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2024-04-15



We made a fantastic and spectacular trip with the M3W to the French and Spanish Pyrenees

After 7 month repair, maintenance and changing some configurations we needed a good test-trip for the M3W.

1st day
We left Lannemezan to the Frontera de Col de Portalet.
The route went via Cap Vern – Orignac - Lourdes - Argelès-Gazost – Col de Soulor – and back south to Bruges because the col d’Aubisque is closed till July – and south back to the col Frontera del Portalet.
This is a beautiful route with different landscapes and mountain stops.
Argelès-Gazost is a busy place with a lot of terrasses for a nice coffee-brake.
Lunch at “les Marmottes” on the col de Soulor.
You see those Spanish Speedy-Marmotas everywhere 😉




The climb to the “Frontera del Portalet” is spectacular.



And a good advice : Take care of your engine temp gauges.
Not having one : Install one.

Climbing, you drive sometimes very slowly, so air cooling is not that good and you use a lot of power.
Our ‘Urban Cooling Kit’ on the ‘Emerald ECU’ works the clock around in the mountain. ( I still have to make a time-relay in case when the engine is turned off, like my VW-T3 has ).
But the ‘MMC Urban Cooling kit’ is designed for flat roads and slow traffic.
NOT for slow rides on hair-pin roads when going uphill asking everything from the engine.
And especially in case you have a strong wind in the back, so the wind you create yourselves does nothing.
Luckily our self-made new dash saved us the engine because we saw in time the lube-oil started to get over-heated, which made the lube-oil pump and the lube-oil-pressure gauge not understanding the situation anymore.
The filling-knob of the lube-oil tank melted my work-gloves.
We decided there to find more info about installing a professional oil-cooler with a fan and thermostat.
And maybe - when still necessary - make in addition some air ducts at the fake grill bulk-head.
It should be cold under the bonnet as much as possible. Even a warm mix of engine and mountain air through those ducts will not melt my work-gloves.
Luckily our batterie got already another place far away enough from that always too much over-heated oil-tank.
For the same reason as a battery loses too much capacity and/or life-cycles with -20 oC, you should not bring the battery temperature above 60 oC.




After the “Col de Portalet” we went down to “Lárrede” where we find a very nice family owned Chalet-kind of Hotel.

2nd day
We stay for another day in Hotel “Viñas de Lárrede” and make a nice steep climb hike to the deserted village “Susin” in the mountain. Beautifull panoramas and a well-deserved bottle of water.



In the afternoon we went to the most megalomaniac train-station we have ever seen in our life at “Canfranc-Estación”.
It has been built not that long ago - 1928 - and was used also not that long, it closed in 1970.
It features 365 windows and 156 doors, along a length of 240 m.



The connection between “Pau” in France and “Jaca” in Spain was never a success.
But the station is still there and worth seeing when you like to see a most remarkable building.
Luckily bought by NH Hotels which has enough money to spend to rebuild it beautiful in style.
But what to do with such a big Hotel in the middle of nowhere?

“Jaca” was recommended by friends but most tapa-bars are still closed around 18hr00
So we find a nice village-tapa-bar with locals in “Biescas” north of “Lárrede”.

3rd day
We make another spectacular tour to “Ainsa” over the N-260a and make half way at “Sarvisé” a diversion to the HU-631 to direction “Escalona”.
Half way the HU-631 it diverges again because one part ( the north part ) coming from “Escalona” is one way only.
The route is not for the “faint of hearts”. And we would advise : Helmets obliged.




Nice stop for a small sandwich stop in “Buerba” on the HU-631 ( south )
The very steep, deep and small gorges, the mountains, all the hard working road workers who try to keep the road in shape - which seems impossible – makes this part of Spain stunning.




The road is part of the famous motorbike ride from east to West in the Spanish Pyrenees.

We stay the night in ‘Hotel Sanchez’ where we get for € 145 a wonderful room with terrace, a high quality 2 course meal and protected parking place.
“Ainsa” is just 2 streets, but op on the hill you have medieval “Ainsa” which is very touristic but still worth visiting.

4th day
From “Ainsa” continuing the route N-260 with a diversion to “Viellha” and “Bossost”.
Again a spectacular route through mountainous gorges and beautiful Pyrenees sceneries.
Again Helmets obliged.
Enthusiastically greeted and applauded by a lot of road-workers who are making some bypass-tunnels you really start thinking you do this not for your selves but for others to give them their daily portion of a smile.




It becomes very cold at the end – it is April - but we have prepared ourselves with our motor-bike heat jackets which we can use as a plaid too.
Lunch in “Bossòst” in the very good restaurant “Er Occitan”, but when there are no seats anymore available, go to the other side of the river at “El Portalet “.

The clouds promise not much good weather so we decide to get home to “Lannemezan” again.
In case the weather is better you have from Bossòst the opportunity to go over the mountain – ‘Col du Portillon’ - to Bagnères-de-Luchon, passing a little Zoo on the mountain with animals from this region. Bears and . . . . Marmotas again 😉


Send us an e-mail when interested in the GPX tracks.

BTW, the test trip went perfect and we love Phil’s Chain drive.
What an enormous improvement in many ways, not at least de-stressing the Bevel-box.
Luckily this trip created also some new points on our never-ending working list.

And . . .
It would be nice when there was a special part in TM for tours and exchanging gpx files

Great pics reminds me of taking in three countries (France, Andorra, Spain) in 18 minutes on a bike in the early 80's.

A great trip Herrie

A routes section on TM does sound a good idea and in the meantime there is a Morgan Three Wheeler Club Touring Group Facebook page dedicated to arranging and sharing information on trips and events. https://www.facebook.com/groups/511022087505443 It's a private group but just ask to join, fill in all 3 questions and agree to the group rules and you'll be let in :-)

That looks like a great trip Herrie. We did the western end of the Pyrenees last year with a small group of M3W's, some spectacular scenery and roads. Good to see the M3W is running like it should finally and looking very smart. We always got a crowd whenever we stopped in that part of the world as well, they seem to like M3W's there.

Herrie, great pics.
I'm heading that way later on in the year in my +4. I'll pm you my email add I would like to see those gpx track files please.
Cheers
John.

French and Spanish Pyrenees are great M3W territory - been there twice and need an excuse (vs alternatives) to return!

great pictures. I have found the heat issue when doing the distinguished gentleman's ride. too fast for the urban cooling fan and too slow to really cool the engine.

Fantastic pictures and report Herrie. My wife and I (plus small dog!) did The Pyrenees soon after we had taken delivery of our M3W in 2015. An unforgettable trip on fantastic roads.
We took the ferry from The UK to Bilbao. This cut out a lot of driving on 'ordinary roads' if we had gone all the way down through France. Driving a M3W on mountain roads can be quite exhausting, so we found the overnight trip back on the boat a welcome rest.

Wonderful pictures. Thanks for posting.
Bud
4/4 - Stanley

Great pictures and report!

Hope to meet some day in this area or in another nice adventure!

Best regards