Spain and France in company with a Fireblade
Sometime in 2003.
"We are considering renting a friend's apartment in Alicante." said our neighbour, Mandy. "Would you like to join us?" "Oh and the boys can go on their bikes because Andy wants to ride up through Spain and France as you did in 2001"
Andy later admitted to me that this was a ploy to get a week away on the bike but still keep the missus happy with the sun, sea and sangria - cunning move, Andy.
With no further prompting I started planning the route, similar to previous excursions, but with a few variations.
Also, having taken Spanish lessons this year I can order food now as well as beer!
Andy set out on the Wednesday via Plymouth/Santander. The ladies flew - Fly-Be, not broomsticks this time. They set out on Friday evening, arrived at the airport at 23:30 hired a car and, eventually, after driving around half of southern Spain , arrived at their destination at 02:30. Pretty impressive since the destination was only 17 miles from the airport (but this is another story and a worthwhile after-dinner anecdote, but only if I have a death-wish). Andy arrived in Spain on the Thursday and arrived at the apartment in Alicante only 10 hours after the ladies.
Pressure of work meant I couldn't leave until the Sunday.
I boarded the new Brittany Ferries flagship Pont Aven at Plymouth and made the inevitable comparisons between my previous experiences on the Val de Loire.
It's big, about 50,000 tonnes I think, half as big again as the Val de Loire. No steep side ramp to negotiate this time as the bikes go on the sea-level deck with the camper vans. Andy had phoned me and said the positioning and tie-down service was excellent. I decided to take my straps anyway as I would need them for the return on the Barfleur and was glad I did. Andy's ship must have had a different crew. We weren't very well positioned over the tie-down points so my long straps were put to good use. The disadvantage of position of the bike park on the Pont Aven is that you are boxed-in until the rest of that deck empties and so you are almost last off the ship, unlike the Val de Loire where once the main deck clears and they lower the ramp you are off. I don't suppose it is very much different in time but it just feels longer.
The Pont Aven is very comfortably equipped although the crew told me she rolls more than the Val de Loire. The big gripe was the queue for booking for dinner. One stewardess taking the bookings, the queue stretched nearly half the length of the ship - Brittany Ferries, you really need to work on that!
Total distance = 1752 miles in Spain and France
The entire route
The entire route profile
Contents - click on the text to go to the relevant page
Day 1 - Santander to Chinchón, Madrid - 301 miles
Day 2 - To Alicante, Valencia - 248 miles
Day 6 - To Teruel, Aragón - 198 miles
Day 7 - To Bielle, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Aquitaine - 256 miles
Day 8 - To Rocamadour, Lot, Midi-Pyrénées - 214 miles miles
Day 9 - To Saint-Groux, Charante, Poitou-Charentes - 178 miles
Day 10 - To Châteaubourg, Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany - 223 miles