Trip to Spain

As I mentioned here a few weeks back, I heve been on a bit of a bit of
a ride to Spain and th epics are here :

http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w314/speedgazebo/Spanish Bike Trip 2009/

I rode with my BIL, him on his FJR 1300 and me on my Z1000, we went
via Paris, Millau, Costa Brava, Barcelona Valencia, Murcia, Granada to
his house near Velez Malaga.

Some observations:
A Z1000 is just as good as an FJR for long distances.
A Z1000 uses more petrol.
Spanish hotels are better and cheaper than French ones.
Spanish roads are generally excellent.
Spanish motorways are expensive and have frequent tolls.
Peniscola, despite it's slightly amusing name, is a dump.
The Millau bridge is a stunning sight, and worth crossing 3 times for
E3.90. (DAMHIK,IJD, OK)
I've never been to The States, but a lot of what I saw looked like
what you might see in an American road movie.
There are stunning roads, views, villages and mountains to be found
everywhere.
The Picos de Europa are stunning.
The Brittany ferries ship 'Pont Aven' from Santander to Portsmouth is
excellent.
The ride through France is as dull as hell until you get to The Cantal
mountains.
I wouldn't like to live in Spain, I would miss the greenery at home.
It's surprising how nice the trees in Luton look at this time of year.

 

Sounds great. What sort of cost was the Santander ferry?

 

It was indeed a great trip, to be recomended.
The Santander ferry was £170 single with an inside cabin. Next time I
would cough the extra £30 odd quid for an outside cabin.

 

I assume its more expensive in the summer or the pillion fare adds
quite a bit. It is costing £492 return with inside cabin for myself
and Ali in July. We are going to Portugal.

No sig as advised by Bear

 

<snip>

Sounds like a great trip. Nice photos too.

 

Wow, that's a lot !

 

It's because it's summer and they know they can charge whatever they
like. Taking a pillion doesn't up the price very much because you're
still only using one cabin.

A return trip as a foot passenger with an inside berth comes in at
£264 and that makes the cost of taking a bike to the TT or MGP seem
quite reasonable.

 

Or the Stranraer ferry despite the 2 company competition. As if.

 

It seems more reasonable to me as the ferry is transporting you a bloody
long way.

 

If you want to take it as cost per mile maybe we should all be
praising the Steam Packet for keeping costs down compared to a nice
little earner like Dover - Calais.

I know that I'm in a minority but I honestly think whichever way you
compare them to other crossings (1) the prices for TT week aren't too
bad.

(1) They're high compared to off-peak crossings to the Island but if
those weren't subsidised they'd have to stop and then there'd be no
ferries at any time.

 

Hmm. Spanish motorways are excellent. You paid for them. Smaller roads
are often death traps.

Spanish *toll roads* are expensive.

The spaghetti westerns were filmed not far from where you were.

Villages and mountains, yes.

You went to a dry bit. Just north of here is the wettest place in Europe.
Very green.

I drank your beer.

 

I only had two days in Canillas in the end, the first one I had a bit
of a hangover after we went out the previous evening to celebrate
getting there, and the second was spent socialising with family.
Thanks anyway, I hope to get back later in the year, I'll have it
then!

 

I'm not sure why you say that. I remember spending a fortnight in
Andalucia 10 years ago, with a hire car, and driving around in the
mountains inland from Malaga (the mapuljarrus? Can't remember), and
then driving from Granda to Cordoba, and then out to the coast to
Mojacar (and eventually back to the airport at Malaga), and I
generally thought the roads were excellent.

 

The N340 (i tink) is easily the worst road i have ever driven on. Some of
the inland roads are very very nice indeed.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Aprilia RSV Mille

 

Clearly you've never been to Belgium.

 

or Hertfordshire....

 

I have, in fact i have with you

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Aprilia RSV Mille

 

Well, yes i have & they are pretty ropey.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Aprilia RSV Mille

 

Well, perhaps because I use them a lot? It's not unusual to find rocks in
the road, or a section of road missing. A lot of roads around here are
just not safe for bikes. Oh, and Spanish drivers. Completely mad.

 

Unobservant for sure.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Aprilia RSV Mille