Day 3 starts as usual with a hearty ham and cheese baguette times 3 and some of the best coffee I have ever tasted.
I am wanting on the road as I wish to arrive in Andorra around 3pm, my son went there last year on holiday with his pals and brought me back a flag which hangs in my garage.
I only ever put flag stickers on my panniers of places I have ridden through so today I would be adding the Andorra one to my boxes.
Formalities over at the hotel I attach my new sat nav to the bike with its brown cradle and check the hard drive, all good.
I attach the tank bag to the pillion seat as I am struggling to balance the bike properly as my short arms can't reach around it so well to get purchase on the bars, riding is ok but setting down and lifting from side stand are difficult.
Hotel has a white plastic dog for luck which I suspect won't work as well as the real thing but time will tell. Sandi the receptionist photo bombs my bike photo.
Out on the road and the SatNav is working better than it's redundant ornament sitting underneath. The traffic is very heavy riding South but hey ho it's holiday time so I relax into the trek.
I meet some Spanish riders at a service station and try all tell me they want Dovi to win the title as I do. They are heading straight to Valencia but I tell them I am staying in Andorra tonight.
They tell me it is impossible as the day time high for Andorra is -4c with an overnight low of -12c.
I laugh and shrug off the warning. Things I have been told I cannot do, as they are difficult in the extreme or impossible are the things that my stubborn and curious nature thrive on, roll on the snow.
I stop 40 miles from my destination to take in the sheer beauty of the Pyrenees and am reminded of home.
The weather is cold at 3c but nothing to worry about and I push on.
Further up the altitude lowers the temperature and people are fitting snow chains while I take some photos that remind me of Christmas.
Further up the mountains the altitude is really apparent on the weather conditions and I see many cars at the side of the road that have failed the ascent but I continue until my trusty steed tells me that this is one of those times that is truly impossible.
The sharp eyed amongst you will spot the tyre marks I have left and realise this wasn't a stationary drop.
It also left me with a conundrum on how to get to my 5 star hotel which was less than 20 miles away.
The Gendarme were quickly on the scene (within 2 minutes to be fair) asked me where I was from and that was it. The 4 of them looked on smoking whilst yours truly lifted up 350kg of injured horse on ice back to its upright position.
One of the cheeky buggers then comes across and tells me "You are very strong"
I ask him would it not be more professional to put the cigarettes out and maybe ask me if I was injured?
The worlds best chain smoking recovery driver is on scene within a few minutes as he tells me he drives this road every day picking up idiots like me.
We share a joke about the Police and load up.
I tell my new friend that I am heading to the MotoGP and drop me off anywhere with no ice.
He tells me that as the Police called him I must get taken to a local garage where the Police are waiting to record details and I must put the incident to my insurers.
A quick exchange of Euros and I am dropped off at a tunnel entrance with the warning that the road to Barcelona is impossible to ride on a bike today due to snow, now that's a challenge, lol.
JimmyMac
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