Roadracing World – April 2019

By Misti Hurst

S

cenic road riding tours are

normally not my thing, but

combine an international

tour with two days of track time

on a MotoGP circuit and you’ve got

my full attention!

Cat MacLeod of Leod Escapes

has what may be the perfect motor-

cycle pairing, combining four to six

days of breathtaking road riding

with two days of exhilarating track

riding on world famous racing

circuits. Two years ago, I did the

Italian Alps/Sachsenring tour, so

I had high expectations for Leod's

inaugural trip through the Spanish

Pyrenees and on the Moto GP cir-

cuit at Motorland Aragon.

MacLeod worked with IMT

(International Motorcycle Tours)

to provide local guides and a fl eet

of BMW rental bikes. Together

they designed routes including the

things that MacLeod wants most

for his customers: Incredibly di-

verse roads, stunning scenery, lo-

cal cafés and restaurants, authen-

tic food and wine, and of course,

two full days of track riding on a

MotoGP circuit. There were 17 of

us on this trip: Two Canadians,

13 Americans, and two Catalan

guides. We’d be the fi rst to enjoy

this custom tour.

Considering the epic-ness of

my fi rst Leod tour, I was almost

expecting this one to fall short—

how could any trip possibly be bet-

ter than the Italian Alps and the

Sachsenring? My friend Nicole Bil-

lard, who accompanied me on the

last trip, came along on this tour as

well. We spent the fi rst day compar-

ing this new group of participants

with the last group of riders, the

fi rst day of roads and riding with

the last trip. Even when we rolled

into La SeuD’urgell to our castle/

hotel accommodations—complete

with separate parking for motorcy-

cles designated by a hand-painted

sign: Motos—I still believed that

this would be the second-best Leod

Escapes tour ever.

But the second day ended in

a fl urry of twisty roads through

desolate villages dotted with

crumbling stone walls and we

rolled up to a beautiful, majestic

castle, surrounded by mountains,

and I realized I was experiencing

something beyond magical. There

was no need to make compari-

sons. This tour was epic in its own

way, a different kind of special.

Riding through the Spanish

Pyrenees to Aragon is a little like

enjoying Tapas, you get a little

sampling of everything. As we tra-

versed southeast across the coun-

try the air warmed and thickened,

the scenery morphed from lush

green hillsides to dry rocky vistas

in mixed shades of reds, pinks,

and oranges. Even the pavement

changed colors and widened as we

moved closer to Motorland.

As we paused at the base of

the pastel-colored town of Alcañiz,

it looked to me like a Lego block

mash-up of light pink, orange, yel-

low, and white pieces, surrounded

with stone towers and buildings.

We could see the castle at the top

of the hill almost glowing in the

rays of the slowly setting sun. I

felt sheer joy winding through the

narrow cobblestone streets, bells

jangling, the scents of coffee and

cigars fi ltering through my hel-

met as we weaved up to the en-

trance of the Parador Nacional de

Alcañiz, home for the next three

nights. High castle walls tinged a

burnt orange from the setting sun,

towering archways, and right out

front a parking area for our motor-

cycles marked out in black ribbon.

The sign said, “GrupoAlojado IMT

BIKE: Passion for Motorcycling.”

This wasn’t a typical track

day, either. Leod Escapes clients

were joining the (now defunct)

Race Academy School for two

days of instruction from two-time

Superbike World Champion Troy

Corser (who has since started his

own Racing School Europe). For

me it was a challenge. After more

Destination

Motorland

Aragon

LEOD ESCAPES TOUR & TRACK RIDE:

(Above) Former 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix racer Eskil Suter shadowing California Superbike School instruc-

tor and former AMA Pro racer Misti Hurst around the Motorland Aragon MotoGP racetrack. Photo by Picman.

co.uk. (Below) A Leod Escapes tour involves days of riding on incredibly picturesque, challenging mountain

roads and fi ring a motorcycle around some of the world's most famous racetracks. Photo by Max Klein.

`Castles serve as hotels in

this spectacular region of

Spain. Photo by Max Klein.

(Above) Instead of a track day, the

tour included a racing school with

Troy Corser, featuring trackside

sessions on riding techniques.

Photo by Max Klein. (Below) It's not

often that you get instruction from

a rider like Troy Corser. Pay careful

attention! Photo by Picman.co.uk.

40—Roadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019