Tango Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 I set off this morning on my usual route north of Narbonne and across past the Abbaye Fontfroide. Like last week the wind was howling again. It was partly sunny, but the wind also had a pretty keen edge to it, keeping the temperature in single figures (C) on the way up there. I'd decided to head through Termenes Villerouge and on to the Château d'Arques, which is on the same road. It is an interesting road, winding though the western edge of the Corbieres, but as the road climbed the temperature dropped a bit, showing 7C at one point, but not really getting above 8.5C. The wind wasn't helping either. Fortunately, before I'd set off I had opted to put my winter jacket on, but only had bike jeans and summer gloves to go with it. Anyway, some of the views towards the Pyrénées were stunning. Unfortunately there wasn't really anywhere to stop on that road to get any pictures. Coming out of Arques village I spotted the Château. I went along to the carpark, but the Château was shielded from view by trees, so I headed back towards the village to get a shot of it across the fields. I decided to carry on a bit further along that road, as I'd seen on the map that the D14 was on the left only a few more km's along the road and that road went through an old Roman Spa place and then through to more recent spa town of Rennes-les-Bains. It's quite a picturesque town, in a valley between some pretty high cliffs, but there wasn't really anywhere decent to stop, so I pressed on. The D14 loops back around and would take me past the Château Peyrepertuse and Château Quéribus, which is a interesting road. So, as I made my way along there I came to the village of Cubières-sur-Cinoble. Just before getting into the village I spotted a signpost for a road off to my right, which said Gorges-de-Galamus 2km. The gorge was already on my radar as somewhere I wanted to visit and, being this close, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss! Unfortunately, the photos that I got really don't do the place justice! A lot of the road there is pretty much single track, which has been carved into the cliff face! It twists and turns, following the face of the cliff, with occasional passing places. The wind was howling down the gorge, which made the drops over the low wall alongside the road pretty interesting! There was a café and parking area where the gorge opened out a bit, so I thought that I'd take the opportunity to stretch my legs and have a look back along the gorge. After my short stop I put home into the sat-nav, but the routes shown were dropping down to Perpignan and back to Narbonne via the motorway or the RN, neither of which appealed. So I decided to head back up the gorge and get back onto the D14, which was the route that is had originally planned on using. The trip back up the gorge was equally as exciting as the trip down, with gusts of wind really moving the bike around! Back on the D14 the road was really nice, winding its way through the hills and villages. I stopped for a pee and a coffee from my flask just under the Château Peyrepertuse. A small group of bikes came past and slowed to make sure that I was OK. So I gave them the thumbs up. The rest of the journey back went pretty well, but the wind was still taking some of the pleasure out of the ride, and I'd realised that I was feeling pretty cold in my hands and feet, so it was definitely time to get back and warm up. I don't know the distance, but I'd estimate it was around 220-230km and I was out for just short of 5 hours. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTreme Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Nice one Bob! How you finding the new bike? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 2 minutes ago, XTreme said: Nice one Bob! How you finding the new bike? Cheers Pete. Yeah, the new bike is working out fine. I can't work out if the clutch is heavier on this compared to the Scrambler, or if it's just that I went further and more gear changes, but my clutch hand was aching a bit when I was on the way back. I think that I need a new screen though. Even on the highest position I get some wind blast right on the peak on my lid, so it rattles the lid a bit! Otherwise it's nice to ride. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Great road, great scenery! Just went on google maps and saved that gorge. If I've got a few extra hours in September I'll go through there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 18 minutes ago, Pedro said: Great road, great scenery! Just went on google maps and saved that gorge. I've I've got a few extra hours in September I'll go through there. Thanks Pedro. Yes, it's an interesting ride through there. Obviously there's not too many places to stop on that road, but the café and carpark at the southern end of it is close enough to get some good views. It's times like that that I wished I had a GoPro or similar, but even then it's hard to appreciate what it's like, unless you go through it yourself! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 27 minutes ago, Pedro said: Great road, great scenery! Just went on google maps and saved that gorge. I've I've got a few extra hours in September I'll go through there. Funnily, as I was riding through the gorge I thought to myself, I bet that Pedro would like this place! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTreme Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 2 hours ago, Tango said: but my clutch hand was aching a bit when I was on the way back. Missing the CB clutch and gearbox then Bob? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 59 minutes ago, XTreme said: Missing the CB clutch and gearbox then Bob? Actually, I think that the Scrambler clutch was as light as the CB, Pete. The clutch on the Tiger may be just that the cable needs a bit of lube. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 2 hours ago, Tango said: Actually, I think that the Scrambler clutch was as light as the CB, Pete. The clutch on the Tiger may be just that the cable needs a bit of lube. What’s the mileage and age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Those look like cracking roads Bob and great scenery to go with it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 15 hours ago, Pedro said: What’s the mileage and age? The Tiger is a 2022 with 17k km on it, but it does look underneath that it maybe wasn't as well cared for as it could have been! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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