I set off at 7.00 this morning, hoping to get some decent distance covered. I think I did - just landed in Poitiers, 525 miles from home. Nothing much to see en route - all motorways. Three hours of rain between Antwerp and Paris (which was horrid to get around), after that fair all the way. And now for some relaxation.. Off to Jaca, Spain tomorrow!
Day 3. After good breakfast of bacon and eggs, and as I get ready to Leave La Rochelle it starts to rain lol. The satnav is showing 207 miles and despite putting on avoidances for toll roads it advised that it was not possible to get to DAX without using the tolls. Not deterred off I go. The first half of my journey to Bordeaux was on N roads and with mixed weather of sunshine and showers (some of the showers were very heavy). I decided that as it was raining I would go with flow and allow the use of tolls. So just north of Bordeaux I joined he motorway. I’m glad that I did, as getting around Bordeaux would have been a nightmare had I not done so. Loads of traffic and many junctions to keep me on my toes. Once I was south of the city the weather picked up to a very pleasant 22c and I only encountered a couple of very light showers. I had a couple of breaks to rest my rear end. There was vary little of interest on the road to DAX (dual carriageway) until I was 15 miles from my destination when I hit a lovely stretch of road. When I arrived in Dax my satnav wanted to take me on turns that were now barred and on streets where priorities had obviously been changed, a nightmare. I eventually found the hotel only to discover reception did not open until 17:00hs. So I parked the bike and oiled the chain before a 6 mins walk in to the town centre and a beer. I’m guessing that like me not many people will know anything about Dax. So Google is my friend and I dug up this. Dax, is a city whose wide open sky welcomes its visitors after their long journey through the forest of the Landes. But this image is no substitute for the real sensations one experiences when meandering down the lanes of Dax at one's own rhythm. The roads of Dax, for reasons now known only to them, all unfailingly lead to the "Fontaine Chaude" constructed by the Romans. The Romans first cultivated the city, which they Christened "Aquae Tarbellicae" (a name derived from the name of the first tribe who settled in the region : The Tarbelles) and then "Aquae Augustae" (named after the daughter of Emperor Augustus of Rome, Julia Augustae, who's visit made the city and its beneficial springs famous throughout ancient Rome). The city remained loyal to its vocation as a spa town, despite those periods of profound sleep (from the 5th to the 12th centuries) following Barbarian invasions. A simple glance at the ramparts (largely destroyed during the last century, were build originally in the 4th century and later reconstructed in 1465 with 46 turrets and 4 gateways), makes it clear that the history of Dax (shortened to Acqs and later renamed Dacqs) was not always such a peaceful one. The city, as throughout the Aquitaine region, experienced three centuries of English rule (1152 - 1453, Alienor of Aquitaine through her marriage to Henry Plantagenet of England, gave Aquitaine to the English, this did not include the Pays Basque at the time), a somewhat strange period, when rulers offered wedding dowries of no less than a region of France! Time is the key for such a wealth of history to be truly understood. So anyway I headed back to the hotel to check in. Once done I got changed and headed back in to town for some food and a few beers. The old city wall dominated my walk in to the town. I also came across the bull fighting stadium where a music festival was being held. Fed and watered I headed to the hotel and my bed.
@Vulpes and @Wessa: Thanks for the beautiful pictures and the interesting reports. May be a diving suit would help.
@Wessa Dax also is the home of the French Army helicopter training school. It has a museum there too https://www.museehelico-alat.com
@Wessa did you see much damage from forest fires on your way from Bordeaux to Dax? My route in August took me slightly to the east of your route and the damage there was noticeable.
A good day today- some 300 miles, the last of which were great! En route. then on to Jaca it was. Time for a beer. And then met Steve @Wessa . After that a good night was had with more British bikers. Good day!
That is interesting, I did not see the museum as there was loads going on in the city centre. Maybe next time as I would definitely stay in the city again if I was this way again.
Day 4. I left Dax and headed for the D947, this led me onto the N134 which took me all the way to Jaca. The initial road was a bit uninspiring, but as I got further down towards Spain an the Pyrenees they got really interesting. A whole lot of undulating twisty’s the rest of the way. The view of the mountains was awesome. I stopped at the town called (Wim was also here) Navarrenx and took a couple of snaps. I took a short detour to the Canfranc-Estación an interesting place https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Canfranc-Estación,+Spain&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari I had coco cola and cake and then rode the last 14 miles in to Jace. On the ride in I came across three English biker lads and quickly established they were staying in the same hotel as me. So when we got to the hotel parked the bikes we got changed and had a few beers whilst I waited for @Vulpes (Wim) to arrive. After far to many beers Win arrived and we arranged to meet the lads for dinner. Dinner turned out a hoot with lots more beer and biker shite conversation before turning in for bed. We seen the guys at breakfast as they were heading for the next leg of their journey. Our chance meeting just confirmed to me that us bikers just love to change any story that includes bikes.
Day 5. After a breakfast of potato omelette Wim and I set off to ride over to Pamplona for lunch. We were treated to some brilliant roads to get us there. It was 32c so we decided to have lunch and give up on a walk about and ride back to Jaca. The first challenge for me was that my Garmin just did not want to follow Wim’s Tom Tom. In despair I gave up on the Garmin and just followed Wim. You would think that the satnav (Wim’s Tom Tom) would have taken us back the way we came. Nope a completely different way on another set of cracking roads. After some very technically challenging roads we arrived back at the hotel and yes you guessed some beer.
Yep, some brillant roads today. First stop at a rather empty reservoir. Next on to Pamplona, were en route we encountered this "coven" After that we had lunch in pamplona, but it was just too hot to take in the sights or take pictures. Just an image en route. Hot! The route back had some amazing twisties, little technical mountain roads. An absolutely brilliant day!
And I'm sat at home feeling very jealous. Still, I'm really glad you're both enjoying yourselves and plenty more great roads to come.
Your a twat for not being here. Love you though and get through that operation and get back to your full riding self
Great stuff. I stopped off at Pamplona at the end of July, the road there was superb, the NA-700, plus the view at the peak by the mirador de Etxauri was amazing. You're bringing it all back again, Ta.
