PM for a good nights sleep en route.

Etratat

Arrived back in the UK to clouds and pouring rain then went the wrong way coming out of Portsmouth and headed along the A3 instead of M3. All corrected as usual by heading north on first available road and then had a wet but drama free ride home.

As I pulled onto the drive the trip meter ticked over to exactly 4900 miles at journeys end. Thanks for following the blog and I will add some photos and a reflective blurb over the weekend but right now I am home safe after one hell of an adventure.

Set out after breakfast and a strangely disturbed nights sleep, not sure I can handle the drink any more!

Another great day of riding without touching a motorway once. The mountain trail down to Pau was spectacular as expected and I then focused on getting up toward Le Mans using only N and D roads and found some great roads, towns and countryside through the Loire and Dordogne. Did a bit of campsite scouting for the summer en route.

Didnt quite make Le Mans but settled for an F1 hotel and adjacent Macdonalds between Poitiers and Tours. Blog update courtesy of free McD wifi!

Plan tomorrow is to get to Le Havre without motorway and maybe get the overnight crossing instead of the daytime one on Friday. If not I will try to visit the Normandy coast and look for Arromanche/Gold Beach for my Grandad RIP. Friday is a bank holiday in France to celebrate victory in WW2 so am expecting closed petrol stations and hotel shortages so preference is to sail home overnight.

What a spectacular day of riding! Took the N630 (need to check that road number later) from Vinaroz to Zaragoza this morning and the sections around Morella were fantastic.

Trying to keep pointing North but staying off AutoVia as much as possible was the plan. Hooked around Zaragoza on the motorway and then took the N230 (another one to check) after Huesca (nice little town where i stopped for coffee) and headed firmly into the mountains.

Got up pretty high through the ski resorts and there was still plenty snow around but the roads were clear and the views stunning. Crossed into France and heading the general direction of Pau. Stopped at a little restaurant/hotel around 5-30 pm to enjoy the mountain air for the evening and hopefully watch United v Arsenall on satellite telly.

Back in France - Skiing Anybody?

Brief update tonight from Beni Casim just north of Valencia. Lots of miles through spectactular mountains today but a lot of motorways involved.

Had a late full English breakfast before setting off at midday. Route via Malaga, Granada, Murcia and Valencia. Tomorrow heading for the Pyrenees and any route suggestions by email would be welcome.

Wednesday turned into a mammoth mileage day but it was fun from beginning to end.

I decided to go for an early start and set the alarm to get me up in time to be on the move at first light and avoid any traffic issues getting clear of the coastal towns near Biarritz. Was heard to mutter "this is supposed to be a f-ing holiday to myself as the alarm beeped insistqntly. Up and about on time and was feeling all smug as I set off after completing all the bike checks with a professional touch and packing all my stuff quickly. Rode out of the hotel gate turning left to arrive at a roundabout and wonder why everyone was driving the wrong way around it - whoops! Good job it was early and nothing much on the road!

Avoided motorways as much as possible and didnt pay a toll all day but still managed in the region of 600 miles. Spanish roads are fantastic and the N630 between Salamanca and Caceras should be ridden by everyone with a bike!

I accepted in the afternoon that Tarifa was too far to reach and that I would not make it past Sevilla. I peeled off the N roads and headed for the hills West of Sevilla on the basis that they looked nice and must have places to stay. After 55 miles of single track roads and deserted villages I have to admit that I was having a few doubts but I stuck to the principle of heading South West and eventually stumbled on a camp site with bar with about half an hour of daylight left.

Mammoth day of 14 hours riding came to a perfect close with soup followed by pasta for dinner then a large beer. Slept soundly in the tent until 5AM and then started to feel the cold. All the gear survived and you will have to read the next entry to understand why I have typed this one on an Arabic keyboard.

Well that is France almost dispatched in a single day blast of motorways and Peage. Good weather and no traffic have made for exactly the day I needed, seeing what France has to offer can wait until the summer and today it was simply in the way. Have to admit to a few aches and pains though in the knee and arse cheeks-maybe a seat upgrade would have been wise!

Holed up in Biarritz for the night with a planned early start tomorrow to get to some interesting roads in Spain for what should be a good day of riding that will get me within an hour or so of the ferry port. Dont need to cross into Morrocco until Friday really so should be able to enjoy the roads.

My back tyre is looking a little squared off from all the straight line miles, might need to use Thursday PM in southern Spain or Gibraltar getting it changed. Other than a failure of the left ear of my very expensive ultimate-ear headphones all the kit is in good shape. plan to camp tomorrow night if weather holds to check everything else before Morrocco.

Miles so far: 707

Well I made it onto the ferry so it is all systems go.

Apparently a weekend of drinking and theme parks is not the ideal body preparation so my old bones were complaining after only fifty miles! only 4950 to go!

Big Pete is free to laugh since the first technical/crap preparation issue hit after 8 miles. minor cable reroute of ipod and intercom cables required a short stop!

miles so far: 154