Knowing he had another long day ahead, Thomas woke at 0500, packed quietly whilst the Northampton biking group snored heavily after there few beers the night before. Also, Thomas had to be down in Estepona, Spain by Saturday afternoon, otherwise he would have had the Mother in law to answer to! Unfortunately, he was unable to exit the campsite gate as it was locked (he dosnt have much luck with gates). He kindly asked the receptionist to open them but she refused and bluntly advised him there must be quiet on the campsite until 0800 and thats when the gates will be open. Bearing in mind the campsite is located next to a main road couldnt quiet understand but turned off his engine anyway and waited patiently.

It was a cool, cloudy morning so he took advantage of the wait and dried his condensated tent out.

Once on the road he grinned and a shudder of excitement run through himat the the thought of riding over the Pyrenees into a different country. Then all of a sudden he felt a knock to his foot, stopped the bike and checked his load. Something was missing, and there it was, his water bottle came skating down the road and overtook him.

Approaching Bordeaux, he drove through a place he is familiar with ´Saint FOY´ (i always new i was a Saint).

The country lanes were narrow and hilly, then out of know where a hare appeared and began to race the GS. Thomas accelerated until they were neck and neck then had to back off as he approached the bend. The hare won!

The lanes were emptyand Thomas hadnt seen any cars for miles, so he stopped for a pee at the side of the road. He was wearing his high visibility vest. ´Oh no´ he said to himself as a car stopped. The lady asked if any help was needed as they are miles from anywhere. With his back turned Thomas embarrassingly replied ´Non, merci´whilst peeing down himself hurringly putting his tackle away. It later came to him that the French only wear high visibility jackets when they have broken down and roadside assitance is required.

Further down the road, the oncoming cars began to flash their headlights. He thought the Police were ahead and slowed down. To his surprise, on exiting the bend. a car was stuck, nose down in a ditch. Thomas immediately pulled over to help but didnt expect to find anyone still inside, but there was, an elderly lady sat frozen in the passenger seat whilst her husband called the emrgency services. Another car pulled up behind to help and then another. Coincidentally, all involved and helped were English. So thats where all the kind hearted people from England have gone to, he thought to himself. The rescue services arrived and as the expats could speak fluent French, Thomas left the scene.

After approx. two hundred miles that day, Thomas was exhausted and was tempted to head for the motorway but percivered and stuck to the lanes.

Approaching the base of the Pyrenees, the lanes became twistier and steeper, so opend the throttle and leant into each bend with his rear luggage almost touching the tarmac. After a couple of hairy moments almost straying into the roadside coming out of the hairpins, Thomas backed off and enjoyed the scenery.

On his way to Andorra over the mountains, Thomas climbed to 2300 mtrs in altitude and could hear the differnce in the bikes engine due to the thiness of the air. Although Thomas was travelling way within the spped limit the oncoming bikes signalled with their arms for him to slow down. Coming over the brow of a steep mountain, Thomas was met head on by a herd of cattle with bells around their neck on the road and distantly thanked the warning bikers. Thomas has dealt with the hazard well and wished his IAM examiner (tosser) was there to see him overtake them trotting cows!

On his decent, he could see a very remote Police road block ahead. the officer flagged Thomas down. Unsure which country he was in, Thomas was unsure whether to wave Hola or Bonjour as he passed. The Catalunean Police officers stood in his way so Thomas produced his documents, requested a group photo and was on his way.

Nearing his planned destination that day and after passing a short line of traffic, Thomas was waved through by the border official and entered into Andorra. With Andorra being tax free, he refuelled and stocked up with cigarettes.

Andorra was a mystical city, but actually its own country. He thought the city was amazing built in a valley between huge mountains and cliff faces. Thomas wondered if the sun ever shon here. He struggled to park due to the heavy traffic and was not used to such madness of a city after the country lanes and programmed his sat nav to get him out of there the fastest route. it was now getting late as he continued his itinerary over into Spain, where he luckily found a mountain view, but expensive campsite.