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The Grand Tour
  • Gerald McAdam
  • Seamus Ward
  • Paul Carroll
  • Gerald McAdam
  • Seamus Ward
  • Paul Carroll

The Grand Tour

A 13-day adventure by Gerald, Seamus & Paul Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 13, 2026
  • The Grand Tour

    Sight of Land

    May 15, English Channel ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Enjoying the cruise to France, lovely smooth sailing. Relaxing evening , met a lad Seamus knew Padraic Lynch, great evening craic. Nice breakfast, up on deck taking in views of channel islands as we approach Cherbourg. Looking forward to hitting the roadRead more

  • The Grand Tour

    Chateauxdun

    May 15 in France ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Long day, but lots of great sights. Made it in to Chateaudun at 830pm. Went for food at Buffalo grill where Gerald bumped into Steve who used to live near Carrickmacross and was in france with his 2 CV car along with 4000 others at a meet up! He just happened to be in the same restaraunt!Read more

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    Pitstop

    May 16 in France ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Long day today planning c 500kms to get past Lyon, closer to Grenoble which is the start of Route Napoleon, a famous driving route from the alps to the Med.

  • The Grand Tour
    Approx route for next 2 days !

    Basecamp

    May 16 in France ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Had a nice lunch at Volvic where Volvic water comes from Clermont Ferrand in the Massif Central. Great views of lush green extinct volcanoes.
    The alps finally came into sight near Lyon with lots of snowcapped peaks in the distance. Some nice bridges and sweeping motorways with some very long tunnels. Bike engines sounded terrific hitting the redline in the tunnel:) After a slight detour to find the Ibis "budget" hotel got checked in and bikes in underground car pk. Only 70km to Grenoble from here so really our basecamp into the alps foothills tomorrow. Looking forward to some grub after another great day on the bikes together.Read more

  • The Grand Tour

    Day 3 on the road

    May 17 in France ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Good rest in Bourgoin Jallieu last night. 2Kg Steak last night Men v Food, i think food won. Grand breakfast , looking forward to some epic roads later today.

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    The Sunday Drive

    May 17 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Fabulous day today,warmed up over 20 degrees, endless lush mountain valleys, turquoise meltwater rivers and snow capped peaks. Magnificent roads for biking on. Drove a little over 300kms. Stopped in Castellane for the night, grand little hotel which is at the east end of Verdun Gorge. Tomorrow we plan to start with a loop of Verdun gorge then head to the coast at Cannes the do the Corniche L'Esterel , c 300k in all. Weather looks mid 20s which should do nicelyRead more

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    Alps to the Meditteranean

    May 18 in France ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Started out from Castellane to do a loop of the spectacular Verdun gorge. Then on towards Cannes with some more fantastic sweeping roads through mountain passes and valleys. Some heavy thundershowers and hail while we were stopped for lunch.
    Cannes was a busy spot as the film festival is on. Last stretch was west along the coast to St Rafael, plenty of spectacular houses jammed on the hillside. Getting cleaned up and off to get some food now after an amazing day's riding . As with each night we will decide where to go tomorrow and book somewhere to stay.    Read more

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    French Riviera

    May 19 in France ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Weather is heating up nicely 23 degrees , clear blue skies for the long motorway ride close to the Spanish border. We stopped in Nimes for an extended lunchbreak at the halfway point and did a tour of the amazing Roman amphitheatre. Hard to believe it is over 2000 years old and largely intact. The last stretch of motorway was hard going with up to 10 lanes at times and convoys of artics passing each other. We stopped at a lovely beach near narbonne where the water was surprisingly warm:) Safely into our lodgings at Narbonne and supper at WOK buffet. We will likely head for Andorra and maybe Spain tomorrow...tough decisions i know :)Read more

  • The Grand Tour

    The Med to Andorra

    May 20 in Andorra ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Probably the biggest variety of roads and sights today, in balmy mid 20's temperatures, starting with rolling lush countryside with vineyards , idyllic villages , spectacular gorges and a high mountain pass with alpine meadows and still some snow lying. Andorra was much more populated that we expected and we drove literally up into the clouds through lots of ski villages and finished in the busy Andorra la vella . Staying in a nice hotel and enjoyed soaking in a hot tub before dinner. So far, the Pyrenees have been amazing with quieter roads and more spectacular scenery than we saw near the alps. Onwards west to Spain in the morning!Read more

  • The Grand Tour

    Andorra to Gavin

    May 21 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Yes, you guessed it, another spectacular day of riding in the jaw dropping scenery of the Pyrenees ! Countless gorges, rustic Spanish villages and rivers. Road surfaces a bit rougher in places than France but very little traffic which adds to the wilderness feeling.
    A couple of UK reg bikes tailed us for a while and stopped for some lunch, we chatted and quickly found out the father had worked at Jaguar cars at browns lane when i was there ! Once again small world.    Read more

  • The Grand Tour

    Gavin to San Sebastian

    May 22 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We left the beautiful mountain village of Gavin and headed west for Pamplona. We stopped for breakfast in a rough looking roadside cafe which was quite the experience, great food and coffee for all 3 for 13 euros. Nice quiet roads with more fabulous scenery onwards to Pamplona. We had a very pleasant extended lunch there after visiting the streets where they have the bull run. We also walked a few steps on the camino trail to a nice Cathedral. The selection of food at the tapas bar we had lunch in was delicious.
    The last parts of the journey on to San Sebastian was very hot,eventually rising to 39 or 40 degrees. Thoughts of the beach kept us going as we baked for the last few miles doing laps to find the hotel:) We were glad to get into the hotel with a cool drink and air con before heading to the lovely beach where lots of the locals were cooling off too. Great way to finish another great day. Good memories of Seamus and Gerald's 2019 bicycle ride which finished on the same beach. Off now in a little while for a walk over to old town , about a mile away to soak up the Friday night atmosphere and get a bite to eat.    Read more

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    The home Strait

    May 24, Bay of Biscay ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We spent a few hours Saturday morning in San Sebastian and saw the old town and took the Funicular railway daying from 1911 to a viewpoint over this amazing town. We had an interesting encounter with a local who drove us across town to old town just out of kindness!
    Lovely spin yesterday afternoon from San Sebastian to Bilbao via the coastal road, stopping for Tapas and a swim along the way.
    Lots of Irish fans in Bilbao for the rugby. We got a bus to the city centre and saw the Gugenheim museum and got some Mexican food.

    As I write this, we are already halfway across the bay of biscay on the ferry. It has been a fantastic trip with countless spectacular sights and experiences along the way and quite a few stories of the craic we have had not captured in these blogs that no doubt will be recounted in years to come!
    As we are now homeward bound , feeling thankful for safety along the 3000Km route and for 2 fantastic travelling companions to share this amazing adventure with. Also importantly to all holding the fort back at home and praying for our safety :) look forward to seeing you all soon.    Read more

    Trip end
    May 25, 2026