K
knighty
Guest
I'm a new member but even so, I thought I'd share some brief hi's and woe's with you all about my recent trip to Spain. To those of you who have been you'll know how great a country it is. To those of you who haven't, what are you waiting for?
First off me and the missus set off from Portsmouth to Bilbao 2 weeks ago. For us both as 1st time riders to the continent it was exciting and all bikers we met at the port were beaming from ear to ear. Sad then that P & O had us waiting 8 hours to load our bikes onto the ship. After a very long crossing you get to Spain. From there, we headed west along the coast to Luarca. The roads were lovely and not a copper in sight. This was true for most of the tour. We then stayed at a campsite right on the cliff top with a small fishing village nearby. Next day we headed south for a 10 hour twisty and fast ride to a small town called Guadalupe. By share chance (it was now 10pm) we rode past a lovely hotel and ended up staying there. The owners were typically Spanish and put us to shame with their excellent, polite and sincere manners and warmth. They even made sure the bike was safe and made us dinner at such a late hour when the town was asleep. The town was gorgeous and worth a stop over for 2 nights. From there it was off to Cadiz. To be honest with you this was a bad mistake. I had visions of tall ships and remnants of the sea battles that plagued this area of old. It wasn't. Instead it looked like a high rise city with a very expensive appetite with too many of the "yoof" burning up and down the beach front giving people (Spanish and others) serious rise for concern. We didn't stay long, one night then off through the bottom centre to Granada and the Sierra Nevada mountains. We stayed in a small village at the top of a mountain called Gueja Sierra. Again a gorgeous little hideaway with very little tourists we found! Having had lots to drink there and staying for a couple of days it was off to Cartagena on the south coast. Stayed in an appartment in La Azohia right on the beach. Very quiet. 2 days of boozing and chilling out then headed off up the middle towards the Rioja wine region. En route, stayed in one of Spains' oldest Inns in a town called Teruela. The inn was fab. Loads of merryment and loads of history. Next day it was off again to Haro. This is the wine capital of Spain. A hotel in the centre of town and wine tasting. A cracking 2 days. If you like wine then go and try one of the Bodega's (wineries) and have a guided tour. Well worth the 5 euros. Then it was off north again to the Bilbao region. We looked at Bilbao and decided to stay on the coast. Got a room in the only hotel in the surfers mecca that is Sopelana. " 2 days of merryment and a last sigh at the gorgeous coastline before getting back on the ship for blighty.
All in all a brilliant time. The bike behaved impeccably and handled whatever was thrown at it even with all the extra weight. My only complaint about the bike was that i wish i had fitted a gel seat giving the missus and my arse some relief. I would have wished for the seat to have been higher too so our knee's didn't give us gip after an hours' riding. But, these are small complaints. If you want to try Spain, then give it a go. I had my worries about the Spanish, the Police, the roads, the reception... all of those worries that are normal for us Brits but I was proved wrong time and time again. The roads were great and mostly empty with hardly any pot holes and coppers where they shouldn't be (like we seem to have in the UK). The Spanish were all polite and willing to give you the time of day. Some main pointers for you to bear before I go because I could go on and on about this:
1) Don't worry about the bike. Spain (in the areas that we covered) appear to be "Moto" friendly and you can leave it practically anywhere but be sensible about it.
2) If, whilst on the twisties, some yoof gets up yer chuff with his car then pull over and let him pass. I had the missus on board and to me that was precious cargo.
3) Have a go at the lingo. It does change in the different regions so your pronunciation of some things like "cerveza" are different. We found the most pissed you are then the better you are at trying to speak Spanish; or so we thought !! Also the Spanish will appreciate you at least trying. I've been to other countries in the world where my attempts at speaking the language has been met with derision.
And thats it. If anyone is a virgin to this travelling malarky on yer bike and wishes to know more about what we covered then please feel free to email me. We have loads more to tell.....
"The worst thing a young man can do is not travel"... Oscar Wilde
Cheers
First off me and the missus set off from Portsmouth to Bilbao 2 weeks ago. For us both as 1st time riders to the continent it was exciting and all bikers we met at the port were beaming from ear to ear. Sad then that P & O had us waiting 8 hours to load our bikes onto the ship. After a very long crossing you get to Spain. From there, we headed west along the coast to Luarca. The roads were lovely and not a copper in sight. This was true for most of the tour. We then stayed at a campsite right on the cliff top with a small fishing village nearby. Next day we headed south for a 10 hour twisty and fast ride to a small town called Guadalupe. By share chance (it was now 10pm) we rode past a lovely hotel and ended up staying there. The owners were typically Spanish and put us to shame with their excellent, polite and sincere manners and warmth. They even made sure the bike was safe and made us dinner at such a late hour when the town was asleep. The town was gorgeous and worth a stop over for 2 nights. From there it was off to Cadiz. To be honest with you this was a bad mistake. I had visions of tall ships and remnants of the sea battles that plagued this area of old. It wasn't. Instead it looked like a high rise city with a very expensive appetite with too many of the "yoof" burning up and down the beach front giving people (Spanish and others) serious rise for concern. We didn't stay long, one night then off through the bottom centre to Granada and the Sierra Nevada mountains. We stayed in a small village at the top of a mountain called Gueja Sierra. Again a gorgeous little hideaway with very little tourists we found! Having had lots to drink there and staying for a couple of days it was off to Cartagena on the south coast. Stayed in an appartment in La Azohia right on the beach. Very quiet. 2 days of boozing and chilling out then headed off up the middle towards the Rioja wine region. En route, stayed in one of Spains' oldest Inns in a town called Teruela. The inn was fab. Loads of merryment and loads of history. Next day it was off again to Haro. This is the wine capital of Spain. A hotel in the centre of town and wine tasting. A cracking 2 days. If you like wine then go and try one of the Bodega's (wineries) and have a guided tour. Well worth the 5 euros. Then it was off north again to the Bilbao region. We looked at Bilbao and decided to stay on the coast. Got a room in the only hotel in the surfers mecca that is Sopelana. " 2 days of merryment and a last sigh at the gorgeous coastline before getting back on the ship for blighty.
All in all a brilliant time. The bike behaved impeccably and handled whatever was thrown at it even with all the extra weight. My only complaint about the bike was that i wish i had fitted a gel seat giving the missus and my arse some relief. I would have wished for the seat to have been higher too so our knee's didn't give us gip after an hours' riding. But, these are small complaints. If you want to try Spain, then give it a go. I had my worries about the Spanish, the Police, the roads, the reception... all of those worries that are normal for us Brits but I was proved wrong time and time again. The roads were great and mostly empty with hardly any pot holes and coppers where they shouldn't be (like we seem to have in the UK). The Spanish were all polite and willing to give you the time of day. Some main pointers for you to bear before I go because I could go on and on about this:
1) Don't worry about the bike. Spain (in the areas that we covered) appear to be "Moto" friendly and you can leave it practically anywhere but be sensible about it.
2) If, whilst on the twisties, some yoof gets up yer chuff with his car then pull over and let him pass. I had the missus on board and to me that was precious cargo.
3) Have a go at the lingo. It does change in the different regions so your pronunciation of some things like "cerveza" are different. We found the most pissed you are then the better you are at trying to speak Spanish; or so we thought !! Also the Spanish will appreciate you at least trying. I've been to other countries in the world where my attempts at speaking the language has been met with derision.
And thats it. If anyone is a virgin to this travelling malarky on yer bike and wishes to know more about what we covered then please feel free to email me. We have loads more to tell.....
"The worst thing a young man can do is not travel"... Oscar Wilde
Cheers
