Sunday Morning started with a surprise Olivier our guide had brought his 11 year old son along on his TTR 125. My first reaction was I wonder if he will hold us up? How wrong I was!!

We wet off along the road from Moulin Du Roc and it was not long till we hit the dirt and the little lad was gone. We tried to cling on to the back of him for as long as possible but he was fast, very fast. We had tried yesterday to slow Olivier down with a front puncture (to no avail) but this little lad was going to need some serious slowing. After a couple of lanes the throttle on the TTR stuck open and it rocketed from the track into the trees. Nobesy claimed that he had knocked the boy off, but we all knew he couldn't catch him.

We dropped off the young lad at a friend's house close by with his broken bike and promised to fix it back at base at lunch time. The rest of the morning was great riding with some tricky climbs and descents around the local mountains. Towards lunch time Olivier got a rear puncture in the end it got so bad that the tyre was spinning on the rim. We stopped and cable tied the tyre to the rim which worked for about 20 seconds. It didn't seem to slow our host that much but it did make us late for lunch (Doug was secretly mad).

After lunch we fixed the TTR and the Boy was back!! The afternoon was a longer ride out towards the coast. We took in some more fantastic tracks including one very scary goat track along the side of a mountain. (Pics later)

Sunday night saw everyone back to Moulin Du Roc for a big meal round the table. Chris had laid on another great spread and Gordon did a great job of presenting Olivier with a gift for his great guidance.

Now let me tell you a little of our guide.

Olivier was an interesting man. Before I even saw him ride I knew we were in for a treat. On Friday morning it was pissing with rain. I offered him some waterproofs to ride in. He looked at me as if I was mad, his Wife (Mimi) replied for him 'he is OK he is a real man'. She was right he was. The sort of man that can ride a 1990 Honda Transalp on tight single-track quicker than I can ride a 2005 WR250F. A man who has taught his son to ride a TTR 125 like David Knight. Anyway he was a great guide and a really nice guy with a nice family and I look forward to riding with him again soon.

Anthony

Saturday started with some pain au choc and coffee. Some of us seemed a little worn out from story telling the night before. Anyway at 9.00am sharp our guide for the day turned up with his mate on a KTM 125. The KTM wasn't running right so myself and Gordon tried to put it back together right. Once we had put the needle back in the slide it was running fine. The rain was the only dampener on the day. We all stood around for a while hoping it would stop, but it didn't. In the end we set out knowing we were all going to get wet.

Our guide (more on him later) seemed to know the local area very well and we were soon taking in some fantastic trails. We were sticking mainly to forest roads so as not to get too wet. The first challenge came when we stopped to investigate a misfire on Jeffs bike. While we were waiting myself, Geoff and Phil went to investigate a step climb through the trees. Phil went first and I followed him. When we reached the top there was no sign of Geoff anywhere. We returned to the bottom of the hill to find Geoff and his bike hanging from a 8ft bank on the side of the road. I tried to get my camera out to take a picture but as I did the bike crashed to the ground and rolled onto the road below.

By about 12.00am we were all soaking wet and I steep rocky climb finished some of us off. Nobesy went into what can only be described as a spin. His eyes glazed over and he then started to punch the tank of his new Honda. Our guide seemed unmoved by this and suggested we had some lunch.

When we arrived the first suggestion was rabbit Nobsey seemed pleased by this but after some negotiation by the veggies we ended up with a feast that suited all. We had a struggle to not allow our guide to pay. The food was great and it was very hard to get any enthusiasm to leave the warmth when we had finished. Gordon mopped the floor and we were off. It was a popular decision to return to Moulin Du Roc as everyone was cold and our guide had been riding all day in Jeans and a leather jacket. When asked if he wanted to borrow waterproofs he had so 'No I am a man'.

We parked our bikes in the barn and set about making washing lines to dry all our gear.

It was a 14 hr drive down to Moulin du roc which started out at 3.30 am for me. It was nice of Jeff to be waiting at his house with coffee for Myself, Gordon and Liz. The trip was pretty uneventful and just comprised of cups of tea on the move interrupted by the GPS telling us which way to go.

We arrived at Moulin du Roc at about 1.30. Chris (the owner) had waited up for us with the rest of his guests how all seemed to be having a good time. Chris seemed to be pleased to see some more guests and was looking forward to getting to bed before sunrise!! The dogs were also very pleased to see us and were happy to let everyone know we had arrived.

I picked up the rest of the party from the airport on Friday morning at about 9.00am. Jeff won the race back to the van and claimed his prize of a front seat for the journey back to Quillian. Nobsey got his seat by a different tactic, it was the old I feel sick in the back chestnut.

After a superb breakfast we were out for our first days riding. Our new French friend and local off roader (who I will tell more of later) marked a map for us which looked very simple to follow. The local area is a minefield of small tracks and it was soon clear that the map could provide only a sample of what was available. Liz led us well for the first few hours. Doug did a good impression of a flying W and broke his back mudguard.

We stopped for a drink in a bar in Bugarach. It was strange to see how Nobesy's riding improved after 2 beers. Once I took charge of the Map things slowed a little and we seemed to get lost a little more. This was explained when Liz told me the track we were following was pink. I couldn't see a pink track on the map.

The day was completed with a great Dinner with Chris. French Geoff was invited but he declined the offer, saying he may turn up later in the weekend. Nobesy had single malt and told some fantastic stories. I think some of them were based on truth!!!

More soon and some Pics

Anthony

Since neither Stuart or Gordon are likely to post  I can confirm they got  back to soggy Scotland last night .

 Also the big Humvee was picked up by the AA / RAC in Spain and is on its way back, minus Cole Stage and sons.  "Erm, it just broke as i was driving along these Spanish roads! (Dunno where all the sand on the floor came from)"

reuben

Anthony asked me to let you all know how they are getting on......

Everyone else arrived in Spain on Friday morning. Anthony, Phil and one of the other guys went out riding in the mountains for the day! Anthony said Phil was grinning from ear to ear on that trip. He was kindly lent a bike. He doesnt have a bike on the trip so that was cool for him.

Today, as a warm up to the rally they are going to do 120km to the port with a road book. After that they catch the ferry from Almeria to Nador. Then the rally begins.

Anna

Hello All,

I just spoke to Anthony. They arrived safely (just!) The last coupld of hours drive was very tough for them- 30 mins driving then 30 mins sleeping!! They were having a sanswich is a cafe by the sea. Well, Anthony was having a packet of crps cos everything was meat!!!!! All your bikes are safely stashed in a guys (sorry I cant remember his name) underground garage so dont worry. He has lent A&P a little car to dive about in this afternoon. They are off to the hotel. Weather is nice Anthony said he has a T-shirt and shorts on...........

Anna

Just Spoken to Anthony.  They met up with Derek Edmondsons Rally Raid car on the ferry, and are trundling through France at  65mph.  Phil and Anthony have done 3 shifts each.  Phil is the only one to have succumb to a "Franz Klammer" at a Frenchy service station!

They were at Claremond Ferrand (home of Michelin) when I spoke to them.  Next landmark is the beautiful viaduct at Millau.  Only 30 hours to the Hotel in Spain apparently!

I thought I'd post a pic of myself ,so you know who to look for at the airport .

 reuben

PS I'll be cleaner and less knackered by then.




taken after Pathead enduro 2005 - photo from www.scottishenduros.co.uk