"Track & Tour" Spanish Pyrenees to Aragón

Day 2 Barcelona to Seu D’Urgel

Through the city streets of Barcelona we go, then north into the Pyrenees. The lovely pavement, the empty roads, the relentless curves and the great views. This is why we are here. We eat like locals in the mountain valleys before ride off into more Pyrenees passes. What’s for lunch? The cool mountain air means rich soups of beans, cured ham and cabbage are popular as is the grilled lamb. Locals get a lot of exercise working in the mountains so rich, flavorful, healthy food is the rule. Tonight you stay in the mountain town of Sea D’ Urgel where two rivers come together. Your Parador is just a short walk away from the local cathedral and certainly worth a visit.

Day 3 Seu D’ Urgel to Andora and Bielsa

Day 4 Bielsa to Valle del Tena

Mountain air is good for the appetite and breakfast views don’t get much better than this. Today you’ll ride five mountain passes on pavement prepared for the the Tour de France. The views and curves reach a pinnacle here. The bikes and pavement may be new but life here hasn’t changed much for centuries. Herding of sheep, ponies and cattle remains much the same. The harvesting of hay to maintain the herds in winter. The less traveled Pyrenees retain more of their traditional look than the more centrally located Alps. We finish the day in the ski resort town of Valle del Tena

Day 5 Valle del Tena to Aragón

Riding down out of the mountains, we’ll play tourist for a bit and stop at one of Aragón’s most impressive castles near the town of Loarre. Perhaps if there is time we will stop in at the massive Basilica in Zaragoza. Across the rolling hills and fertile fields of Aragón we ride, until we see the small fortress town of Alcañiz. This will be our home for the next three nights.

Day 6 Track day 1 on Aragón with Troy Corser

Motorland Aragón is set in the middle of the country and it’s a massive facility. The track itself is 3.3 miles (5.3km) long with moderate elevation changes and very few blind turns. The pavement is good, the run offs are ample and the straights are VERY fast. The lap record is currently held by Franco Morbidelli 1:48.089 set in 2020. Our track bike supplier will have new BMW  S1000RR waiting with Metzler K3 tires or you can upgrade to slicks and warmers. Your coach will work with you on lines and technique while providing on bike video feedback. Troy will of course be teaching various classes on technique.  Take your time and the learn the lines of this incredible track before attempting to go faster…which you will.

Day 7 Track day 2 on Aragón with Troy Corser

Your sore muscles from the day before might hurt but your mind is sharper. At breakfast you already thinking about where you’d like to brake harder, roll on earlier, apex later. A few bikes will have fresh tires on them as it’s easy to go through a set at these speeds. You’ll start to learn where more rubber gets laid down late in the day and shift your lines, your lap times drop. The famous wall of Aragón flies past your left and you know the local track photographer got a few good shots of you.

Day 8 Track day 3 on Aragón with Troy Corser

Put it all together now and watch those lap times drop. You’ve ridden the curves that riders like Marquez and Lorenzo have mastered, you’ll never watch MotoGP at Aragón the same way again.

Day 9 Aragón to Cardona

With the track gear tucked safely back in the luggage van, we head north into the wild mountains again. We return to the Pyrenees villages, and the empty mountain roads with excellent pavement. A final valley run takes us to the massive 8th century fortress above Cardona, our hotel for the night. Well take a moment in the bar at the top of the castle to toast another day of fine Pyrenees riding before sitting down to another great Parador dinner.

Day 10 Cardona to Barcelona

Riding down out of the winding mountains, we stop in at the benedictine monastery of Montserrat. This place is very important to the Catalan people and it’s also stunningly gorgeous. From the mountains we continue down to the sea and return our bikes to Barcelona. We’ll do some more Barcelona sight seeing and then meet everyone for a final farewell dinner.

Day 11 Departure Day

It’s been a great “Track & Tour” adventure. Your guides have your flight information and will get you to the airport a good two hours before take off. Watch your email inbox as we’ll be sending you links to all the photos. If you’d like to stay on in Barcelona for a few days, by all means let us know and we can arrange it for you.