mcatrophy
Privileged to ride a 2018 FJR1300AS
Day 0, 29th March: Derby to Plymouth Ferry
Set off at 8:30. It started out raining and a bit windy, a little later it dried, but got very windy. Finally it decided to be very wet and very windy. Fairly unpleasant.
One event of note. On a three-lane motorway, we were travelling at 70mph in the nearside lane. A car came down the offside lane going significantly faster, maybe 90. Passing under a bridge, he hit some standing water in the outside of his lane. The car proceeded to pirouette and swing across all three lanes of the motorway twice, ending up stopped with his nose pointing in to the central barrier. I began to slow as soon as I saw him start his dance, son following me hadn't seen him, and went by me, as did a couple of cars. I was expecting someone to run into the stationary car broadside, but finally they all noticed and slowed.
As obviously no one was hurt and he could still drive his car, I kept going. We had a ferry to catch, and no idea if we might get more hold-ups.
This was one of the less pleasant motorcycling days.
Arrived at the ferry port, in time for a coffee in the waiting area, then found that the ferry was running late because of the weather. Finally boarded. Ate in the better restaurant. Because this is a French-owned ferry, the meal was very good, though I suspect Son would have preferred faster food.
The crossing to Santander, Spain, was pretty rough. We were told there were six metre (20-foot) swells, and I have to believe this, the ferry was moving much more than I've known it in the past. Quite a bit of glass and crockery got broken in the restaurant. Sleep wasn't easy, being alternately rolled towards the cabin wall or onto the edge of the bunk.
248 miles.
Day 1, 30th March: Santander to Salamanca
Finally we docked at Santander, got off the ferry around mid-day. The rain stopped as we rode off. Past experience suggested we would be hot getting off the ferry into Santander, but when we left Santander it would rapidly cool. Experience was wrong. It warmed more and more, until we were all removing layers. I saw 29C (84F), previously we'd never seen more than about 4C (39F) here at this time of year.
Today was all about miles, almost all motorways. Not the best way to see Spain, but a good way to get to where we wanted to be.
Finally arrived at our hotel, the Parador in Salamanca.
(Click on any image for larger view)
View from hotel over Salamanca
Had a recommendation for a place to eat in the city from the hotel reception, walked about a mile down across the valley and up the other side, and had a good meal. A taxi back (J's feet were blistered - nothing to do with biking), then a night-cap and bed.
235 miles, moving average 71mph
Day 2, 31st March: Salamanca to Zahara de la Sierra
Overslept, my excuse was to blame my phone and time zones and the change to daylight saving. My fault really. But no big deal.
Today was also to cover more miles. Started out at 13C (53F). Perfect. But as the day wore on, the temperature climbed. That wasn't surprising, it was bright sunshine with a just few wisps of cloud for the whole day. Other years at this time it's been cold, raining, snow around, so we're all geared up for cold and rain. The temperature climbed, my gauge got up to 38C (93F) in Seville. We'd all taken layers off and linings out, but it was still hot, particularly as in the city, every hundred yards or so there were traffic lights, seemingly always at red.
When we got out of the city, the temperature dropped to a more reasonable 33C (85F). Still much hotter than I'm used to, but with a bit of air flow through my vents, relatively pleasant.
Mostly motorway, but some diversion through the odd pass. And, for the first time in Spain at this time of year, no snow.
Stopped for coffee as we entered the Sierra de Gredos national park. A rough car park, but a nice road "warning" sign.
Coffee stop rough car park Nice warning sign
Lots of police motorcyclists around on the main roads, they seemed to be more interested in commercial vehicles than us. Just as well, in some stretches we were being somewhat generous with the speed limits (the FJR seems to start humming to itself at 90, just coming into its natural cruising speed. Errm, I must be talking about kph not mph. Yes, that must be it).
Every time we stopped, Son was asking where the snow was. Obviously wants to break his ribs or leg again. But all we saw was the odd sign.
One sign of snow
Very common in Spain at the moment, we often passed quite large projects that seem to be simply abandoned, such as this bridge.
Something to do with Spain's current economic problems.
And some nice views.
Unfinished bridge View
Finally arrived at our hotel where we are staying for three nights. We've stayed here before, liked the place, the people, the food and the area for riding.
Looking out of the ... ... hotel window
We were not disappointed with the food. Went went to bed early, we were all a bit tired. That heat seems to get to you.
369 miles. Average speed only 58. Tomtom's recorded maximum speed 91 (??? That must be wrong, the maximum speed limit in Spain is 130 kph or 80mph).
Tomtom's statistics for today
Day 3, 1st April 2015 - Zahara de la Sioerra loop.
Didn't sleep at all last night, don't know why.
Late breakfast, we were only doing a short loop today, no need to start early. Except for the heat. For someone only used to UK weather, 29C (84F) to 33C (91F) is hot. Not so bad when riding along, but stuck in any sort of traffic, it was very uncomfortable.
Saw a lot of vultures, they were using thermals and wind off the side of a mountain to climb rapidly, higher and higher. Groups of them were following one after another, perhaps three or five in each group, vanishing into the clear blue sky.
I found it very difficult to photograph. Even with my camera's eye-level viewfinder, the sun was so bright I couldn't see what I was shooting.
Vultures rising in thermal
The odd basking wildlife, undisturbed by the shadows of its audience.
A basking lizard ... ... on the rocks
We continued along winding roads, the bends unpredictable other than by glancing at my Tomtom's screen, but with just sufficient traffic that caution prevailed. In any case there was enough dust on the roads that cornering required caution.
View
And I managed a slightly better shot of a vulture.
Vulture rising in thermal
Fairly typical of views over a valley, with a village perched beneath the mountains.
View over valley Village under the mountain
Went past the hotel to fill with petrol, stopped on the way back to the hotel at a cafe where I had ice cream and a bottle of water. R went off to try to buy a razor. Without his lead I managed to set off in the wrong direction, back towards the petrol station instead of to the hotel, but sorted it out in the end. Must be getting tired.
Once again, a very tasty meal, a little wine, and bed.
178 miles.
Day 4, 2nd April: Zahara de la Sierra loop
This time the temperature was just about perfect, 18C (64F) when we set off, never more than 25C (77F). Only felt uncomfortable when we got stuck in traffic, this near Tarifa, the most southerly point of all Europe. And a bit of a dump.
The route was a big loop, the return part over really great motorcycling roads, twists and turns, up and down. The only downside was the roads were very narrow and mostly completely blind corners, so a great deal of care was needed. Overtaking generally required the cooperation of the vehicle being overtaken. Most were pretty good, one or two were a pain. But it all makes it interesting.
At one point, about mid-day, looking up there must have been thirty or so buzzards circling up in a thermal, quite a sight (of course there was nowhere to stop for a photo, always a problem).
Back to the hotel; more views from in front of it.
More views from in front of the hotel.
A good meal in the evening (the hotel really does have an excellent chef), then bed.
226 miles.
Day 5, 3rd April (Good Friday): Zahara de la Sierra to Baeza
Started quite cool, 11C (52F). Put a layer on under my jacket, but mid morning it was hotter, 25C (77F). Layer off again.
Our route was through mountainous roads, never-ending twists and turns, up and down. The roads were fairly narrow, barely enough room for two cars to pass, and often with a drop immediately at the edge of the Tarmac.
Overtaking could be difficult, restricted vision of the road ahead and the narrowness of the carriageway. Usually it required the co-operation of the car you were overtaking. Most were considerate, but one we came across appeared to be trying to work his sunroof, with both hands. On my turn, I dropped two gears, waited until he veered to the right, then got by as quickly as I could. Which was pretty quick.
We find a mirador (view point), it has a man and a boy looking out.
Statues at mirador Their view
Son, of course, has to go up and join them.
With interloper ... ... looking back
Reached the outskirts of Baezra. A combination of roadworks and R's Garmin made finding the hotel tricky, eventually I got fed up with doing U-turns, took the lead, and let Tomtom find the way through the maze of narrow one-way streets to the hotel. Once there, we were directed to their underground car-park.
Today is Easter Friday. The town is all geared up for religious parades. This gave us something to watch while we waited for the restaurant to open at 8:30 (this is real Spain, even 8:30 is considered early).
I am assured these guys (and dolls) are not Ku Klux Klan, nor are they from the Spanish Inquisition (unexpected or not).
I think they like doing these parades for their own sake, religion seems to be just an excuse.
Straight to bed after the meal, we are all tired.
233 miles
Set off at 8:30. It started out raining and a bit windy, a little later it dried, but got very windy. Finally it decided to be very wet and very windy. Fairly unpleasant.
One event of note. On a three-lane motorway, we were travelling at 70mph in the nearside lane. A car came down the offside lane going significantly faster, maybe 90. Passing under a bridge, he hit some standing water in the outside of his lane. The car proceeded to pirouette and swing across all three lanes of the motorway twice, ending up stopped with his nose pointing in to the central barrier. I began to slow as soon as I saw him start his dance, son following me hadn't seen him, and went by me, as did a couple of cars. I was expecting someone to run into the stationary car broadside, but finally they all noticed and slowed.
As obviously no one was hurt and he could still drive his car, I kept going. We had a ferry to catch, and no idea if we might get more hold-ups.
This was one of the less pleasant motorcycling days.
Arrived at the ferry port, in time for a coffee in the waiting area, then found that the ferry was running late because of the weather. Finally boarded. Ate in the better restaurant. Because this is a French-owned ferry, the meal was very good, though I suspect Son would have preferred faster food.
The crossing to Santander, Spain, was pretty rough. We were told there were six metre (20-foot) swells, and I have to believe this, the ferry was moving much more than I've known it in the past. Quite a bit of glass and crockery got broken in the restaurant. Sleep wasn't easy, being alternately rolled towards the cabin wall or onto the edge of the bunk.
248 miles.
Day 1, 30th March: Santander to Salamanca
Finally we docked at Santander, got off the ferry around mid-day. The rain stopped as we rode off. Past experience suggested we would be hot getting off the ferry into Santander, but when we left Santander it would rapidly cool. Experience was wrong. It warmed more and more, until we were all removing layers. I saw 29C (84F), previously we'd never seen more than about 4C (39F) here at this time of year.
Today was all about miles, almost all motorways. Not the best way to see Spain, but a good way to get to where we wanted to be.
Finally arrived at our hotel, the Parador in Salamanca.
(Click on any image for larger view)
View from hotel over Salamanca
Had a recommendation for a place to eat in the city from the hotel reception, walked about a mile down across the valley and up the other side, and had a good meal. A taxi back (J's feet were blistered - nothing to do with biking), then a night-cap and bed.
235 miles, moving average 71mph
Day 2, 31st March: Salamanca to Zahara de la Sierra
Overslept, my excuse was to blame my phone and time zones and the change to daylight saving. My fault really. But no big deal.
Today was also to cover more miles. Started out at 13C (53F). Perfect. But as the day wore on, the temperature climbed. That wasn't surprising, it was bright sunshine with a just few wisps of cloud for the whole day. Other years at this time it's been cold, raining, snow around, so we're all geared up for cold and rain. The temperature climbed, my gauge got up to 38C (93F) in Seville. We'd all taken layers off and linings out, but it was still hot, particularly as in the city, every hundred yards or so there were traffic lights, seemingly always at red.
When we got out of the city, the temperature dropped to a more reasonable 33C (85F). Still much hotter than I'm used to, but with a bit of air flow through my vents, relatively pleasant.
Mostly motorway, but some diversion through the odd pass. And, for the first time in Spain at this time of year, no snow.
Stopped for coffee as we entered the Sierra de Gredos national park. A rough car park, but a nice road "warning" sign.
Coffee stop rough car park Nice warning sign
Lots of police motorcyclists around on the main roads, they seemed to be more interested in commercial vehicles than us. Just as well, in some stretches we were being somewhat generous with the speed limits (the FJR seems to start humming to itself at 90, just coming into its natural cruising speed. Errm, I must be talking about kph not mph. Yes, that must be it).
Every time we stopped, Son was asking where the snow was. Obviously wants to break his ribs or leg again. But all we saw was the odd sign.
One sign of snow
Very common in Spain at the moment, we often passed quite large projects that seem to be simply abandoned, such as this bridge.
Something to do with Spain's current economic problems.
And some nice views.
Unfinished bridge View
Finally arrived at our hotel where we are staying for three nights. We've stayed here before, liked the place, the people, the food and the area for riding.
Looking out of the ... ... hotel window
We were not disappointed with the food. Went went to bed early, we were all a bit tired. That heat seems to get to you.
369 miles. Average speed only 58. Tomtom's recorded maximum speed 91 (??? That must be wrong, the maximum speed limit in Spain is 130 kph or 80mph).
Tomtom's statistics for today
Day 3, 1st April 2015 - Zahara de la Sioerra loop.
Didn't sleep at all last night, don't know why.
Late breakfast, we were only doing a short loop today, no need to start early. Except for the heat. For someone only used to UK weather, 29C (84F) to 33C (91F) is hot. Not so bad when riding along, but stuck in any sort of traffic, it was very uncomfortable.
Saw a lot of vultures, they were using thermals and wind off the side of a mountain to climb rapidly, higher and higher. Groups of them were following one after another, perhaps three or five in each group, vanishing into the clear blue sky.
I found it very difficult to photograph. Even with my camera's eye-level viewfinder, the sun was so bright I couldn't see what I was shooting.
Vultures rising in thermal
The odd basking wildlife, undisturbed by the shadows of its audience.
A basking lizard ... ... on the rocks
We continued along winding roads, the bends unpredictable other than by glancing at my Tomtom's screen, but with just sufficient traffic that caution prevailed. In any case there was enough dust on the roads that cornering required caution.
View
And I managed a slightly better shot of a vulture.
Vulture rising in thermal
Fairly typical of views over a valley, with a village perched beneath the mountains.
View over valley Village under the mountain
Went past the hotel to fill with petrol, stopped on the way back to the hotel at a cafe where I had ice cream and a bottle of water. R went off to try to buy a razor. Without his lead I managed to set off in the wrong direction, back towards the petrol station instead of to the hotel, but sorted it out in the end. Must be getting tired.
Once again, a very tasty meal, a little wine, and bed.
178 miles.
Day 4, 2nd April: Zahara de la Sierra loop
This time the temperature was just about perfect, 18C (64F) when we set off, never more than 25C (77F). Only felt uncomfortable when we got stuck in traffic, this near Tarifa, the most southerly point of all Europe. And a bit of a dump.
The route was a big loop, the return part over really great motorcycling roads, twists and turns, up and down. The only downside was the roads were very narrow and mostly completely blind corners, so a great deal of care was needed. Overtaking generally required the cooperation of the vehicle being overtaken. Most were pretty good, one or two were a pain. But it all makes it interesting.
At one point, about mid-day, looking up there must have been thirty or so buzzards circling up in a thermal, quite a sight (of course there was nowhere to stop for a photo, always a problem).
Back to the hotel; more views from in front of it.
More views from in front of the hotel.
A good meal in the evening (the hotel really does have an excellent chef), then bed.
226 miles.
Day 5, 3rd April (Good Friday): Zahara de la Sierra to Baeza
Started quite cool, 11C (52F). Put a layer on under my jacket, but mid morning it was hotter, 25C (77F). Layer off again.
Our route was through mountainous roads, never-ending twists and turns, up and down. The roads were fairly narrow, barely enough room for two cars to pass, and often with a drop immediately at the edge of the Tarmac.
Overtaking could be difficult, restricted vision of the road ahead and the narrowness of the carriageway. Usually it required the co-operation of the car you were overtaking. Most were considerate, but one we came across appeared to be trying to work his sunroof, with both hands. On my turn, I dropped two gears, waited until he veered to the right, then got by as quickly as I could. Which was pretty quick.
We find a mirador (view point), it has a man and a boy looking out.
Statues at mirador Their view
Son, of course, has to go up and join them.
With interloper ... ... looking back
Reached the outskirts of Baezra. A combination of roadworks and R's Garmin made finding the hotel tricky, eventually I got fed up with doing U-turns, took the lead, and let Tomtom find the way through the maze of narrow one-way streets to the hotel. Once there, we were directed to their underground car-park.
Today is Easter Friday. The town is all geared up for religious parades. This gave us something to watch while we waited for the restaurant to open at 8:30 (this is real Spain, even 8:30 is considered early).
I am assured these guys (and dolls) are not Ku Klux Klan, nor are they from the Spanish Inquisition (unexpected or not).
I think they like doing these parades for their own sake, religion seems to be just an excuse.
Straight to bed after the meal, we are all tired.
233 miles
