SPAIN Dec 2004.... advice and tips please!

Joyseeker

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a mad mexican friend of mine who has not used his bike enough this year wants to visit his wife's parents in barcelona first week in dec.

i've never been to mainland spain. and my chum is affectively an american working and living our City traveling abroad alot.

his bike is a 'fat boy' without a screen and will not be fitting saddle bags either (i know, i know, he wants to live his dream and i'm going to help him... we got our tests together last year). My 1200GS will carry the majority of our stuff. I have a top box and panniers already fitted and am thinking i'll need a tank bag...... any advice?

i am thinking of the plymouth to santander ferry....... is this the best and quickest route?

what route to take to barcelona? (we only have 8 days for this trip at the most).

Places to stay?

what to do? I've seen the Dakar Party is on in the lastest 'BMW Bikes' mag but it does not give the dates.

imput from the likes of 'spainish bob' (we met at ace) and others would be much appriciated.

this baby enduro thanks you in advance.
 
I spoke to Brittany ferries a couple of days ago - apparantly thier Santander ferry is out of service at present and will not be back in service 'till March!
Personally I like the Portsmouth - Le Havre route, you board at 10pm ish, full nights sleep, off at 7.00am having had breakfast - the Spanish border can be done in a (long) day or better still split a back road trip into 2 days IMHO
Cheers
Steve
 
riverking said:
I spoke to Brittany ferries a couple of days ago - apparantly thier Santander ferry is out of service at present and will not be back in service 'till March!
Personally I like the Portsmouth - Le Havre route, you board at 10pm ish, full nights sleep, off at 7.00am having had breakfast - the Spanish border can be done in a (long) day or better still split a back road trip into 2 days IMHO
Cheers
Steve

Full nights sleep? Mmmmm, I prefer a little more - especially if trying to get a "Fat Boy" to Barcelona the next day :rolleyes:

(and no comments about Spanish Bob already being there :D :D :D )
 
Ferries there

that was a great point riverking.

the brittany santander ferry is out of service till march. but P and O still have a limited protsmouth bilbao at the best part of £500 with premier cabin to share.

strangely this service takes 2 nites to get there and one to get back and the guys on the phone don't know why! the ferry departures are every 2 and 3 days and not good with our dates. we would have to set off on the 4th and return on the 6th (the day we land :confused: ) we were hoping to do 1st dec to 8th.

i think the fat boy is going to have to get dirty through france.
 
a £30k fat boy

it must be cared for.

no socio economic comments please. the owner of the bike is a friend. he makes alot of doosh and is generious and a good man. he does not flash his money around and you would never know if you met him.

the most touching thing he said to me was "i spend most my time away from home and when i am at home i am a dad. i need something for myself and when i'm in some lonely russian airport i know it is there for me on return." respect please.

and yes this fat boy has had the works.... engine upgrade and the chrome you see. his in-laws in barcelona will hear us long before we arrive :moped:
 

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I think you're bloody mad riding that far in December. Your mate with no screen is really going to feel it.

Many hotels in France are closed in the winter (especially if they're out of the main towns) so be a bit careful about when you plan to stop for the night.

Depending on what ferry you get it's going to take at least two days to Barcelona through France (mind you it's a good day from Bilbao to Barca too).

If you end up going via Bilbao then try my mate's place www.casazalama.com about 60k from bothe Santander and Bilbao for a reasonably chaep room and good food. A number of Gsers have stayed there and have recommended it .
Wrap up well if you go and don't forget to tell us how you got on and post some pics of a frozen Fat Boy:D

Cheers

Dick
 
If you have only eight days for the entire return trip, you have no option other than to use the Portsmouth-Bilbao ferry. The reason it takes two nights getting to Spain and only one night getting back is down to the currents. Last year I rode from Calais to Barcelona through France and I needed two night stops. Unless you want to ride 20hr days (and I didn't) I spent the first night in Saumur, the second at a friends place near Flourence, then reached Barcelona the following afternoon. I wouldn't fancy doing the same journey in December on a naked bike.
 
Hey, just had an idea. Check out the Motorail option. That should take you overnight from Calais to Narbonne and gives you a reasonable days ride to Barca with better weather than you're going to get in either northern France or northern Spain. Return the same way.

I don't know if it runs during the winter or if it runs on the right days but it's worth checking out.

Cheers

Dick
 
SWMBO and I are taking the Portsmouth-Bilbao ferry on the 21st Dec. Booked a couple of days ago for 315 return (although the cabin is 'below the water line' which sounds ominous - but i figure will be less prone to swell, but noisy). I have a couple of weeks and will try to get to Morocco (anyone been in dec ?). Will look out for a fatboy/1200gs combo:beerjug:
 
Guitarman thats a good option... the train

i checked out Motor Rail http://www.raileurope.co.uk/frenchmotorail/

in the high season one can put your bike on a nitely train at calais to narbonne on the spanish boarder. sadly in low season this service only runs from paris mondays and fridays returning tuesdays and saterdays. this is cheaper then the ferries.

the limited service again does not fit into our week of biking.
 
Re: Guitarman thats a good option... the train

Joyseeker said:
i checked out Motor Rail http://www.raileurope.co.uk/frenchmotorail/

in the high season one can put your bike on a nitely train at calais to narbonne on the spanish boarder. sadly in low season this service only runs from paris mondays and fridays returning tuesdays and saterdays. this is cheaper then the ferries.

the limited service again does not fit into our week of biking.

Pity. Back to the drawing board then!

Cheers

Dick
 
sorry dick can't send a private message at the mo...

for fear of filling out the string needlessly.

there is another opinion i need.

how many miles a day is reasonable to plan for per day in dec? is more then 200mls out of the question?

dave
 
Re: sorry dick can't send a private message at the mo...

Joyseeker said:
for fear of filling out the string needlessly.

there is another opinion i need.

how many miles a day is reasonable to plan for per day in dec? is more then 200mls out of the question?

dave

It depends on daylight hours start at 8-9am and finish by 5is pm. How far depends how fats you go. Personally I would never do more than 180 per hour.

bob
 
Re: Re: sorry dick can't send a private message at the mo...

Spanish Bob said:
.............. How far depends how fats you go. ........................

bob

Yep, those long lunch breaks are a killer when you're trying to cover miles :D

Cheers

Dick
 
Me and wifey rode to Barca this year. We arrived in Cherbourg and had two stopovers before arriving in Barca on day 3. On the first day we did over 360 miles and that was in summer with lots of daylight and good weather. You should certainly take the ferry to the North of Spain - there are also services from Plymouth I believe.
 
Paul Narramore said:
The reason it takes two nights getting to Spain and only one night getting back is down to the currents.
I don't mean to be funny, but are you sure about this? The Plymouth - Santander takes just under 24 hours. Unless I'm missing something glaringly obvious, I dont see why the Portsmouth - Bilbao crossing should take 2 nights (unless P&O start late afternoon and travel slower) - after all it's essentially the same bit of sea they're crossing.
 
EJ said:
Are you sure about this Paul? The Plymouth - Santander takes just under 24 hours. Unless I'm missing something obvious, I dont see why the Portsmouth - Bilbao crossing should take 2 night.

Currents? Bollox more like.

It's so the ferry company can keep you spending money for longer. :(

Cheers

Dick
 
being a baby enduro...

for just 2 months with a 1200 with heated grips.

had my licence just a year but done over 13000 mls in that time - johnno, lands end and dingle.

what miles per day in december france should i expect to do before mortality says 'no' to a 40 year old?
 


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