Motorcycle-Diaries’ Movie: A Different Pair of Eyes

Embark on an exhilarating motorcycle adventure as we traverse through the heart of Europe, from the cobbled streets of Belgium, through the sun-kissed landscapes of France and Spain, to the breathtaking shores of Portugal. “A Different Pair of Eyes” is not just a movie; it’s an invitation to explore, to uncover the hidden gems even in the most familiar places.

#ForYourRidingPleasureOnly

www.motorcycle-diaries.com
www.ant-productions.com

Partners: @AraiHelmetEurope | @BridgestoneMoto

Special thanks to @chateaudelacquy and @burel.factory

#adventureriding

OK, we admit… someone recently mentioned my name closely followed by the word ‘lazy’ Something about no movies yet for Motorcycle-Diaries in 2023 People who know me can imagine that this combination of words acted like a red rag on a bull. So I got thinking what the next MD movie could be about.

With people fighting over views and likes nowadays I thought we might join the race for the most likeable motorcycle movie. and therefore I started thinking to finally make a good movie about: Which bike to pick for travel Or what tires to mount for travel and if not

One about what helmet to wear for travel… But none of those subjects set the desire for calling the filmcrew alight. and more, something tells me our viewers are not really into this kind of content. So while scrolling the internet looking for travel inspiration,

A quote by one of our favourite philosophers, Marcel Proust, caught my eye: Le véritable voyage de découverte ne consiste pas à chercher de nouveaux paysages mais a avoir un nouveau regard. Eureka! So I drew a line on the map from home to one of my favourite destinations: the ocean.

And all I had left to do was pack my bags and leave. Six days it took to reach the ocean. With the unavoidable rain, the heat, deja vu’s, laughs, joy and occasional hiccups. We may be going a bit too fast here, so let’s rewind.

As you can see 3000km creates many stories to tell And we need to look with a new pair of eyes. Remember? It was about 100km from home I realised it hadn’t been a good idea to do this trip on my own.

Even if the landscapes were beautiful from the start they felt desolate and everything begged for a travel companion. So I stopped and called the one person always ready to leave home and beloved ones behind in exchange for a new motorcycle adventure.

Hi there, Not sure what you’re up to, but I wanted to check if you feel like going for a ride Where to? The ocean! Oh yes! With pleasure and btw, you’ll be surprised, I have just the right bike to come along.

France, Spain and Portugal, you don’t want to know how many times we’ve been here before. Talk about a Deja vu. Although this time we want to look with different pair of eyes. And luckily for us, the route we made kept us far from the common places.

And also we feel the road less travelled is the best choice for making miles. As you see, tiny roads led us past France backyards. The usual castles, rivers, hills and vineyards appeared on the left and the right. Big cities were never to be crossed

The weather went from great to bad downpours. We got soaked, we got hot. A long time ago, when we first started traveling by motorcycle we often came to France. As far as we knew then, the landscapes, the roads, the people and the food all made us dream.

France was a our first destination ever and inspired us to discover more. But now we try to look with a different pair of eyes we tend to change our opinion rather drastically. There’s not a lot of joy anymore to be found in riding through France

And this for a simple reason: Under the flag of road safety France installed probably the worlds largest collection of speed traps. So instead of enjoying the road, the only thing you – and every other road user does –

Is to watch out and try to spot these cameras in order to avoid a fine. You think we exaggerate? From Paris till the Spanish border we did approx 900km and we passed 53 speed cameras. That’s one about every 17km. So you no longer really enjoy the road, nor the ride.

We get close to the border and we planned to leave France via the Coll de Larrau. Strangely enough, upon arriving in Larrau, the village at the bottom of the mountain, we notice a sign ‘fermé’ on the road that leads to the pass.

Asking some locals if this was really the case, they confirmed the pass – which is also the border crossing with Spain – is closed. Administratively closed. And in the same answer we were kindly asked by these locals, to mention that they think insubordination with regards to the ‘closed’ sign,

Is the best thing to do! Happy with this advise we point our wheels up and ride through the fog to find ourselves a little later on an almost abandoned border crossing. On our way back we notice on the Spanish side someone decided ‘abierto’

Was the right description for the status of the road. And standing on top of the not-closed pass we wondered if our days in France had only been bitter disappointment… Not exactly, we have to admit, and we remember the beautiful misty morning in the Dordogne,

The kindest cows, the yellow sunflowers and the golden Bas Armagnac, distilled with love and knowledge. A precious liquid, rested for ages in a with history infused farmhouse till being offered to the world With the memory of this liquid gold still in the back of our mind we head into Spain.

Strangely enough at the next border we will long for a completely different liquid: Water! However, riding down from the pyrenees nothing hints at this. A fast flowing stream accompanies us down the mountains. Water seems to be here in abundance.

A little later, the humid morning clouds in the hills of Navarra give us spectacular views. Combined with perfect corners and the fresh smells we up the pace as instantly we feel at home. This is before the sun decides to play a major role on the rest of our ride.

And the more we head south the more the heat rises over ‘comfortable’ levels. But still we love this country. For it’s variety of landscapes, most perfect roads, recognisable yet different culture… And for the hidden & visible gems everywhere along the road. And probably also for the spanish love with motorcycles

We glide through the Rioja, Pass north of Soria, south of Lerma, straight through the Duero valley… A quick Stop to see the wall in Avila, and further on gliding past hundreds of corners along a half empty lake… We head to the Sierra de Gredos, the Puerto de Tremedal.

Even at this height, the drought starts to show… We halt at the motorcycle museum in Hervas. 15 years ago we visited this weird place and it seemed full of passion. Our different pair of eyes shows that also passion has been drying out.. we spot the cracks in the flat tyres,

The dust on the bikes… Everything is for sale, we are told, but at no stage we are tempted… It’s late afternoon and the heat is starting to play tricks on our minds Around Salamanca we’re reminded that not only we suffer from the heat.

Animals looking for water do cross more often the roads. Roads that cut through their habitats. We still feel bad we couldn’t do a thing anymore for the deer hit by a car a few minutes ahead of us.

Finally we head for the Portuguese border with a small detour via the embalse de Almendra, one of the biggest lakes in this area. But the water levels are far off where they should to be. Lost roads resurface creating alternative routes… It’s beautiful and sad at the same time…

And as said, we hopped into Portugal thinking about one thing only: Water. Spain really needs water… And now, the last leg of our journey: Portugal. After the first kilometres there’s only one word that is on our mind: Corners. And corners. And Corners. Immediately followed by a Smile. A Big Smile.

Also the word fire comes up in our minds. But after the drought in Spain we want to look with a pair of different eyes. Positive eyes Therefor, corners it is: Long corners, short corners, fast corners, closing corners, scary corners, sandy corners and all kind of other corners.

We never did a movie about Portugal, but after this trip we really think we should make a series about the country. From North to south. From East to the ocean This country stole our hearts a long time ago and even trying to look at it with a different pair of eyes

Can not change a thing to that. And there’s more. More than corners, and more than the ocean. There’s a mountain. A mountain full of corners. It’s called The Serra d’Estrella, a mountain where you can spend multiple days riding around. A micro motorcycle paradise just north of Covilha.

If you have never been here, write the name on your riding bucket list. You will not be disappointed. Climbing up from every side the mountain keeps on surprising. True, is not the Alps, nor the Pyrenees or Sierra Nevada,

But it’s a true riding paradise with just that ‘something different’ It will for sure find a place in your heart. The mountain offers spectacular views of the rocks and spread out boulders, has plenty off road tracks, yellow flowers, pine forests, sheep – and therefor also a famous cheese.

And There’s something else they make from the sheep roaming the mountains: Burel. Burel is the name of the end product of a process that is fascinating to watch and which in the Serra d’Estrella is done with passion on century old machinery. If you like motorcycles, you sure like mechanics

And if you like mechanics you will be watching the rods, the cam’s and flying wires with open eyes. There’s the sound, the skill, the heritage and the final product. Yes, it’s marketed to perfection, but with passion. An there’s the drive to keep a tradition and creativity alive

Just as we see in so many other places in Portugal. Another reason to love this country… Now, The ocean is calling and we still have thousands of corners to go before we reach the sunset. So we move on.

The rio Zezere, 2nd longest river of the country, flows shining on our side. We’ll keep it company almost till the ocean. And again there’s corners and more corners, pines and more pines, eucalyptus and more eucalyptus… till suddenly some walled fields filled with olive trees predict a change.

The change is so sudden actually, you may feel you’re somewhere in the mediterranean, or even more far south, Puglia But it’s not, we’re very close to the ocean. With seafood, beaches, waves. 3000 km from home A trip to remember. We’ll be catching some waves first before we head back home

One more time with a different pair of eyes. This time starting at the Ocean, following the river, over the Serra, under the motorway, past the straights of Salamanca, the Sierra de Gredos, Wine in the Rioja, hills in Navarra and the lush Pyrenees,

Speed camera infested France, wheat fields and cemeteries all the way back to our flat country. Tell us once more we’re lazy… Oh and by the way, the attentive viewer may ask himself what happened to the street dog of the rewind earlier on…

Well, Larrau is happy here in her new forever home, surrounded by a family of other strays…