Picos, Portugal, and the Pyrenees

As mentioned in the last post, we are so happy the weather forecast pushed us further west into Spain because the next few days in the Picos de Europa were some of our favorite riding days yet. Our first full day was spent riding the Potes Triangle; a route full of twisty canyon roads, epic views, and almost no traffic!

We had so much fun riding the Potes Triangle and chatting with fellow riders that we decided to extend our stay an extra night and spent the next day exploring more of the surrounding mountain roads.

The following day we set off in the pouring rain toward Cangas del Narcea, a beautiful old mining town where Brian’s great-great-grandfather was born. After a stop in Oviedo to get some lunch and shelter from the rain, we were welcomed into Cangas del Narcea with blue skies and sunshine. We spent the afternoon walking around the historic center and searching for the local priest to try and get an official copy of Brian’s great-great-grandfather’s baptism certificate (something his family had done 20 years ago when they visited). We eventually did find the priest, but had no luck getting the certificate as it was Friday night and the building where the documents are kept was closed. Still, we enjoyed our time in the quaint little town as it felt like we were the only tourists around.

The next day took us through some fantastic mountain roads along sections of the Camino de Santiago, an extensive network of ancient pilgrimage routes stretching across parts of Western Europe and terminating in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. Although the Camino has religious origins, people from all faiths and walks of life (pun intended) can be seen making the long journey by foot. Even though we admired these intrepid hikers, we were very happy to have our motorcycles to get us the rest of the way to Santiago. We spent the evening walking around the medieval city, admiring the cathedral at sunset, and making a plan for the next few days.

Brian and I had heard wonderful things about Portugal, and after realizing how close we were to the border we decided we couldn’t pass up the chance to see what Northern Portugal had to offer. The next two days reiterated how great it can be to just go with the flow when plans inevitably change because Northern Portugal surpassed our expectations. We took the lesser-used route across the border through Peneda-Gerês National Park and wound our way through lush green rolling hills along the N103 and into Chaves.

Tired from moving so quickly the past few weeks and wanting to explore a bit more of the surrounding area, we decided to stay in Chaves for two nights. We took the next day to sleep in, go for another ride, work out, and relax.

All too soon, it was time to pack up and start heading east again. As much as we would have loved to continue exploring Portugal, we were still hoping to make it to the Alps before the height of tourist season, so the rest of Portugal would have to wait. We continued on the N103 to Braganca before turning north through another national park and onto the highway into Spain. This stretch of road had wind that rivaled Patagonia. After being blown sideways for a few hours, we stopped in Valladolid to talk with someone at a Honda dealership about the long list of problems my bike was starting to accrue (more on that in a moment). We then pushed on to Burgos and spent the evening chatting with a British adventure rider who has ridden all over Europe and gave us some great advice on our route.

Exhausted from our long ride the previous day, we rode the short two hours to Pamplona for a much-needed rest day that would set us up well to finally begin exploring the Pyrenees! As alluded, over the past couple of weeks my bike had developed quite a few minor issues and quirks including a leaky water pump (apparently quite common with my model), a leaky rear brake line, and a comically loud intermittent squeak that seemed to be coming from the rear wheel/brake area, to name a few. Brian shrugged off the rear wheel squeak as debris on the pads or rotors which usually works itself out or can be fixed with sandpaper, however, on our ride to Pamplona my bike’s ABS light began flashing constantly, indicating a system malfunction. Other than a slightly weaker rear brake and the head-turning clown car squeak, the bike rode fine so we kept pushing on and made a plan to get the leaking brake line replaced and the rear wheel inspected in Barcelona in a week’s time once we were finished exploring the Pyrenees.

About an hour into our first proper loop of the Pyrenees, riding through yet another picturesque Basque mountain town, Brian noticed a well-equipped garage full of motorcycles out of the corner of his eye. Given the recent addition of my flashing ABS light, we decided to see if the owner would let us use his bike lift so we could remove and inspect the rear wheel. We almost pressed on but decided to make a U-turn and were greeted by a man named Juan Carlos who introduced us to Basque generosity at its finest. Not only did he agree to let us use his garage and all of his tools, but he spent the next hour and a half helping to remove the wheel and try to diagnose the problem, even pulling out a dremel to grind the head off a bolt that looked like the culprit.

To keep a long story short(er), after much inspection and deliberation, we concluded that the supposedly sturdier aftermarket spoked wheels we purchased might have come with a defect that was causing a 1-2 mm spacing issue to wear down my ABS sensor and other surrounding components. We had some ideas for creating a temporary solution, but they involved some spare parts we had left in the hotel. Thus, we remounted my rear wheel and made plans to return to Juan Carlos’ place the following morning. We continued on with a slightly shorter version of our intended route for the day that took us over beautiful winding mountain passes across the border and back from France.

The following morning we returned to Juan Carlos’ home but had no luck fitting the spare spacer. Since nothing about its current condition was inherently dangerous, we decided we would monitor the wheel but continue on with our plan through the Pyrenees until we could get to the Honda shop in Barcelona. Despite discovering a major mechanical issue with no apparent remedy so early into our trip, it was really great getting to know Juan Carlos and his family and connecting with them over our shared passion for motorcycling and travel.

After many thank yous to our new friend and his family for their remarkable generosity, and many failed attempts to give them some money for all their time and help, we set off for Ainsa - a town that was perfectly situated for some routes we planned to ride and where we had booked a hotel for the next three nights. We were enjoying the roads and surrounding landscapes (including a stop at the beautiful Foz de Arbaiun gorge pictured below) until about an hour from Ainsa when I noticed my rear wheel wasn’t turning smoothly. After pulling over and assessing the issue, we determined it must be a wheel bearing, however, it was 6 pm on a Friday in a small mountain town. We had no luck finding a shop that could help so we cautiously rode the rest of the way to Ainsa. By the time we arrived at our hotel, my bearing had further deteriorated rendering the bike practically unrideable until the shops reopened on Monday.

Although the timing of the breakdown was not ideal, we decided to make the most of our time in Ainsa. I attempted to convince Brian he should still ride the route we had planned and just drop me off at a trailhead to go for a hike, but he opted to join me and we both traded our two wheels for our two feet. I rode pillion on his bike along the winding roads to Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. Unfortunately, we failed to consider the fact that it was a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon and ended up having to wait a few hours to be allowed up to the crowded trailhead. The wait proved worth it, however, and we still managed to complete the 11-mile hike through the gorgeous canyon and past countless waterfalls before sundown.

Our short two-up ride the previous day reminded us both how happy we are that I am on my own bike, so I took the next day to relax, do laundry, and work on the blog while Brian went for what ended up being a very rainy ride over the mountains into France. After he returned and regained the feeling in his fingers and toes, we worked on finding a way to get the rear wheel off my bike. We were able to borrow a car jack from the hotel owner and found a piece of wood to make it slightly more stable on my skidplate, but the whole ordeal really made us reconsider the value of center stands even with the added weight.

*no flower pots or buckets were harmed in the making of this photo

When Monday finally arrived, Brian strapped my wheel to the back of his bike and ended up riding an hour south to find a shop that could replace the wheel bearing. The shop owner agreed with our suspicion of a manufacturing defect in the wheel spacer that was causing excessive pressure on the bearings. He replaced the faulty wheel bearing which has bought us a bit more time to get in touch with the manufacturer and figure out a permanent solution. After remounting the wheel we went for a wonderful afternoon test ride in the arid mountains south of Ainsa. The wheel felt great and it was so good to be back on my bike again!

That evening we realized we had been so distracted by my bike issues the past few days that we had not visited the historic downtown area yet. After a short 10-minute walk, we were pleasantly surprised to find that a town event was happening that evening. All of the locals were gathered around tables enjoying what appeared to be some kind of snail stew. We decided to join, but don’t let our expressions fool you; snails are definitely an acquired taste.

The next day’s route rivaled the Potes Triangle as one of our favorite days of riding thus far. We set out early to try and evade the predicted afternoon thunderstorms and embarked on a seven-hour loop that included two of the Tour de France peaks (Tourmalet and Aspin) as well as some gorgeous alpine lakes. We did eventually get rained on, but it was still a fantastic day full of incredible views.

The following day we left Ainsa heading east over a few more of the Tour de France peaks. We managed to get in some good roads before the afternoon rain convinced us to cut our ride short and stay at a lovely bed and breakfast near the small town of Sort, Spain.

With the rain not showing any intention of letting up, we geared up in our waterproof layers and soggy boots to make our way toward Ribes de Freser, a Spanish town we were planning to call home for a couple of days to explore the eastern region of the Pyrenees. Despite the rain, we opted to take the mountainous route up through the small country of Andorra before passing briefly through France on our way back to Spain. Andorra has a few unique aspects. Other than its small size, it is known for its plethora of ski resorts (I am not sure we saw a single flat patch of land while riding through) and its duty-free shopping. Also of interest, it is not part of the EU but its two nominal heads of state are the bishop of Urgell in Spain and the president of France.

The next day we did a southern loop with fantastic winding roads that took us through part of Cadi-Moixero National Park.

And just like that, our time in the Pyrenees was coming to an end. We explored a few other roads on our way out of town and then hit the highway for Barcelona!

Cheers,

Brian and Erin