Off the route de cols - through the Barousse Valley

Not recommended for Goldwings etc: This is a great north south short cut - best ridden south north - but pretty outstanding both ways..... great if you're coming down to go to spain or just want to get off the beaten track.

These pictures were taken in the area - the first set are not comprehensive so do come backfrom time to time to see if they've got any better.

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The reason to go south north is you take the single track road with slightly more traffic on it going UP Port de Bales with right of way AND you get some terrific views of the Barousse Valley on the descent.

A 6 hour ride in the Pyrenees

This is a ride I did with a customer who had rented a 1200gs with me for the weekend. It took about 6 hours including photo stops and some duty free shopping.

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Google has it at 85 miles/130 Km - it's probably closer to 200KM all in all. At a 60 KPH average - which is good for these parts it's around 3.5 hours continuous ride - I haven't tried this circuit alone - but I figure I could do it in about that time. It doesn't show that we probably attacked it in the wrong direction!

Argeles - St Beat/St Gaudens

This is a route I take when I want to go east west on the french side. It takes me about 8 hours. Most people will take 12. That's pretty continuos riding time - minimal breaks - say 1 hour in the 8 total. Bear in mind I do all my riding here and I figure most people will take more time to complete it. I would say if you're not used to continuous switchbacks allow 2 days to ride it - or set of at 6 a.m. with a view to getting into St Gaudens in the evening. Going Argeles to St Beat following this route is not recommended. to get an idea of what it's like open the map in one window and watch the slide show in another!

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I have tried to relate the photos to the correct roads where i can:

I do try and update the maps and the photos when i can so feel free to drop by anytime.