Roadtrips and pillions
Head to a foreign Motogp, two-up
IT’S BEEN A strange old year for Motogp. One of the craziest seasons of the world’s best sport has been played out to empty grandstands but, by next year, things (we hope) can start getting back to normal — and millions of bike fans will be gagging for their first-hand fix of Motogp action. With amazing experiences and great riding, taking my then-girlfriend (now wife) two-up to Spain for the final round of the season on an Aprilia
Caponord Rally a few years back remains to this day the number-one highlight of my time on two wheels. If you’ve ever fancied riding to a foreign GP, you should do it and if you do, Valencia is hard to beat. This is what I’ve learned.
Prep
Book tickets first to force yourself to do everything else. Next, how far is it? Split the distance into realistic daily miles for your passenger (it’s always less than solo) and that gives you the number of days.
That tells you how many hotels you’ll need. Lockable luggage means you can leave your kit on the bike at the circuit (essential — it’s very hot and there’s no shade); sat nav and comms in your helmets reduce stress and mean you and your pillion can share the
“ooh”s and “ahh”s on the way. Researching routes and plotting them into your sat nav will stop you getting lost, missing things or getting stressed about time.
Routes
If you’ve got time, the mountain roads are well worth the extra mileage. Our 1200mile, five-day route started with an overnight ferry to Caen, then south to Pau. If you’re crossing the Pyrenees, I’d go via the spectacular Col du Soulor. It’s not as high or well known as bucket-list regular Tourmalet but has better riding and fewer cyclists. An apartment in Apartahotel Jacetania in Jaca is great value, luxurious and well-placed for your first overnight rest stop Spain-side.
From there, ride down through Aragon, the beautiful Morella Castellón with its iconic hilltop castle, cross-country to the coast and down to Valencia. Hotels near
the circuit fill fast and even booking over two months in advance, the nearest we could get was 30 miles away so book early. After the race, we took too long winding over remote mountain roads to our well-hidden hotel in Albarracin, then fired north to Bilbao and the 23-hour long ferry ride home. Given I spent 22 of those either being sick or asleep, I’d take the French mileage next time.
Tickets
Booking directly through motogp.com cost £45 each and gives you the confidence you’ll actually be able to get in the gate. Valencia only has grandstand seating and they’re colour coded. White is cheapest, which means you’re at the back of a 90,000-person long queue to get out. But it overlooks the final corner plus a lot more, is opposite a big video screen and because the track is so small, you get to see loads of action. A lot of the rider’s celebrations happened right in front of us too. Why spend more?
The best bit
The festival atmosphere of watching a Spanish GP in Spain was really special. If you have a fondness for peaks it’s hard not to get choked-up the first time you see the Pyrenees’ epic beauty. Feeling like you’re the only people on Earth as you ride through middle-spanish mountains in the glow of a falling Sunday evening sun is magical.