Bastides of the Gers

One of the joys of living in the foothills of the Pyrenees is being able to turn our backs on the mountains when the weather is poor - that sometimes all too brief period when the snow begins to fall but before the ski season kicks off - and head north into the beautiful rolling countryside of the Gers.

Snowfall - not good motorcycling conditions.

Throughout the summer our neighbouring department is all sunflowers, vineyards and a million camper vans, but in late autumn the majority of the visitors have left and for a motorcycling enthusiast the empty rolling roads become a playground. I love nothing better than cruising along at a steady pace, quick enough to get a thrill in the bends but slow enough to pause and watch a peregrine or harrier overhead.

Our last couple of forays have been out to explore some of the medieval bastide towns and villages in the Gers. These two were on the latest 200km round trip.

Lupiac - birthplace of the real d'Artagnan.

The busiest person - and just about the only person - we saw on a sunny November afternoon was this chap (below)!

After lunch we rode on to Barran with her fascinating twisted spire.

But still pretty empty.

The ride home gave us glorious views of the snow-clad Pyrenees for most of the route, but it was too cold to stop for a photograph! Next week we should be skiing so the bikes will not get much exercise until the spring.