Picos & Pyrenees Motorcycle Tour

Fourteen relaxed days criss-crossing the Pyrenees between Spain, France and Andorra, then two luggage-free days in the Picos de Europa. It starts with an overnight ferry from Portsmouth, so the riding begins in northern Spain rather than after two days of motorway.

The cols come thick and fast. The Col du Pourtalet leads to the Tour de France climbs of the Aubisque, Soulor, Tourmalet and Aspin, four of the most famous mountain passes in cycling, all in one stretch and all approaching 7,000 feet. Later the Port d’Envalira, the highest paved road in the Pyrenees, crosses into Andorra, where there is an optional stop at Circuit Andorra, the highest permanent motorsports circuit anywhere in the world.

The variety is what sets it apart. The N-260 Eje Pirenaico runs the length of the range, Figueres is Salvador Dali’s birthplace, and the Cap Norfeu cliffs sit on the Mediterranean end. Inland, Las Bardenas Reales is a desert of clay badlands that has stood in for the American West on film, and the Picos de Europa get two full days with the panniers left at the hotel.

Moto Travel Dude include the return ferry with a shared cabin, a UK guide riding his own bike, all hotel and parador accommodation with garaged or secure parking, every breakfast, the routes and GPX files, an information pack and a tour t-shirt. Fuel, insurance, breakdown cover and evening meals are separate. Thirteen nights at a deliberately unhurried pace, in two of the best mountain ranges in Europe, with the ferry doing the boring part.