We were welcomed into Barcelona with one of the craziest thunderstorms either of us had ever ridden in. The lightning and flooded roads made navigating through the already chaotic city streets all the more interesting, but we made it to our hotel unscathed. Up until now, Brian and I had intentionally avoided some of the bigger cities in favor of lesser traveled places with quieter roads, but we had a few reasons for stopping in Barcelona. The first was to take my bike to an official Honda dealership in hopes of getting all of the issues mentioned in the last post sorted out while we were still in a country where we spoke the language. The second reason was because the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix just so happened to be that same weekend and we found a great deal on some tickets! Thus, after drying off and settling into our hotel room, Brian set off to catch qualifying for the race. The next day we both made our way through the crazy traffic to get to the track for race day. Following the example of the local two-wheel riders, we were able to skip most of the stop-and-go by filtering through the traffic, and we made it to the track with plenty of time to enjoy all of the day’s events and activities.
Since the Honda dealership was closed that Monday, we took the following day to explore downtown Barcelona. We started with a visit to Park Güell, a unique urban park designed by the famous architect Antonio Gaudi. I visited Park Güell in 2012 on a trip to Spain with some friends when the park was a free and relatively quiet place to explore, but this time around was a bit different. Despite paying an entry fee and dealing with amusement park-level crowds, it was still nice to walk around and take in the scenery, including our first glimpse of the Mediterranean.
After Park Güell, we headed to Las Ramblas, one of the most iconic boulevards in Barcelona that is full of shops, markets, and street performers. Tired from all of the walking, we grabbed lunch and then headed back to relax at our hotel.
The next day we arrived at the Honda dealership just as they were opening. After much explaining and troubleshooting, a mechanic named Manuel was able to solve our biggest issue! It turns out the after-market wheels came incorrectly assembled and without any documentation for us to verify, but we had been carrying around the essential missing internal spacer (which we thought was a spare external spacer) all along! With a properly spaced wheel and somehow still functioning ABS, a fresh oil change, and all of our other minor issues sorted out, we hugged and thanked Manuel and headed north along the coast to the small beach town of Roses. We spent the evening doing some laundry and taking in the beautiful Costa Brava on our last night in Spain.
The next morning we crossed the border toward the French Riviera. We rode along the gorgeous coastline roads for a few hours before turning north into the winding French countryside. We ended the day in Carcassonne, a well-preserved fortified medieval city that looks like something out of King Arthur or a children’s storybook.
Next, we had planned to take the ferry to the island of Corsica, but with the weather forecast showing rain and low temperatures, we decided to stay another day in Carcassonne to make an alternative plan. We eventually decided to continue north along the coast. We stopped in Apt for a night and then rode along the beautiful Verdon Gorge before arriving at a small seaside apartment between Cannes and Antibes where we were looking forward to slowing down and relaxing for a few days.
The following day we went to a local gym, spent a few hours at the beach, and did some route planning for the next couple of weeks.
Although our intention had been to spend some time off the bikes, we were only a short ride away from Monaco, the second-smallest country by area in the world, so the next day we rode the winding corniche roads across the border. We walked the city streets, ate at the fanciest and most oddly located Steak n’ Shake we have ever seen, and visited the Prince of Monaco’s extensive car collection, before heading back to France.
We said goodbye to the coast the following morning as we made our way north onto the highly anticipated Route des Grandes Alpes! Even though we encountered a few afternoon downpours, the roads and vistas did not disappoint! Our favorite pass of the day was the gorgeous Col de la Bonette, which eventually led us down into the Ubaye Valley to the town of Barcelonnette.
The next day we did a seven-hour loop from Barcelonnette which included eight mountain passes and incredible views! Watching the cyclists on bicycles get to the top of the peaks made it feel a bit like we were cheating, so we agreed to come back one day and ride the peaks without the help of our engines.
While stopping for lunch we met a lovely French couple that gave us some great route tips and even offered for us to stay in their home. Throughout our travels we have been blown away by the number of generous fellow riders we have encountered, but the sheer number of friendly riders in the Alps is nothing like we have ever seen before.
The following day we started with another ride up La Bonette, this time in the sunshine, and continued on to ride up and over countless other peaks. While filling up at a gas station in Guillaumes we met Michael, a local rider who showed us up to the top of Col de La Cayolle and even bought us drinks as we chatted and took in the view.
Our three days in Barcelonnette were the perfect introduction to the Alps and we were excited to continue exploring them as we continued along the Route des Grandes Alpes.
Cheers,
Brian and Erin
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