Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

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Simon_100
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by Simon_100 »

Thanks WIBO. I'm sure you're right about the safety aspect but as you know there's a bit of an 'issue' between France and Spain about the frontiers, e.g. the Canfranc tunnel and until recently the parlous state of the N125 up to the Val d'Aran from Montrejeau - now excellent BTW! (thumbs)

A good point about the Bielsa tunnel, but a hit, do it leaving Spain as if you get caut¡gt at the traffic lights going in from the northern portal - it's too narrow for two way traffic you can freeze to death ... :whistle:

Regarding openings, the Port de la Bonaigüa is closed quite frequently but there are signs at Vielha in the north and La Pobla de Segur in the south that arise you of this, so you can detour via the N-230 and the N-260 respectively.
Scott_rider wrote:We've done this journey 4 times, based on The Spanish Biker's fine recommendations B) .
In a kind of zig zag order this is our route:

Puigcerda, N260, Lleida, Caspe, Teruel, Cuenca, Requena, Almansa, Benidorm.

It's all superb riding roads...absolutely superb! (thumbs)
Thank you kind sir - it's always nice to get feedback! (thumbs)

To finesse that route a little: come up to Puigcerda by the N-116 (from the coast) or D-118 (from Toulouse and the centre), both fabulous roads. The N-20 up the Puymorens pass looks great on the maps but is sadly disappointing IMHO and is also very busy lower down with traffic going up to Andorra from Foix.

Further south, crossing the plains around Lleida is a bit of a problem. If you've come down from the N-260 as you did the C-13 from Tremp to Balaguer is fantastic - one of the best roads in Spain! - but after that it runs through flat agricultural land and grotty villages. There's not much alternative so grin and bear it. But you have two choices, either take the horrible A2 from Lleida - avoiding the city - to Fraga and catch the fabulous N-211 all the way to Alcañiz. Or ride around - or better straight through - Lleida to pick up C-12 to Flix 8good eating at the 'Lo Pont' restaurant on the south side of the bridge (Cat, pont = bridge).

Image

Easy parking at the 'Lo Pont'!

From there take the T-741 - which quickly turns into the utterly barking TV-7411! - to join the N-211 after passing Fayon, where there's a Civil War museum dedicated to the Battle of the Ebro (incidentally you need to go with a guided tour to see Belchite now) - after a lot if people have asked for it I have a Civil War tour all planned, but every time I announce this there isn't enough interest to make it worthwhile ...

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Belchite

Getting further south on the Teruel road I definitely recommend a stay at Albarracín, even made a two night affair with a day's ring 'lite' around that lovely region. By next year I will have tried and tested route files for my HISS Aragon event in September so I'll send you a little 'jolly' :) but in the meantime turn off the N-420 at Alhambra and ride to Santa Eulalia - crossing the motorway there - and carry on into the Mintes Universales and Sierra de Albarracín on the A-1511 before joining the A-1512 at Orohuela de Tremadal and then south into Albarracín.

Hey, I'm off to Teruel again the week after next - now I know my route! (thumbs)

More soon ...

Regs

Simon

PS just found my picture of the Port de la Bonaigüa pass - it took quite some taking as I had to climb about 300 metres to have this view ...

Image

... when all I really had to do was check it out on Google maps!

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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by Mosel Bikes »

Brilliant stuff chaps, interesting and informative, many thanks.
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by WIBO »

That Port de la Bonaigüa pass is one of my favourites for a snort coming up.....great to sit and watch for the steady stream of bikes coming up on a sunny Sunday morning. At 2mins 01 seconds you"ll see what the twisties look like....stays like that to the summit. Great road. Ideal for a supermoto. (thumbs) :)
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by Simon_100 »

After what happened at 1.04 I guess one rider was glad there's soft loo roll in the café! :whistle:
Regs
Simon
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by Scott_rider »

Somewhere near Cuenca, I think... (thumbs)

Image[/img]

...somewhere near Requena...I think

Image[/img]

...and about 25 miles from Benidorm...I think

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This was definitely taken in Benidorm...I know this one... :woohoo:

Image[/img]

All of it on that route is simply awesome! (thumbs)
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by WIBO »

Yee Haaa
(thumbs)
:)
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by cowling »

Hi mike, great to hear your up and about , and well enough to plan a trip next year,
Just seen your post, no advice unfortunately, road from Santander to the Portuguese
Border a month or so ago, to pick an off road trail up that runs the length of Portugal.
We traveled along the northern coast line thru the picos mountains, it was amazing,
but no good for you as you will be south bound all the way I'd imagine.
Let me know if your out and about local to your north east home, it'd be good to catch
Up, regards Neil.
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by Simon_100 »

I've just been looking at your destination. I know Murcia city a bit having stayed there a few nights on business. It's OK but nothing special. However Cartagena is apparently amazing - I think WIBO knows it?

Likewise we drove up fro Murcia back to the Pyrenees with ballot last year, having picked him up from his foster home in Ronda. Obviously we wanted to get that journey over and done with and I don't remember much of it, only that Requena is a dump - we stayed there - and the road up to Teruel from Utiel is fabulous - ben mentioned before here I think.

But I spent several days riding amazing roads in and around the Parque Natural de las Sierras de Segura Cazorla y Las Villas which is stunning with very varied scenery in a small area - my favourite. I stayed at a camping outside Riopar, which was a nice 'genuine' little town but not calendar girl, but the little town of Siles was much prettier.

There doesn't seem to be much accommodation in Siles itself - which is strange! - but lots of availability in the area. One warning, the villages along the A-319 that runs through the 'Cazorla' region are very 'touristy'. It's new the source of the Guadalquivir and is a very popular region for Spanish tourists - Franco used to stay there lots, the joke goes that the forest rangers used to hide in the forest when the old git was hunting, always ready to drop a dead animal more or less in the direction that Franco shot at ...

Going home I'm thinking about working your way a bit further west, roughly through Cuenca, Soria and Logroño. This takes you to the western end of the Pyrenees.

Regs

Simon
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by Mosel Bikes »

cowling wrote:Hi mike, great to hear your up and about , and well enough to plan a trip next year,
Just seen your post, no advice unfortunately, road from Santander to the Portuguese
Border a month or so ago, to pick an off road trail up that runs the length of Portugal.
We traveled along the northern coast line thru the picos mountains, it was amazing,
but no good for you as you will be south bound all the way I'd imagine.

Let me know if your out and about local to your north east home, it'd be good to catch
Up, regards Neil.
Thanks Neil
Yes, back here on Monday and already have two additional steeds in the stable - a 2016 CB500X (I figured it would be good for my rehab, being small and light, which has proven right, as I've already managed to go up the coast road to Barter Books in Alnwick. Mind, my shoulder gave jip afterwards!) and a fully-tarted-up Tenere (because, well ...... you know me and Tenere's!! Couldn't resist). Not ready to ride the Ten yet though, just too heavy to push around when I'm off it.
Once I feel I'm able to ride further, I'll drop you a pm to arrange something. Be good to catch-up. I've surgery scheduled for August to remove metal from shoulder and oil from the eye, so that might set me back a bit, don't know yet.
all the best, Mike
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Re: Road Trip Advice & Suggestions - Pyrenees to Murcia & Benidorm

Post by WIBO »

Nice Ténéré for sure (thumbs) (thumbs)
:)
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