A Yamaha Ténéré 700 Journey from Biarritz, France, to the Bardenas Badlands

The next Yamaha Ténéré 700 journey story a few journey to beat the winter blues in France got here from a brand new contributor, Jean-François Muguet, and appeared within the July concern of Rider, our second Journey Problem. – Ed.

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After being chilly and moist in France, it was exhausting to consider we’d get pleasure from such good climate and circumstances in January. That’s one of many many cool issues about Spain’s Bardenas Reales Pure Park.

Sooner or later, all motorcyclists should admit that winter sucks. Particularly right here in France. You may gown warmly and placed on raingear to remain dry, however the roads will nonetheless be soaked, soiled, chilly, and slippery. Not one of the best season for a highway journey.

Fed up with yet one more bleak winter, I referred to as my buddy Robin. He’s an awesome buddy to have. He is aware of all of the roads of the Basque Nation and northern Spain, and he owns Rental Motorbike Biarritz, simply south of the coastal resort city in southwestern France. Biarritz is the house of Wheels & Waves, the annual pageant that celebrates bikes, browsing, skateboarding, music, and artwork. However W&W is in June, at seashore time, which was six months away.

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Robin and I’ve identified one another for a very long time, and we each wanted to get away from crowded locations, ideally on bikes. We might be joined by one other buddy, Eric, and our busy schedules afforded us simply three days, so we couldn’t go far. Robin instructed a visit to Bardenas Reales Pure Park, a desert badlands space in Navarre, an autonomous area in northern Spain.

We simply rode and rode. Nearly no talking, simply having fun with.

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Yamaha Ténéré 700 or Royal Enfield Himalayan?

Since we’d be using off-road, Robin’s rental fleet gave us two choices: the Royal Enfield Himalayan or the Yamaha Ténéré 700. We might be logging highway miles to get to Bardenas, together with small, curvy roads by way of the Pyrenees, so we opted for the bigger, twin-cylinder T7.

We received an early begin from RMB headquarters on a grey, wet day. It was foggy and delightful within the Pyrenees, the mountain chain separating Spain from France, dividing the Iberian Peninsula from the remainder of Europe. We made our means south to Pamplona, town identified for the Operating of the Bulls through the Feast of San Fermín. The solar determined to return out and heat us just a little bit, proper in time for us to hit the dust.

Associated: Yamaha Pronounces Up to date Ténéré 700, Different Returning 2024 Fashions

Fuel On, ABS Off

Declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, Bardenas Reales is gorgeous.

It was time to press the button to show off the T7’s ABS, and it could keep off for a very long time. After beginning our day chilly and moist, we welcomed the nice and cozy, dry, dusty circumstances. We started on trails that have been straightforward and extensive, typically rocky, typically with ruts, however nothing too difficult. We floated by way of hills and amongst sandy dunes, and the panorama opened increasingly more.

Close to Pamplona, the panorama opened up as we climbed into the hills.

We’d been using for hours, and our stomachs began making unusual noises, so we left the paths and located a restaurant. We have been in Spain, so every thing was closed till 2 p.m. due to siesta. However the excellent news is, as soon as the eating places open, you’ll be able to have a starter, a most important course, dessert, wine, and low for about $12. Some may suppose it’s unwise to journey dirtbikes after a giant meal, however we would have liked our power for the remainder of our journey.

Bienvenida a Las Bardenas

We continued our journey and entered an enormous valley. From the plateau we have been on, it regarded like the bottom had been torn aside. Welcome to Bardenas Reales. It was unbelievable, large – all ocher, white, and yellow. It was late afternoon, and the solar was sinking low. Time for an image, then many footage. We parked the T7s within the grass, which was really thyme. Every step we took shook the thyme and launched a aromatic aroma to our noses.

Robin handled Bardenas Reales Pure Park like his personal private playground.

From the cliff the place we stood, we might see for miles. This unbelievable surroundings was reduce in two by a serpentine path, and it was all ours. Our objective was to journey the path and get to Tudela, the place we’d spend the evening. For the subsequent hour and a half, we chased the sundown by way of the desert, the yellow and white canyons, sandstone cliffs, and rocks slowly turning orange after which crimson. It was beautiful – pure pleasure for the eyes and pure happiness for our hearts.

Using with pals at sundown in a giant, empty desert. That’s the sort of stuff we reside for, isn’t it?

It was getting darkish, and fatigue was setting in as we lastly reached a paved highway. The lights of town received nearer as we approached Tudela. We had ridden 170 miles, however the day handed so shortly. Checking into the lodge, we checked out one another and realized we have been filthy. We have been soiled and drained however pleased like little children, which made the receptionist snort. We would have liked a bathe and dinner.

Bardenas Reales is especially stunning in late-afternoon gentle.

Trip, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

Our route by way of the desert provided wonderful, infinite views.

Day 2 began off gradual as we have been just a little sore from the day gone by. This journey could be about 125 miles, with 90% on dust trails. The solar was shining, nevertheless it was nonetheless a bit chilly within the morning. The primary few miles of path received our blood flowing and warmed us shortly, and we had splendid views of snowy mountains.

Snowy within the mountains, good within the valley.

The T7s have been roaring alongside, a pleasure to journey. Robin was main with the GPS, and Eric and I have been simply having fun with ourselves. The paths have been straightforward, however we nonetheless wanted to remain centered. In some locations, components of the path had collapsed, creating holes the place you wouldn’t wish to put your entrance wheel or else you’d discover ways to fly.

Robin is all the time pleased to loft a pleasant wheelie for the digicam.

The remainder of the day was like using by way of the set of a Spaghetti Western like The Good, the Unhealthy and the Ugly. There have been no cowboys, however a Spanish navy base was close by. Typically we got here throughout troopers in automobiles or vans or noticed indicators warning that areas have been off-limits. However the trails have been enjoyable, and the panorama was good. As soon as once more, the sundown within the desert was an unbelievable present. We slept properly with colourful goals.

There’s a navy base in the course of the desert, so using after darkish is prohibited.

Trip to Eat, Eat to Trip

As French folks, we like to eat. Oftentimes whereas consuming a meal, we’ll speak about meals we’ve had up to now, each good and unhealthy. It might sound unusual to folks from different international locations, however that’s what we do.

Throughout the day, we’d discovered an inexpensive menú del día at a roadside eatery. At evening in Tudela, we loved going to an old style restaurant referred to as Remigio. Locals really useful it, and it turned out to be nice. All the time belief the locals. Robin was a chef for a few years earlier than he began his bike rental enterprise, so he is aware of good meals. Remigio served us conventional dishes like pig’s ear and snail stew with sausage. It was scrumptious, and so was the Riojà wine. Robin was like a child in a sweet retailer.

Robin and Eric examine notes on the Yamaha Ténéré 700, which was good for this journey.

Taking the Yamaha Ténéré 700 Dwelling

Helmets on for Day 3. It was time to return north to Biarritz. Clouds adopted us for the primary few miles by way of the desert. We stopped on the spot the place you have to take an image to point out the world you’ve got been to Bardenas: Castillo de Tierra, a pure column of sandstone that rises as much as the sky and was shaped by hundreds of thousands of years of abrasion.

Castillo de Terra is probably the most well-known landmark in Bardenas Reales.

We squeezed as a lot path time as we might out of our remaining day earlier than lastly returning to tarmac. We received again on the highway close to the medieval village of Olleta, persevering with north to Pamplona. We summited many passes as we wound our means up and down by way of the Pyrenees. Earlier than we knew it, we have been again in Biarritz.

We stopped typically simply to benefit from the view.

The journey was enjoyable, and Robin made it straightforward by offering the bikes and planning the route. He was an awesome touring companion, even when he ate greater than his justifiable share of the pig’s ears. And Eric was our third musketeer. The T7s have been improbable on the highway and on dust. And Bardenas Reales was superb, like a lunar park for bikes.

There aren’t many desert areas in Europe, so that is an unique expertise for us.

These three days handed like a colourful dream – a bubble of recent air, solar, desert, and enjoyable with bikes that supplied aid from the doldrums of winter. Precisely what we have been searching for.  From April to November, Rental Motorbike Biarritz rents BMW, Ducati, Indian, Royal Enfield, and Yamaha bikes – together with the Yamaha Ténéré 700 – with costs beginning at 50 euros per day. RMB can present GPS routes in addition to guided excursions. For info, go to the Rental Motorbike Biarritz web site.

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