A long day today of around 400 miles but all fantastic. I spent the morning on superb twisties in lovely countryside and then moved on to great sweepers before deciding that if I wanted to get to Spain, I had better get some miles under my belt.  I headed south on faster roads and picked Ste Enimie as a a place to stay. I am in the Auberge du Moulin which, on a scale from 0-10 scores about 18. It is a wonderful place - not too expensive, well appointed,  great food and situated on the banks of the river at the bottom of a spectacular gorge. Mine host knows bikes and had a chap come out to show me the private car park and to place a plank under my sidestand so that there was no danger of it sinking into the grass.

If I were not headed for Spain, I would definitely stay another night or three here. Put it in your travel diaries folks! The wifi is also very good!

I'll try and get some pictures posted.

Ste Enimie

Una vez más por mi iPhone. Estoy en los desfiladeros de Tarn, no lejos del puente famoso de millau. El paisaje es fenonemal. Intentaré escribir más por wifi

Sent from my iPhone

I am in Troyes, having decided to use the autoroute as far as here and save exploration of the smaller roads in noerthern France for day and weekend trips from home.

Staying in a modestly priced Logis de France, good value except the advertised internet is so slow that I am using my phone in tethered mode for preference.

The road was virtually traffic free and reminded me once again how overcrowded and poorly maintained our roads in the UK are. Likewise when I saw the lunch offered at one Aire (huge joints - Subday roast style, extensive salad bar and great tasting coffee, i was reminded how poorly served we are with our Motorway services. All too expensive and lousy quality.

Weather was cloudy and cool to begin with but has warmed up during the afternoon. Mary says she had sun all day, so the title of this blog might have been better phrased as "Escaping the Sun" as far as today goes!

Tomorrow, I am on country roads, heading generally south..

Photo test

Tyres fitted at Watling tyres - my preferred tyre fitter.
Me gusta la empresa "Watling Tyres"para el montaje de neumáticos nuevos

Just checking the method of posting by sending an email to the blog from my iPhone. It's a pity the camera isn't better.

Sólo comprobar el método de hacer una entrada al blog por un correo electrónico  desde mi iPhone. Es una lástima la cámara no es mejor.

Neumáticos nuevos

Esta mañana he pedido a un nuevo par de neumáticos (tipo "Tourance") de Watling Tyres. A lo mejor, hay un mil millas que quedan en el neumático delantero y un poco más en el trasero pero no quiero pasar tiempo buscando un taller para montar neumáticos mientras estoy en España.

Había considerado los "Tourance Next" pero son principalmente para la calle y no para el ripio. Aunque no estoy planeando ir al ripio, es posible que algunos caminos menores sean de ripio.

Planning what to take on my trip

Even though I have a GPS on the bike, I also like to take maps with me when I am touring. To this end, I have bought a range of Michelin maps that cover the whole of Spain and France at various scales.

Packing all these maps to protect them against damage whilst making them accessible for use on the road was a bit of a puzzle until I remembered that I had some packing organisers like these http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-half-tube-cube/d/1077 which turn out to hold the maps securely.

As always, I expect I will not use half the stuff I am planning to take!




Aunque tengo un navegador por satélite en mi moto, me gusta llevar mapas conmigo durante mis viajes en moto. Para tal fin, he comprado varios mapas de Michelin que cubren todo de España y Francia en distintas escalas. Para embalar todas estos mapas para evitar que sean dañados, he encontrado estos organizadores de embalaje http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-half-tube-cube/d/1077 muy útil.

Como siempre, dudo que utilice más de la mitad de todas cosas estoy planeando llevar conmigo.

Un paseo por moto al país de oeste

El país del oeste del título es "The West Country" es decir los condados de Somerset, Devon y Cornwall. La ocasión fue una excursión con mi club motociclismo. Por fin, después del invierno que acaba de terminar sólo hace dos semanas, hacía buen tiempo, bastante caluroso y soleado.

Me gustó mucho los pequenos caminos..

Ricky's Rideout 2013 from Christopher Knight on Vimeo.