This wasn’t actually an adventure for mini boys, but a mini adventure for three as-grown-as-they-ever-get male children. It ended up being mini as the weather curtailed the planned week long trip to Andorra.

It started on Thursday morning with the sanding, varnishing, assembling and delivering of Adrian’s latest little job, a table, to the chateau in Brassempouy. Not exactly either motorcycling related or adventurous, you’re thinking, but he needed the cash for the trip.

They were finally on the road for about 1pm; first stop McDonalds in Orthez at 1.30, but never mind, this was always billed as a real blokes’ trip. With Ade’s bike sounding like a bucket load of spanners rolling down the stairs, the next leg was undertaken. Unbeknown to John and Kieran, Ade’s satnav had the latest software update, allowing the option of choosing the narrowest, most badly finished, graveliest piece of farm track ever to call itself a road; this ended up, eventually, after much grumbling and gnashing of teeth, at Laruns and a well-deserved coffee stop.

Then it was on to the camp site to set up camp, where it was discovered that Ade’s tent was minus pegs – not the best scenario!. However, 23 years of RAF experience in dealing with difficult problems had not been totally lost on Adrian or John, and in true Blokes’ Club fashion, they nicked half of Kieran’s. With tents sorted, they were able to set off in pursuit of twisty mountain roads, completely naked – the bikes, that is, not the riders!

Mission accomplished as far as the twisty roads were concerned, they now felt the primeval need to go out hunting and gathering and after a short walk (thanks in part to Kieran’s smartphone and google maps – an indispensable part of any self-respecting neanderthal’s tool kit), pizza and beer were successfully tracked down, after which they even managed to find their way back to the camp site.

The following morning it was time to head for home, so with everything loaded, it was off in search of breakfast. This came in the form of wild coffee and a roaming herd of particularly vicious pain au  chocolat; then home via some other twisty, though better surfaced, mountain roads, they were back in time for tea and medals!

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