some of Europe’s finest soft cheeses
are produced.
From the Loire region, still head-
ing south, temperatures noticeable
rise, the clouds decrease, and the
grass gets increasingly browner,
scorched by the long dry sunny days,
perfect biking weather.
With the altitude of the Pyrenees
Mountains the temperature drops
slightly, and the chance of rainfall
increases, but the dry dusty summer
trails are still pleasantly hot through-
out the day. Not the sort of heat that
inhibits your ability to concentrate,
making you lethargic and seden-
tary, but a comfortable and inviting
warmth. It is a pleasant heat, but
also hot enough that it requires you
seeking a shady spot to stop on the
trail periodically, rehydrate and take
a look at the map, or you will quickly
overheat wearing your heavy motor-
cycle protective clothing.
Summer storms in the Pyrenees
Mountains are not uncommon, but
these mountain downpours in my
experience can be quick, warm,
torrential storms, full of energy and
excitement. Rumbling thunder and
flashing lightening, not hours of cold
drizzle so commonly found in Eng-
land. In fact, flash floods resulting
in damage to crops, buildings, even
fatalities are not unheard of within
the Pyrenees Mountains.
Here’s a thought - Is it possible to
be excited by bad weather?
I’ve laid in my tent, torrential rain
bouncing off the flysheet, listening
to the thunder rumbling around the
valley sides, the pitch-black darkness
punctuated by the bright flashes of
the overhead lightning and feeling
very alive and stimulated.
Clearly such a storm is less fun and
much more dangerous if your riding
your motorbike out on a dirt trail, but
fortunately this is not a problem I’ve
yet encountered. I have however, rid-
den the twisty tarmac hairpin bends,
bike fully laden, in such a storm, with
TRAVERSE 46
minimal visibility and increasingly
conscious of the feral streams of wa-
ter dragging mud and stones into the
path of your knobbly tyres, an experi-
ence offering a real adrenalin surge.
Google Survey – “Accommodation”
When I was a child I was given a
copy of the “Guinness Book of Re-
cords” and recall a record where a
“western” child lived in a tent within
his parent’s garden for over a year,
it’s one of the only facts I remember
from the book and I’m sure I’ve miss
quoted it!
Camping continues to be a very
real pleasure for me, the concept of
being self-sufficient, carrying your
“bedroom” on your motorcycle, with
the ability to pitch a tent and spend
the night almost anywhere. Espe-
cially during the first day’s ride on a
motorcycle trip, I have the excitement
of not knowing where that evening’s
campsite will be. What will the res-