Picos & Pyrenees Grand Tour

Your Grand Tour begins among the vineyards of Bordeaux.

Arrive in Bordeaux where we'll take care of your onward transfer to our carefully selected luxury wine estate.

The afternoon is yours to settle in, relax and enjoy the surroundings before we come together for a private vineyard experience and wine tasting.

As evening falls, we'll gather around the table for our first dinner together — exceptional regional food, Bordeaux wine and the chance to meet the people you'll be sharing the road with.

Tomorrow morning, the Harleys are waiting.

Today, the Grand Tour takes to the road.

After breakfast among the vineyards, the Harleys are waiting. With the luggage taken care of, we leave Bordeaux behind and head south towards the Atlantic coast and the Basque Country.

Our first day in the saddle is deliberately unhurried — time to settle into the bikes and enjoy the road before stopping in Biarritz, we'll stop for a relaxed lunch overlooking the Atlantic.

From here we continue along the Basque coast. By late afternoon we'll arrive in beautiful San Sebastián. Once the bikes are parked, the evening is ours to discover one of Europe's great food cities, exploring the old town and its famous pintxos bars.

France behind us. Spain ahead. The mountains are getting closer.

From the Atlantic coast to the heart of the mountains.

Leaving San Sebastián behind, we follow the spectacular Basque coastline west, picking up stretches of the N-634 as it winds between the hills and the Atlantic.

We'll stop in the fishing village of Getaria, where lunch is served overlooking the harbour — fresh local food and time to enjoy one of the most beautiful corners of the Basque coast before getting back on the bikes.

As the afternoon unfolds, the coast gradually gives way to the mountains. Our route takes us through the dramatic Desfiladero de la Hermida, a twisting road carved between towering limestone walls, before arriving in Potes at the heart of the Picos de Europa.

But we're not quite finished.

From Potes we ride deeper into the mountains to Fuente Dé, where the cable car carries us high into the Picos for our first extraordinary view across the range.

Then it's back down to Potes, the bikes are parked and the evening is ours.

Tomorrow, we ride through the mountains we've just been standing above.

Yesterday we stood above the Picos. Today, we ride through them.

Leaving Potes, we head deep into the mountains for a full day exploring some of the finest motorcycle roads in northern Spain.

Mountain passes, deep limestone gorges, sweeping valleys and seemingly endless bends take us towards the turquoise waters of Riaño, on a road that became one of the unforgettable discoveries of our original journey through Spain.

There's no rush today. We'll stop when the view demands it, take time over lunch and follow the roads that make the Picos such an extraordinary place to ride.

As the afternoon unfolds, we'll turn north once again, crossing the mountains towards the Asturian coast and our overnight stop in Llanes.

A full day in the mountains. Exactly what we came for.

Today we leave the Picos behind and set our sights on the Pyrenees.

Today is about covering ground, but on a Grand Tour even the journey between mountain ranges should be worth remembering.

Leaving the Asturian coast behind, we'll travel east across northern Spain, combining flowing country roads with faster sections where they make sense. There'll be time to stop, enjoy lunch and watch the landscape gradually change as the miles unfold.

By late afternoon, the horizon begins to rise and the Pyrenees appear ahead. Our final miles take us into the mountains towards a very different home for the night — a magnificent 17th-century monastery beneath the peaks.

The bikes are parked, the luggage is already waiting and there's time to relax before we come together for one of the gastronomic highlights of the Grand Tour — a journey through the flavours and landscapes of Sobrarbe, with exceptional food inspired by the mountains and traditions that surround us.

Tonight we sleep in the Pyrenees. 

Tomorrow, we ride them.

No more looking towards the mountains. Today, we're in them.

We leave behind the grandeur of last night's surroundings and head west into the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees for a day built around one thing — the ride.

High mountain passes, sweeping valleys and seemingly endless ribbons of tarmac carry us through some of the most spectacular riding country in Europe. We'll climb towards the French border, stop when the mountains demand it and take time for a relaxed lunch surrounded by the peaks.

There's no grand destination to rush towards today. The mountains are the destination.

As the afternoon draws on, we'll leave the bigger roads behind and disappear into one of the remote valleys of the western Pyrenees, where something altogether different is waiting for us.

Tonight isn't about five-star luxury. It's about a beautiful mountain house, a small village, the bikes outside and everyone gathered around one table for dinner.

Sometimes the simplest places make the greatest memories.

Today we cross into France and take on the giants of the Pyrenees.

Leaving our mountain hideaway behind, we head for the border and another full day in the saddle — climbing higher as the roads carry us through some of the most dramatic scenery of the Grand Tour.

This is the French Pyrenees: legendary mountain passes, sweeping climbs, tight hairpins and extraordinary views. Roads whose names have become part of cycling history and whose summits have tested generations of riders.

At the heart of the day, conditions permitting, lies the legendary Col du Tourmalet. At 2,115 metres, we'll ride to the summit, park the Harleys and take some time to appreciate exactly where we've brought them.

But Tourmalet is only part of the story. There are more passes to cross, more valleys to descend into and plenty more bends before the mountains finally begin to release their grip on us.

By evening we'll arrive at our final overnight in the Pyrenees, with the bikes parked and one last mountain dinner together.

Two mountain ranges. Three extraordinary riding days. One final road back to Bordeaux.

Every great journey deserves a proper ending.

Our final day on the motorcycles begins where the previous one finished — in the mountains. There's still time for one last great road, one last mountain pass and probably a few more bends than strictly necessary before we finally leave the Pyrenees behind.

From there, the pace changes. We'll travel north through rural France, stopping somewhere special for a long final lunch before the vineyards of Bordeaux begin to appear around us once again.

By late afternoon we'll arrive back where our journey began. The luggage will be waiting and, for the final time, we'll park the Harleys.

Tonight there are no roads to think about and nowhere else we need to be. Just one table, exceptional food, Bordeaux wine and the people who, eight days ago, were mostly strangers.

The bikes may be parked. The stories are only just beginning.

No alarm for a mountain pass this morning. 

No bikes waiting outside.

After breakfast, there's time for one last coffee, one last look across the vineyards and inevitably a few more stories from the week before it's time to say goodbye.

We'll take care of your transfer back to Bordeaux Airport or onward travel, leaving you with nothing more to organise.

Nine days ago, we arrived in Bordeaux ready to ride.

Since then we've crossed two countries, ridden through the Picos de Europa and the Pyrenees, climbed legendary mountain passes, discovered remarkable places and shared a lot of good food, good wine and great roads along the way.

The motorcycles have been returned. The luggage is packed.

But some roads have a habit of bringing you back.