A small tour in Spain and Portugal

[Jyrays]

Tack ska du ha

[Skye]

Don't speak that Finland is Finland when people get a comparision then. Latitude tells it all-

I have no problems with that. Swedish XL-Meet will gathering 5 finnish citizens. They are more than welcome. So are you!

Sweden volunteer to have VCIM#19 . The most Northern VCIM above the artic circle that ever had been held. My intensions is that we can have 40 participiants to the event. I hope that you will be one of them


@pokemi

That is Swedish.. 5% spoked in Finland

[Jyrays]

Boys and girls..

This is not about wars...

Im just waiting tips for my trip...

[jackyork]

@Jyrays. If you go to Mijas in your 'broken' jeans, you will only get tanned in patches. Ronda (not the Welsh one) is a point to stop. Take plastic bottles to fill with wonderful spring water at the roadside.

Tack ska du ha. Is that Klingon?

Abba. I loved the music and always fancied the dark haired girl....her name begins with A....

Heavy metal is formulaic now and as bad as country and western unless you go back to Cream and Jimmis Hendrix and Page. I asked this before; any one ever see someone riding a 'hog' and look happy?

I would like to 'do' the Picos run, let me check the dates.

JK

[zebulon]

Guys, what a mess we made of this thread 

We should clean up fast because otherwise I suspect TP is going to be here any minute in full Admin mode flashing his red and blue strove lights to clean it up himself...

Here is a pic of TP learning about the mess we have made:

 

<modus mode on > 
  Don't think moderation is removing...
We had a discussion ( sure nor exactly in the subject of the thread); it can be good for every body to have heart these point of view.
Sure we are now concentrated on Jyrays trip ... 
<modus mode off>

[zebulon]

Guys, what a mess we made of this thread 

We should clean up fast because otherwise I suspect TP is going to be here any minute in full Admin mode flashing his red and blue strove lights to clean it up himself...

Here is a pic of TP learning about the mess we have made:

 

<modus mode on > 
  Don't think moderation is removing...
We had a discussion ( sure not exactly in the subject of the thread); it can be good for every body to have heart these point of view.
Sure we are now concentrated on Jyrays trip ... 
<modus mode off>

[Pixi314]

I sat Next to a fellow norsky who lives in Spain once on a flight to Alicante and he recomended a visit to Guadalest. I have not been there myself, yet

--Pixi314

[welshwizard]

Wow.........this looks like an amazing trip.
Will you be keeping us updated on your way around, or will you save all your experiences and tell us how it went when you get home?
When I and a few friends with motorbikes start talking after a few beers, we ALWAYS talk about doing a trip just like this one, but we've never really had the balls to just do it.
I would be really, really interested to see how you get on. Best/worst roads, viewing points, hotels/accom, restaurants, fuel stops, etc.
I read the day-to-day report on the guys that rode from UK to Morocco and back and absolutely loved it. The good bits and the bad bits. The writer/rider was completely honest and told us about the mistakes he made on the route so if anyone wanted to follow in his footsteps, they wouldn't make the same mistakes he had.
Good luck and ride safe Jyrays.

[JosepM]

Hi,

I am planning to spend 3 weeks on a bike in south...

Draft of the route attached...

All hints highly wanted... Joseph???

And rest of you, you can be jealous

Hello friends!

Let me add to the discussion that these kind of subjets should rather be settled with a well beer furnished table in between! 

About your trip, here are some comments...

From the French border to Santiago de Compostela you seem to have chosen a route with a number of historical cities along the way, with plenty of top remnants from the Middle Ages.
So, it's OK if you want to visit Burgos (great cathedral and wonderful sculptures in Cartuja de Miraflores, also las Huelgas), or León (cathedral and sorroundings) or Santo Domingo de la Calzada (and its rooster) or Santo Domingo de Silos or even Astorga (its bishop's palace, together with some near Santander, are the only works from Gaudí away from Catalonia). Landscapes, though, are flat and hot, with reaped fields. If you don't care about history, you'd better choose another route (which would be slower).

From Marinha Grande to Gibraltar, it's overall OK (or it suits my own preferences  ). Extremadura is possibly the least populated area in Spain (specially in the N), and this gives some special athmosphere when you ride there. Plasencia is a bit too far N for your plans, but the area around the nice city of Caceres is nice, Trujillo and specially the great Roman remnants of Merida are also well worth a visit. I hardly know the Portuguese side, but I have memories of landscapes pretty much similar to the ones on the Spanish side, and Evora, a city also with Roman past. Near Gibraltar, you have an area of picturesque villages, in white http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Towns_of_Andalusia

From Gibraltar heading N, I can only recommend you the same I did to Erik a couple of years ago, which is definitelly otherwise than your plans! I'g go to Ronda, the las Alpujarras (S side of Sierra Nevada, higher than the Pyrenees), Granada, then near Almeria to Tabernas (a desert area where Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood and many others filmed spaghetti westerns) and Cabo de Gata (desert and sea meet). Then N to Albacete, Cuenca, Albarracín, Teruel, Morella, Valderrobres, Horta de Sant Joan (Picasso painted a few early cubist works there), Gratallops (world top red wines),... and then one route or another depending on whether you want to go to Barcelona and/or Andorra or not. For instance, if you are in Andorra and feel the need to climb some mountain, you can head to France via el Port d'Envalira (don't get into the tunnel!), when in France take the first road to the right to col du Puymorent (don't get into the tunnel!), then go left to Mont Louis and then take the road to Axat but before you reach it, turn again left and go up the col de Pailheres. Finally you can go to Foix, Limoux, Mirepoix, Carcassone,... Toulouse, Montauban, the Perigord,... I would not waste my time in these last areas, but visit them thoroughly some other time!
If you followed the Mediterranean coast because you meant to go to some beach, then the above route can be changed so that you could do so, but not more than necessary (lots of people and traffic). If you take this route for the sake of speed, you already know that this is a boring toll motorway...

I can see that while you'll be doing all this, I'll be taking some refreshments somewhere in England. So, if you happen to visit again the beautiful city of Tarragona, take a beer on my behalf.

Regards,

Josep

[Two Plugs]

Jyrki.. try to find this place, it was in the south of Spain, somewhere between Gibraltar and Grenada. Pic made on our way back from VIM6 in Portugal.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[JosepM]

A couple quick additions.

July 25th is the Saint's day in Santiago de Compostela. Expect many people/pilgrims in the area around that day. If you want to see the botafumeiro operating, read this: http://www.santiagoturismo.com/que-facer-na-catedral/ver-el-botafumeiro

In N central Spain you must not expect sophisticated cuisine. Good lamb or pork, yes.
Galicia, in NW Spain, has a name for fish food. And some white wines (Rias Baixas, Albariño, Ribeiro) good when you are thirsty.
Andalusia is tapas land. Local people order "fino" (dry sherry) or "cañas" (0.2 l draught beer). If you like cold beer, you'd better order five 0.2 cañas rather than two 0.5 jarras 

Probably you were aware of all this, but if you want more detailed explanations and/or advice about food and drink, just let me know! 

Regards,

Josep

[Jyrays]

I found this: http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/motorbike-rides-in-spain-/spain-__1474.html

Is it any good?

[JosepM]

I found this: http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/motorbike-rides-in-spain-/spain-__1474.html

Is it any good?

I tried to access to this website, but it seems very slow.
On the other hand, the first one it mentions I know very well, and it is just one in a number of nice roads in its area...

As a general rule, if you want nice riding roads in Spain, just keep yourself 50 km away from Barcelona and Madrid, 30 km from major cities, and 20 from the Mediterranean sea; then avoid agriculture areas (Lleida, Huelva, Murcia,...) as well as (if you like twisties) the central flats. And that's about it!

For more detailed information, green roads in Michelin maps are usually good advice (see viamichelin.com) even if I'd remove and add a few in my vicinity. Besides, in Spain, they usually mark roads that are just "forested for Spanish standards".

But  if you want to know the best track to ride from A to B, just tell me what A and B you mean and I'll do my best to provide advice from myself or local riders 

Regards,

Josep

[Jyrays]

I have just one place I have to go, Marinha Grande. Rest is pure joy 

I have also a friend in Murcia... but it is not that important...

[JosepM]

I sat Next to a fellow norsky who lives in Spain once on a flight to Alicante and he recomended a visit to Guadalest. I have not been there myself, yet

--Pixi314

I have been to Guadalest. It is a nice town, perhaps the nicest one in many km., but average IMO when compared to many in other areas. I mean to say that it's OK to go there if you are in Benidorm, but not really worth to go there just to see it.

Next to Guadalest lies Callosa, a town with many hectares devoted to loquat-medlar plantations  (larger than Bernard's)

Josep