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Travel StoriesTo The Southern Tip Of Europe
Poor Poorly Andy
Ride Date 18-19 Sep 2025
By Andy Gray
Day 6: Pharmacist 30 miles.
Full of cold so didn’t go anywhere apart from the pharmacist today. Was planning to head south but the promised 32-36C is too hot for me. Luckily it is meant to cool down soon. Rigged up the tarp to give me some more shade and doused the neck tube with water.
Day 7: Supermarket 43 miles.
Upgraded my fabric tent for a wooden cabin today so I’ve got a proper bed where I can rest during the day to try to get rid of this cold. Had to move the gear from my tent to the cabin and pack away the camping gear. As the cabin has a fridge I went to the local supermarket to get stuff for lunch and the makings for a curry for dinner.
Didn’t have what I needed locally so had to go to Graus which is 33km away. Almost certain I’ve not visited that town before. It was a bit of an effort as it was 30-32C on the valley roads. Came back and rested for a couple of hours then cooked a rather nice chicken curry. My German neighbour and his wife were packing their trailer to go home tomorrow. It seems an awful lot for a Fiat 500 to be towing!
Too heavy for the car?
At sunset the mountains are illuminated nicely.
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A long Ride to Gien
Big miles already on Andy's first day on the road. He's just getting settled into the ride and making his way south through France.
Smiling In The Rain
It's a soggy wet day through France for Andy, but that won't dampen his spirits. He stumbles upon 2CVs and climbing walls, straight roads and twisties.
Into The Pyrenees
With improving weather Andy is still heading south. It's all terribly positive, even the diversions are opportunities to explore. The Pyrenees continue to impress.
An Easy Day Around The Pyrenees
Andy is taking it easy today. Just a casual bimble around The Pyrenees, across mountains and valleys, you know, the sort of easy ride we all do on a lazy day. Ever more delightful images too.
Stuck In The Cols - Painful!
Andy is enjoying all the mountain passes on the French side of The Pyrenees - until he's "Route Barre" from getting back to the campsite. He's got the sniffles too.
Poor Poorly Andy
The sun is shining, the air is warm, the surroundings are lovely. Andy is rather under the weather himself, it's not the best couple of days.
Reader's Comments
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Might almost have been better to tow the Fiat with the bike and sidecar!
02/12/2025 14:13:14 UTC
nab301 said :-
Andy , hopefully over 2 months later you've recovered from the man flu!
As for the Fiat 500 , depending where you look they are rated for 800kg towing capacity , braked trailer and 400kg un-braked although the base models can't weigh much more than 900kg which in a tail wagging the dog scenario on a motorway I would not like to be in.....
Nigel
02/12/2025 14:14:18 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
My other bike is a Fiat Panda which is the same underneath as the 500 (and Ford Ka new shape). My log book says 400kg unbraked, 800kg braked according to my V5 so your numbers look right nab301. Oh, 938kg "mass".
I have never towed anything so I can't comment on how anything drives with any load - I'm sure Ian as a caravan kinda guy will have some better notions.
Let's have a guess - the bike - 200kg. The sidecar - 100kg. The trailer - 100kg. With the bicycles I'd say 400kg plus. If it is braked then it in theory ought to be well with tolerances? Anyhow it's not our problem.
02/12/2025 16:06:33 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
The trailer is unbraked.
I think the trailer would be around 75kg and the sidecar another 75kg the bonnie about 220kg leaving around 30kg for the bicycles.
The car should be well within it's capabilities if it is rated at 800kg braked trailer weight. 400kg to spare.
02/12/2025 17:54:20 UTC
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Travel StoriesTo The Southern Tip Of Europe