In either direction ... I did this from Spain to Andorra ...as a follow-on to the Picos . Has everything in batches .. Long sweepers, passes, and windy bits ... Leave 4 hours from start to finish including coffee stops
What a great road. Nice asphalt, great corners. The scenery it´s just amazing... There are some resting places places with viewpoints, you can just stop and relax to the sound of silence and observe the landscape.
Adrall - Sort SectionExactly what you want from a mountain road, challenging corners and plenty of them! This route is either a cruisers delight with spectacular views, or is youe after some fun dont expect any straights and youe unlikely to see much over 70mph unless youe crazy. Most are 20 - 40 mph knee down corners. Its hard work because of the level of concentration needs but so worth it! Try the road a couple of times at medium speed before you build up confidence. Dont go flat out straight off as the margin for error is minimal. But when you get it right its fantastic fun with a backdrop of scenery to die for.
This is biker's heaven....fantastic scenery on exceptional roads. We did this section both ways as it was too good to do just once. There is an interesting side trip that comes up in the first weekend of October. We went from Ainsa up to the Paradore in Bielsa for a nice stay, it is very beautiful at the Paradore and has a lot of hiking trails. It is easy access to France via St. Lary and if you continue in France you will go across the Col du Tourmalin and find the delightful town of Luz-St. Sauveur. On the first weekend of October be careful of the cattle and sheep herds that are being driven down the roads out of the high alpine. The shepherds and all the citizens around the area head to Luz St. Sauveur for the "Fete du Mouton".. .sheep festival..The whole town has a weekend long festival with huge outdoor cooking tents, music, carnival rides, farmers market and agricultural displays etc. We just happened to be riding through and stayed for the weekend...what a great party as everyone follows tradition by buying some meat (or bringing your own) to the big marquee tents where there are hundreds of people gathered to eat the flame grilled meats. The bbq goes all night long....
Did this route as part of Pamplona to Andorra. What a ride! A must in any bikers life. Had Stairway To Heaven come randomly over my iPod. How true. Just watch out for the cyclists.
Rode this route last year after a friend found it on this site, its so good we went back this year and rode it twice, and theres every chance we could do it again next year!
A138 and N260 combined review from Ainsa to El Grado Meet some other brit riders in Tafalla the night before who raved over this road, starts off going up into the mountains then the bends never seem to stop, at Ainsa take a right,you follow the most beautiful blue lake (Embalse de Mediana), recently resurfaced going by the condition of the tarmac this road is like a never ending Alton Towers ride, i was laughing out load because i couldn belive a road could be so fantastic, at the end of the lake past the dam we found a great little hotel Las Acacias, b&b & evening meal ( the rabbit was great !!) only 105 euros for 3 sharing.After two weeks riding in Spain that was my favorite after some brilliant roads, going back again this year 2010 on way down to Motogp in Catalunya
Review of complete N260 route: "The Best Biking Road in Europe?"The N260 Has the most mundane start of any road It starts at a set of Traffic lights at Llanca on the coast road in Northern Spain amongst thousands of white painted holiday homes and apartment blocks with terracotta roof tiles. Here it is travelled every year by countless quantities of camping cars and rubber necking tourists in cars who rarely drive at anything above snails pace, as here, it is part of the famous coast road to France along the Vermillion coast. Yet within half a mile from its start the beautifully surfaced road starts to twist, turn and swoop but giving little away as to what lies ahead along its 311 miles before it arrives a few miles short of Jaca where this amazing road is uncerimoniously terminated having reached its crescendo on the last few miles to Biescas with a waterfall of continuous bends. The road is in many respects similar to the special stages of a rally where the various “stages” are separated by short lengths of normal road where one can catch ones breath before the next onslaught of bends and hills arrives to play havoc with all your senses. This road is not for the feint hearted, or for the beginner it is best ridden with respect and by riders who keep more than a little in reserve for the unexpected occurrence such as coming across the odd cow or goat or large rock or muck on the blind side of a corner as well as the possibility of coming face to face with another motorist on the wrong side of the road, however that doesn mean that one should not push the envelope just a bit, But be fully aware that in many places there is precious little, if anything, separating you from a drop of up to 500 metres. So in the event that you get it wrong it could take your mates following, a long time to find you and even longer to get you back up to the road if you are sporting injuries. From the coast the road starts off with some fast sweepers through some foothills, to whet ones appetite, but all too soon these are replaced by a long straight that goes straight into the heart of Figueres (Famous for the Dali Museum) after traversing Figueres the road remains quite benign to Olot, in places it is fast dual carriageway, but then at Olot the road appears to split into two and with the same destination, Ripoll!, signposted in both directions, confused? You will be! at this point we must stay in the LH lane and within 500 yards you will realise that you have started another special section as immediately you are thrown a dizzying collection of twists , turns 180 deg switchbacks which continue for 19 miles to the suburbs of Ripoll this is a baptism of fire but nothing compared to whats coming. After refuelling one heads north for 9 miles to Ribes de Freser (this road used to be marked as the N152 but has recently be returned to its original name the N260) the road follows a river so there are many fast sweeping smooth corners but one must take it steady and regroup as another special section is not far away. After leaving Ribes de Freser the road immediately narrows and you come across a large signpost that warns you that the road ahead amongst other things contains N bends for 45kms!!and that’s just to the Col de Toses , there are a further 22 kms after the Col to Puigcerda that is nearly the distance from Oxford to London! with only a car passing every ten minutes or so. This makes the cat and fiddle with its over policed roads simply pale into insignificance. One cannot attempt to describe this road, it is a dizzying collection of every kind of bend and turn, which progress ever upward giving just enough time between bends for a gulp of air. There is no respite at all and just when you are starting to have trouble losing concentration you arrive at the Col de Toses (1800M) where the wise will take a break to discuss what they have just experienced. It is a humbling bit of road and more than one or two get all religious when they describe what they have just been through. Most simply stop, look at the magnificent views along the Serra de Cadi (one of the largest valleys in Europe) and go over and over again in ones minds eye what they have experienced in the last 40 odd kms. After this it is downhill toward Puigcerda but a word of caution! starting just after the Col the local council has repaired cracks in the road with tar overbanding the result is what looks like masses of black snakes on the road these are in fact the slipperiest bits of road I have ever come across, touch a black line is to court a big slide and a tight ring piece so beware! This overbanding continues most of the way to Puigcerda but becomes less frequent and easier to dodge the further you go. From Puigcerda you can take a well earned rest along the next 32 miles via la Seu dUrgell to Adrall, however the road is full of fast sweepers with plenty of visibility and as smooth as a babies derriere and that inevitably tempts one to push on, so one does! there are one or two speed cameras but these are only for use against the locals, not tourists, but one must keep an eye out for the the local men in blue near the towns as they dont suffer fools gladly and fines can be steep, but hey, unlike the French they take credit cards, that will do nicely sir!. Once you turn right for Sort at the village of Adrall you must don your concentration cap again, limber up the knees elbows and neck because immediately you are once again under the cosh. This section of a mere 30 miles again throws every kind of turn at you, like Henry Cooper twisting in the ring with Mohamad Ali, bends were coming from every angle some are very slow indeed others can be taken quite quickly but only open up at the last second the speed limit signs near the bends give a good idea of how fast you can take them a general rule of them is use MPH instead of the posted KPH but if you come across a 40 or a 30 sign then it is nearly bottom gear stuff! The views if you can dare take your eyes off the road for a second are spectacular, this particular section of road is used by many of the local sportsbike owners on the weekends. All to soon or not soon enough depending on your numb bum you arrive in Sort where we stop for lunch (there are many restaurants and cafes) and have a well deserved break. Mileage so far? 157 miles, number of bends? Lost count 2 hours ago, number of scares? Oh just a few! Did you get your knee down? The knee sliders bear silent witness. At this point most people who are not into masochism call it a day but it is amazing what a meal and some renewed blood sugar levels will do. Do I need to remind you we have only ridden half of the road! You want more? By now you know the form and the next bit of road isn quite flat but it is a bit easier than the last 2 hours. Bear in mind much of the riding has been over 3000 feet high and some of it is well over 5000 feet so water intake to aid concentration and avoid dehydration is of paramount importance. Approaching Pont de Suert the road once again commences its Jekyl and Hyde manner and really gets back into the swing of it by the time you get to the Col de Espina and when we reach the col de Fadas once again it is time for a break this last section has been another 61 miles and by now lack of concentration is again causing problems. However the N260 has perhaps saved the best to the end the last section another 75 miles of roads has many tunnels , cols over 2000 metres high, amazing lakes, with strange coloured water, and eventually in the aptly named National Park of the lost motorcyclist, (sorry, Lost Mountain ed.), the final act is played out over the last 15 miles to Biecas by which time every muscle and nerve and all other unmentionables are screaming enough! The last 17 miles into Jaca where we have a superb biker friendly hotel with garage reserved, seems to take forever, but after a shower, and over a good meal, and a drink or five, all the stories of the days experience come out. So there you have it, the greatest motorcyling road! Not convinced? Lets look at the competition take the famous route Napoleon it is less than 100 miles with far fewer bends, yes it has some good sections with good views as well, but its a pussycat in this company. The greatest road as selected by the BBCs Top Gear team? well that was simply pathetic! There are good roads in Italy between Naples and Salerno, in the Alps, in southern Spain the road to Ronda is well known, and in Scandinavia as well there are good roads, in fact there are good roads in most countries but they are only 20- 50 miles long this is the granddaddy of them all forget the Pirbright bends, forget the A-whatever in Wales, forget the Cat and Fiddle, This road is the same distance as the road from Carlisle to London with hardly a straight section worth calling a straight , if that doesn make this the greatest road, what does?, wimps need not apply!.
La Seu dUrgell - Sort section Very very good indeed. Could rant and rave for hours about this road, but in short: see all of the above. Highly recommended. After arriving in Sort, I did hear that the road to Vielha was closed due to heavy snowfall, so I was forced to ride this dream of a road back.
Done this route last week. Absolutely fantastic. The best Ive been on. It has a bit of everything. Wore the chicken strips off me new tyres as well. I will definately be going back.
Wed travelled down through France to get to Sort and took this bit of the road to get across to Andorra. This route was maybe the best bit of road Ive ridden. Smooth surfaces and corners, gorgeous scenery if you cared to stop and look. But the road was just too adictive to ride. I think the bit we did was about 47km, all beautiful corners of every curve. We were running late to get to Andorra for B&B , and as we (wife n me)got to the junction realised our riding partners were no longer with us. We hung around 20 mins (even hes not that slow) so had to go back along the beautiful road again,with a bit more urgency. Hed got lost ????? so we had another roller coaster ride back again. I loved it.
Rode this last September and had time allowed we would have turned round and done it again. We stayed 2 nights in El Pont de Suert (Can Mestre hotel which worked out at £33 per head, incl dinner & Breakfast) and found most roads in the area were superb. We are booking for 3 nights at the same hotel this year.
Bin die Strecke schon mehrmals in beide Richtungen gefahren. Ist immer wieder der Hammer und zwar in jeder Hinsicht. Mehr auf meiner Homepage: www.moto-aventura.com
Adrall - Sort (Col de Canto) section:A really nice and quiet part of the well famous Spanish road. Nice curves, great surface and nice scenery.
what else can i add that no,one else has already said if you,re in the area then don,t miss it
We rode this route a few weeks ago, I thought Id died and gone to biking heaven!!!! A fantastic road even though I was on a brand new Fazer, loaded up and just run in! Cant wait to have another go at this route, will definately ride it again, even if it means plotting the next trip round it!
Superb road, simple as that! Racetrack-like surface for most of it but watch out for debris from the rockface thats fallen onto the road. Corners range from ultra fast sweepers to sharp hairpins, ride accordingly!!
An absolute belter of a road especially on a sportsbike, have been on it 3 times now. There is suprisingly hardly any traffic on the road which means you can really open the road up on the latter part heading to Sort. Definately one of the top roads in Europe.
fantastic section of road.La Seu dUrgell - Sort.for a change try turning right in Sort and head towards Vielha.fantastic road with hairpin bends and views that will blow your mind.76kms of fast sweeping bends to start with that follow the river Noguera Pallaresa.then as you start to climb the mountain pass the road changes into hairpin bends,giving this route the best of both worlds.if your off into france then turn right again in Vielha on the N230,again a lovely road which leads to the A64 half way between Tarbes and St Gaudens.A fantastic alternative way to leave Andorra and get back into France
fantastic road which is a must to travel on even it means going out of your way.i rate this road as the best i have ever riden on.
Just come back (June 2007) from Europe trip with 7 mates on sports bikes from CBR600 to GSX-R1000. This road suits them all. Corners to die for, very fast sweepers, very tight U-bends some straights in between. Fantastic - best road ever? We wanted to do it again but didnt have the time. Still next year.
Yet another stretch of the surely famous N260, this time we travelled West from Ribera, and eventually on to Ainsa. It's a real Jeckyll and Hyde road. One minute you're doing 90mph around a beautiful constant radius left hander, followed by an identical left hander made with best quality tarmac, modern concrete drainage systems and concrete lined tunnels, and then all of a sudden you're onto what is not much better than a farm track with falling rocks and potholes. It has you wondering if you're still on the same road, the contrast is amazing. When you see the flashing warning signs advising 30kmh, take heed, because the next corner needs to be taken at a snails pace instead of the 90mph that you've just got used to. We rode it in a rather wet 2nd week of April but it's a real stunner in finer weather. We stayed at a Hotel in Ainsa shown in the last picture which I can recommend. The rooms were 40 euros each (we needed two) and the food was fantastic with friendly and helpful staff. A real mix of good roads and bad, with a few hazards but very worthwhile and one i'd go back to. Have fun.
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section Part of the fantastic N260/N152 route across the Spanish Pyrenees. It's hard to pick out a single stretch as better than another, as the route offers over 300 miles of the best roads in Europe.
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section This is the best road I have riden in Europe, third time I have done it and I think its better from Andora to Sort. Go ride it.
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section Biking heaven. There is a reason for people gibbering on about it! Best part of N260?
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section This is THE best road I've so far riden. Purposely made a detour on my way south in 2005 and rode it fron Adrall to Sort. Absolutely biking heaven from start to finish. If you're in the area don't miss it!
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section rode this route in june this year (05) and it just blew us away, we did it on our way towards andorra coming from sort and i belive from talking to others its far better the other way, but we didnt have time to turn round and redo it, but even heading down its the best road i have ever had the plesure of riding ,when we came across the end junction at the c14 i took my hands of the bars and applauded with a smile that never left me for the rest of the journey,
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section A fantastic road. I was there two weeks ago. Got to one end, turned straight round and went back and did it again. Blinding...
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section Indeed this is one of the best I would agree, the highest part of this pass is about 1700m
El Pont de Suert - Sort Section This section has some great corners (some very tight ones), it narrows a bit in places and can be a little blind, but is otherwise excellent. There was a lot of diesel on the road when I rode it, but I am not sure this is necessarily always a feature. The narrow road is not too much of an issue as is it quite easy to pass with a little planning. Highly recommended especially as it pretty much joins the other section of the N260 going to La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell - Sort section An unbelievably good road across the pyrenees which runs from quite close to the Andorran border down to the town of Sort. There are many fast open corners with great visibility, allowing you to use road width to the full. This is one of if not the best road I ever rode. A must if you are in the area. The only downside is that sometimes some cattle walk into the road, but this is only a problem on a few of the more blind corners travelling up the mountain at the start of the route.
Guils del Santo
Rubio
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