Ainsa to Ainsa via the Col du Portillon
We were a bit unsure how Rob would be feeling after four days in the saddle so the 3 night stay over in Ainsa was ideal and gave us a few options for the mid-week without luggage and maybe take shorter day rides in the area or have complete days off the bike altogether. I liked the idea of a central location for a change, so prior to leaving I'd researched a few circular routes. It's tempting while on these trips to fill your day with as many miles as possible yet underestimating the impact of the mountain roads on your time can make for a long arduous day and compromise the fun. In the end we decided to go for the shorter circular route that came in at around 170 miles. Experience would say about 150 miles in this kind of terrain but the extra 20 miles wouldn't reduce the enjoyment too much we thought. So a fairly early start today (Tuesday) with a nice buffet breakfast we started on the N-260 east. This legendary road is an amazing mix of fast sweeping bends and tight twisties with amazing views everywhere you look.
On the outskirts of Bisaurri just as we rounded a bend we were suddenly confronted with a herd of large horned cattle in the middle of the road. The road being narrow we killed our engines as close as we could to the right verge and spent a while waiting for them to pass. Two inquisitive ones came towards my bike to take a look, and I became a bit nervous of those horns so considered jumping off the bike and running for cover or maybe starting the engine to ride through a gap between them if only I could find one. Thankfully the farmer came to get them back in line with a gentle tap of his stick. The first coffee stop followed a fast run down from up high along a straight section to the small village of Laspaules (Les Pauls) made famous for it's 16th century witch hunt and executions. A short walk up to the cafe I recall steel beads across the door with a cosy atmosphere inside. The villages in the Pyrenees are of a similar period and style made of rough stone with cobbles so we sat outside in the shade while the lady served a very nice 'cafe con leche'. It was much cooler this morning we were soon underway again with my Navigator taking us down a lane detour to cut across to meet the N-230 heading north.
The narrow road started to climb up high and twist into the hills revealing spectacular views across the valley and the village of Montanuy nestled below. We stopped at the Mirador Pau Donés (lookout) just near a sharp bend to enjoy the view across Aragon and take some photos before joining the 230 near Vialler. Our ride North through valleys at speed was fun entering quite a long tunnel just before riding into the lively town of Vielha following along the river valley. Eventually we turned off on to the N-141 twisting up over the Col du Portillon to cross the border back in to France. I'd planned a lunch stop near Bagnères-de-Luchon or 'Bangers for Lunch' as was my literal translation! Just as we arrived in the town of Saint-Mamet we spotted a decent Restaurant/Cafe on the other side of the road near a triangular road layout. We soon found a side-street to park but unfortunately the curse of the late lunch struck again and the French had stopped serving food. It was only 1.30pm and by now we had changed into shorts to cool down so we settled on sitting at the cafe with a group of French bikers on the next table, feeling quite jealous of their meal while we ate our melting Snickers bars saved from the day before along with a cold coke and ice cream from the cafe.
The late afternoon was spent riding up through the valleys and ski-resorts along the French D-618 toward Le Plan with almost zero traffic allowing us to enjoy the road at good speed. As the temperature rose we both started to fade a little in the heat without eating a decent lunch. Soon after I had a 'moment' where a small car in front decided to suddenly turn left into a small driveway just as I was about to overtake. Fortunately I had just moved to the overtake position when I saw the car make a sudden turn and managed to get on the brakes hard. No harm done but we discussed over the intercom how we were both losing concentration now as we climbed up the hairpins to the cafe in the ski resort of Piau Engaly. We never found that elusive cafe but parked up at a large car park to take a break, drink water and admire the mountainous terrain ahead. At this point the other side of Rob's Shark Evo helmet visor became detached with the same broken lug problem. More electrical tape was required to keep the other side attached to the helmet meant Rob was reluctant to open the visor at all in case it became dislodged with insufficient eye protection.
The ride back across the border through the two mile long Túnel de Bielsa-Aragnouet was a nice relief from the 30 degree heat especially for Rob with his closed visor. We took it steady back to the hotel both of us quite tired by now and arrived back into Ainsa at around 6.30pm. Later after a cool shower I met Rob for a stroll across the road to the Pizzeria de Ainsa dining on large square cut pepperoni pizzas and drinking bottles of beers in the shade like two travel weary gringos! A good day's ride today, some fantastic roads and scenery we both loved the N-260 and N-230 but I guess that extra 20 miles return back did play it's part in the end. A good lesson in distances, riding times and nourishment I thought.
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