HUMM 2010 and Beyond

[tendays]

OK so now I'm heading west from Puigcerda N into France, W up into Andorra. I had time to take more photos today.


Continuing W to find the "Smuggler's Trail" back into Spain. It climbs up all on tarmac out of Andorra from a village called Pal and reaches the Coll de Cabris where the tarmac ends



and you descend W on a trail to Tor




happy dermot


what a cracker



joining tarmac to Noris and on to Llavorsi.

I'd been trying to speak to some Spanich MTBers in Noris about a possible route across from Espui to Durro past P de Llena but when they figured out what I meant they reckoned no, not possible, forbidden, difficult to turn around.... instead they advised a good unpaved road skirting the mountains marking the French border further N, from Isil round to Beret. I went to find it.


A couple of 'other' bikes on this trail, dodgy front suspension apparently


This one is sweet though


Here's the day's route. Two great trails, a couple more mountain passes all highly recommendable. I finished by dropping down into Salardu in Val d'Aran, on to Vielha, S through the tunnel and stopping at a campsite at Pont de Suert. Good place, helpful lady cooked me dinner and gave me cold beer. Next morning a dutch fella helped me lube my chain by tipping bike over on sidestand. I'm using dry wax to avoid picking up too much crud from the trails but the chain is not far off its last legs - will it last the trip?

[POTSKI]

Nice report & photos Tendays...It's a stunning area that's for sure.

I was driving around the trails in the area (working ) that week and popped in to the La Molina hotel expecting to maybe see bikers and a bike or two, but you lot were all out on the trails. Ended up chatting to Susan & Grant for half an hour or so. Did also have a quick chat to a couple of guys on yellow DRZ400's who had ridden down from Lancashire and were filling up at the garage in Pobla though..and flashed/waved to loads of bikes in the area who must have thought...who's the nutter in the Land Rover

Humm 2011 should be a good bash ! The area they'll be using for it is fantastic & trails great... actually off there tomorrow (working again though ) ... hope to get out on those trails in September on the bike if work is quieter .

Cheers
Potski

[tendays]

Next installment is day 10 of my trip, again looking for trails on my way west. Now my only source of info is the Michelin road map and anything the Zumo can tell me. The day ends up a bit of a disappointment in terms of linking through trails but exploring gets done!

So starting from Pont el Suert I head W on the A1605 up through Bonansa, Torre la Ribera, past Turbon mountain and down to Campo. This is a fantastic road carving through a limestone gorge with tunnels and stunning views. From Campo I tried to head N up small roads to Barbaruens and on to Plan to attempt a link over the col and down to Salinas de Sin. Now on the map this looks possible (if single black lines are navigable) but in practice, I got stuck.


I started in Barbaruens by trying to follow a footpath directly out of the village. This was instantly gnarly so I managed to turn round between close walls on limestone steps and return to the village where I tried to communicate with a local gent who had been observing my shenanigans. He said there is a good piste to Plan but I don't think he was saying it continued over the col. Anyway I descended, found a trail on the R about 50m down the road(!), and went up it for a few miles until it turned to vertical rocks. So retraced steps, took another trail leading to a nice pasture, with no exit,

retraced again, tried another one going more gradually up the valley in a more N direction. Met 2 guys on a 950 and a 660 who were coming down trying to escape the approaching storm. They said you could get to Plan but it was a dead-end. I continued, met the storm and kitted up to sit it out. Flossy the seat-sheep and Dermot got a nice shower. I turned round and returned to the village and then back to Campo, a lot of time lost, but hey it's not a race today. I had no large-scale map, no trail info on the gps, I'd tried several variations but the old homing senses weren't functioning.



So from Campo I followed the N260 W to Ainsa and on to Fiscal where it looked like another link through might be possible to Sabinanigo. Now I was down out of the big mountains. The trail started OK but instantly turned into a massive set of roadworks - it seems they are building a major road through this area. The trail itself has a Camino Rural , no motor vehicles sign. I tried to get round this on a builders track leading up to a new viaduct but was stopped by a fence. Headed back to Fiscal, asked the girl in the tourist info office if it was possible to get through - 'no the road is not finished yet' - i don't think she quite understood what I was after so I pointed at the bike and told her I was looking for a trail... but she was not getting it. I'll have to work on the sign language a bit. So I gave up and headed N towards the mountains, through Torla and left into the Bujarelo canyon where I checked into a campsite just before the heaviest rain/ice storm I'd seen for a while cracked. Big lumps of solid ice came cracking down on the road. I sheltered under the eaves of the reception building but a curveball caught me whack on the heed. Sore. A giant toad hopped past my feet up the road/river. Waited for it to pass as these storms usually do, and waited. It eased a bit so i went to put up the tent. But it came back on heavy and filled my boots with water within about 2 minutes. Headed for the bar where everyone else was hiding. Beer and bocadillo.

Next morning was dry.

[tendays]

Day 11. Torla - Biescas - Sabinanigo - Jaca. Stop for a rest. Thinking about time available, cities close by and my cam chain slap which is very noticeable descending rough trails. I check my handy suzuki european dealer network book. The nearest one is in Huesca. I head down to Huesca and ask for directions to the dealer, getting there just before the shop opens for the afternoon. The mechanic has a quick listen and reckons it sounds fine - but he didn't ride it down a rough trail. Anyway, today he is busy, manyana he is busy.



So I head off to my next target, the empty bit of map N of Zaragoza and E of Tudela. Down the motorway to Zuera I find a fun big gravel trail heading NW through some hills. In fact it's one trail on the map but several on the ground. So I set my destination on the gps, put it in offroad mode and check the compass bearing as I follow the trails. I emerge on roads as I approach Castejon de Valdejasa.


From there, onward on A1102 and A127 towards Sadaba. Now looking for a campsite so I can prepare for a day in the Bardenas Reale tomorrow. I've got plenty of water left from Zuera so I ignore the dull looking campsite at Bardena and continue towards Sadaba and the Bardenas trails. From just W of Sadaba there is a trail following a canal towards Tres Mugos which I follow, finding a good camping spot sheltered from the gusty NW wind.





So the landscape is becoming much more arid as one would expect, but nothing compared to the next day when I head into the Bardenas properly.

[stanbloke]

Brilliant report TD .

You look like you had a superb time, top man for riding the DRZ for so many miles.......my butt aches just thinkin about it !!..

[tendays]

Day 12 - I used the circumference canal trail and some minor roads to get to Rada on the NW side of the Bardenas Reale park. Then I turned in to the SE and followed my nose towards things that looked interesting. Got some nice photos along the way. The park is surrounded by a good gravel trail used by cars, but crisscrossed by networks of minor trails - some hard gravel, some deeper gravel, a lot of hard-packed dusty mud and a bit of sand. The only bit of feche feche was trying to approach the big cliffs from the main gravel trail. I had no maps apart from michelin. The GPS had some trails but not inside the park itself. If you go, esp midweek, take tools and plenty of water cos the place can be hot, windy, deserted. Desert in fact. If it had been wet the trails might get quite muddy - I saw some deep dried out ruts.



solar and wind farms at Rada


typical easy trail


impressive landscapes


spotted these big crags in the distance and decided to head over there




good venue for a rave






this canyon had some stagnant water in the bottom, that was the only water I saw all day


approaching the crags


art





From here I headed down to Arguedas on a very exposed windy (as in blustery not twisty) road, then headed N to Olite to camp there. Campsite was a bit of a municipal dump but had a pool, bar, restaurant etc.

[tendays]

Day 13 & 14 - heading NW to Santander, avoiding toll roads. There was one big mountain pass to cross somewhere around Durango.



I was booked on a ferry to Plymouth the next day, but went straight to the port to see if I could get on an earlier crossing to Portsmouth instead. The bikes were rolling on just as I got there so I had to rush but I got on OK. Fun overnight ferry crossing spent mostly in the bar, then a good sleep and a big breakfast to set me up for the 200 miles trip home.



Now to inspect the wear and tear. The chain was really on its last legs. I don't know how many miles it had been on for - but I think it's the original so over 10K. I have new sprockets and x-ring chain waiting to go on. Also I'll have to take a look at the cam chain &/or the tensioner.




The tyres (Mitas E09) lasted well, the rear has now done about 3500 miles. I ran about 30psi on the road fully loaded, and about 25 psi during the HUMM.


That's it for now then, hope you all enjoyed the report. And get yourself booked on the HUMM for 2011, it is a fantastic event!



/td

[PHILinFRANCE]

Great report T/D a bit of oil and i reckon you,ll get another thou or so from that chain
Just show what a 400 can do but theres no way i,ll be doing the HUMM on the Vara with my little legs
Phil

[boboneleg]

Great report Alistair, looks like you had a cracking time

I wish I'd known you were going as I have maps of most the the areas you did during and after the Humm, it's a great area for trail riding.

[Dee Duble Yuh]

Absolutely brilliant report. I bet it took some writing! (Took some reading!!!) I especially like these pics; for the Calendar perhaps?

art