- I hear plastic surgeons do rather well there, sadly, I hope they never hit the tarmac. Still, I’ m not one to complain, and did envy their coolness as I sweltered in full riding gear and 30 plus degree temps. Sadly, the young women didn’ t go my way for long and turned off. So, I was in the thick of Barcelona, looking for the A2 road heading towards Lleida and all the while battling a dodgy GPS unit on my hired IMTbike. Fortunately the BMW F800GS I’ d picked up was going like a charm making the riding effortless even if navigation was an issue. My plan was to pick up the
A2 to Lleida, then the A22, head north up the N123 for a bit, and lastly the A138, a tight back road that heads up and over the Pyrenees into France. However, at that moment I was just hoping to not get arrested as I’ d just shot under a toll barrier arm and set all manner of alarm bells flashing and wailing. Being a reasonably relaxed sort of Kiwi, when the hire bike guy asked if I going to do any toll roads, I just said no, thinking I’ d work it out at the time – well that time had arrived and it wasn’ t as simple as I’ d imagined.
PHOTO: Juan R. Lascorz