TET Day 3 France + Spain

We were awake at six.  The night had been

free from human interference (noise or police), just the birds could be heard. The wild camping had been successful.

Made coffee and ate  'breakfast in a can', nutritious - not! Then we packed and set off along the TET, the sky looked brooding. 

 The first vilage we came to had a boulangerie, coffee, croissants and a quick fix to the WRR charging points and we were off again. Lovely.
The scenery was similar to the other days, but the further south we travelled the prettier it was.  The mountains we would cross looming in the background getting bigger with every mile.

We were off-road for one of the Cols and rode up to 1500m.  The trail went on for miles and miles, riding was good, the views were great.

About 25km from the Spanish border we stopped for lunch in a small town at 'le petite cafe'. (St Paul de xxx - I will fill this later)  There was a woman chef cooking a humungous paella, we both took pictures of her and the meal.  She was smiley and we complimented the food, she then removed her apron and fleece and cooked in her vest - the paella wasn't the only humungous thing(s) we saw that day .(thank you lady chef!)

An hour later and we were high in the Pyrenees off-road again. The trails were great, the weather was not.  It was raining and I was wet to my skin, bare in mind I was wearing nearly all my clothes at this point - everything was wet. Thankfully Jason leant me an expensive water proof top which I eagerly accepted.

We pressed on for the final section of road and trail on the French side. The road was tiny, no room for a car to pass and it clung to the mountain side like a belt on a fat guys waist. The trails started about the same time the rain did as we could continues to climb.  We passed a hillbilly camp, broken cars and vans littered the path.  If you've ever seen the film 'deliverance' you'll understand my fears.  I didn't get shot with a crossbow and end for dinner, so kept moving.

As soon as we got the border it felt like Spain, hot and arrid. Perfectly acceptable considering my damp position. We'd made and the bikes were still running.

The first trail started within 1km of the boarder. First riding through forest, then climbing in a zig zag pattern over rocks and boulders.  It was extremely hard going on the bike (and riders) the ground baked red by scorching suns in past years. Triumphant we reached the top and the views were spectacular.

The descent was just as tricky, nothing stands between the rocky trail edge and the fall into oblivion. We picked our way down back into a forest and then eventually road.  We found a little town (xxx will fill later) and stopped to make plans for the evening.

In the blistering heat, hot and sweaty, the thought of the cool med sea was welcoming.  Looking the map we randomly picked the resort of 'Roses'  

Thinking outside of the box, and mindful of parking dirt bikes on the street Jason phoned a concierge service (you read that right!) and set them the task of finding accomodation.  By the time we arrived in Roses a hotel had been found and was booked. (65euros each)

Upon arrival all our fears of bike theft were layed to rest as we parked next to an off-road schools brand new bikes.  No one would steal our old nails!

Roses was nice enough, full of young families or old couples and widows, not much in between. Felt free from crime, though i was a little worried about the staring from older ladies. 

If you like your cougars, you should come to Roses. (The tourist board can have that.)

Another great day...