advice pls on trip to Spain

[Leeman]

My friend and I, he on Bandit 12 and me on GSA1150 are planning to ride to South Spain, via France from London.

Any advice from anyone who's done a similar trip ?

length of journey?
areas to avoid - i hear riding thru France aint all that.
IM new to biking so, how many miles per day is do-able?

Thanks in advance

Leeman (newbie tosser)

 

[Sleepy]

I've ridden down to the Costa Blanca (Mar Menor) a couple of times, keeping off the Toll roads, and it was just over 1200 miles.

Never in a rush, I averaged between 250 to 350+ miles a day so it took me four comfortable days, (camping on route).

No doubt it could be done in two, but I enjoyed the ride..

 

[pedro]

Well,

I'm intending doing Calais to Lloret De Mar in a day. Heading down from Edinburgh, cross the on the tunnel, Etap in Calais that evening, then up first thing and down to the coast in a oner. Stay on the coast for 2 weeks, then up through Madrid to Santander for the ferry back to Plymouth. Mostly camping with a few Etaps and Formula 1's thrown in.

 

[cherokee]

A bandit, ZRX and me on my 1150gsa are going down to southeast Spain,we thought long and hard about the ride through France but decided with some help from the guys here that the ferry from portsmouth to bilboa was best,and put us right into the warm climate.Saving all that tyre wear and boring motorway roads.You guys could go from Plymouth to santander its a 19 hour trip so you can load the the bikes chill have a meal some beer and then roll off into sunshine.

 

[pedro]

Yea,

that's fine if you can stand the ferry. I've been back and forward on the Pont Aven to Santander a few times and hate it. I'm coming back that way though and not looking forward to the sea sickness.

 

[cherokee]

that's fine if you can stand the ferry. I've been back and forward on the Pont Aven to Santander a few times and hate it. I'm coming back that way though and not looking forward to the sea sickness.

Yeah a bit of a worry for sure,im hoping that when we go in june its calm,we're going from bilboa to andorra,then down the east coast to a village near Denia where we've rented a villa for the week.France is cool toured there on my Africa Twin a few years back but its a long drag through it to get to spain so we're gonna suffer the boat.......

 

[Rod]

Another option, which I have done, is to take the train from Calais to Toulouse with French Motor Rail.
The Pyrenees are just a short ride away which is biking paradise. Two bikes share one car space & include a couchette for the night. I think it worked out at about £200- each.(that's one way, I just blasted back at the end of the trip).
The train leaves Calais early evening & arrives Toulouse very early in the morning. Very quick & easy, and you arrive fresh & ready to go.
I am a very keen sailor, but put me on a cross channel ferry & I'm as sick as a dog, even if it's calm !! (I'll avoid sea sickness at any cost !)
It really doesn't work out much more than riding there if you take into account fuel/tolls/meals/hotels etc.and I would rather spend my precious holiday time riding in the mountains, even if you take the scenic route through France.

 

[Big Nick]

Try posting in the Travel Section............

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

My friend and I, he on Bandit 12 and me on GSA1150 are planning to ride to South Spain, via France from London.

Any advice from anyone who's done a similar trip ?

length of journey?
areas to avoid - i hear riding thru France aint all that.
IM new to biking so, how many miles per day is do-able?

Thanks in advance

Leeman (newbie tosser)

"How many miles in a day?" is an impossible question to answer, as it depends on lots of different factors. Rather than worry about mileages it's perhaps easier to consider the time in the saddle.

The most I've done on a trip is 600-odd miles in a day (apart from one mad day trip of 800+). That involved leaving Dover at 8:00 am, and arriving in the Alps around 7:00 pm, with breaks for lunch (and petrol stops of course). It was spent entirely on autoroutes, which are undoubtedly an efficient way of getting the miles in, but are not at all exciting. You can have a trial run by sitting still on your bike in the garage for eight hours, getting off every hour-and-a-half for a wee. (For added realism, get someone to come and spray you with a hosepipe every now and again to simulate showers...) You might want to consider a means of listening to music if that will help stave of the boredom.

Some think nothing of knocking off 1,000 miles in a day but that seems too much like hard work to me.

Or you could stay off the autoroutes, have much more fun, but take longer. France has some great roads, especially once you get to the hillier bits, generally in the South.

Personally, I'd spend the first day on the motorways, then get onto N-roads and D-roads. For a day on scenic roads, I'd work on a maximum of 300 miles.

It depends on how much time you have available, what your accommodation plans are. Post more details of your plans, and you might get some more helpful and relevant suggestions.

 

[Jon]

Whichever way you go, if you end up near Narbonne, try the St.Georges B&B in Coursan just up the road.

Top bloke & nice place.

 

[Flipfly]

Done it a few times now in cars and bikes.

Best way is pick the smallest roads and do it the long way down. Took us 4 days to Almeria and found some lovely roads.

I've done it 27 hours non stop from Telford in a Range Rover towing a couple of enduro bikes with by brother (shared the driving).

Syco (my brother) did it in one hit on his 1200ADV (1200 miles IIRC)

Trouble with doing it that way is you see nothing and you may as well fly IMHO.

France is boring on the main roads now, but the first time it's all new and has a special feeling. Mulsanne straight, hammering the roundabouts...............oh yeah, it can still be fun. Only your quest for new places that makes it seem boring. First time through I loved it

 

[Flipfly]

"(For added realism, get someone to come and spray you with a hosepipe every now and again to simulate showers...)

Feck me, I know they do heated seats and grips, but showers too

I can see the 2009 ADV advertising slogan now......

Just because you've experienced the Adventure doesn't mean you have to smell of it!!!

 

[Leeman]

excellent replies and advice - thanks to all

I like the train idea, but to be honest, may be, as its my first long trip, I should do the whole damn thing and in as sedate a pace as possible given time constraints.

Think I might have to upgrade me seat though.

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

excellent replies and advice - thanks to all

I like the train idea, but to be honest, may be, as its my first long trip, I should do the whole damn thing and in as sedate a pace as possible given time constraints.

Think I might have to upgrade me seat though.

AIRHAWK works for me...

 

[Loiq]

I've done that ferry a couple of times and it just makes me think of what the waiting room for Trisha or Jermey Kyle Show must be like.

Bloody entertaining...

 

[Lord Snooty]

Me and 'er indoors did Spain a couple of years ago. We crossed Portsmouth to Brittany and worked our way down France to the Pyrenees in 2 or 3 days. Crossed the Pyrenees through Andorra and made our way to Sitges just SW of Barcelona for a couple of days. We then worked our way along the Costas crossing the Sierra Nevada and ended up in Ronda for a 2/3 day stop. We then worked our way oop north taking in a couple of days in Portugal before stopping at Potes in the Picos Europa before taking the ferry back from Bilbao.

I think we took 17 days in all.

If you have never been across to the continent before then why not take your time through France and enjoy it - only use the autoroutes to circumvent cities or if you need to make up some time. It's not so much about the destination it is more about the journey and taking in the country, the people, the history and the food and drink. If you don't get to see everything you plan to then don't worry you can always go back again next year!

Go to the library and borrow either the Michelin or Lonely Planet guides to take with you - great for finding interesting out of the way places to stop and visit. We would never have visited a small village called La Alberca in SW Spain but for Lonely Planet - it was like going back in time a century and we bumped into the ITN news correspondent Tim Ewart who was with his son, both on Hondas, Tim was on his way to cover the European Footie Championships in Portugal and had decided to get there on two wheels. We had a beer with them both and had a good old natter. I can also recommend staying at Cuidad Rodrigo - a fortified town that featured in the Napoleonic Peninsula wars - there are still old cannon lying rusting in the fields outside the fortified walls.

Be prepared to get very hot, especially in Spain, so wear appropriate biking clothing - you will be very uncomfortable in heavy black leathers.

Top Tip - I learned this on my very first tour in France - take a tube of savlon for those tender nether regions - you will get hot and sweaty and you will get a saddle rash

 

[John Armstrong]

Plan on about 5 or 6 hours on the bike. Any more and it's not a relaxing holiday, more like training for an Iron Butt award. Unless that's your sort of thing

Especially as there's two of you and if you need to stop every 2 hours, they'll need to stop every 1, and fuel stops will take 1/4 an hour if your on your own, but will take 1/2 an hour because there's more than one person.

Personally I'd blast down on the motoways for the first day, then hop onto the lesser roads for the rest. Flat northern France is just like flat UK, except for the driving on the other side of the road and the signs are different.

 

[Buttso]

motorail

I would have to give my vote to the Motorail...

I absa-feckin-lutely hate boats...I think they are the work of the devil.

I have done the trip down via La Rochelle/Biarritz before, and crossing to switzerland as some of the other lads were saying involves putting a lot of boring autoroute mileage on your bike... ( and autoroute fees)

leave paris on the train.. arrive into Nice or Biarritz the next morning.. have some brekkie.. and the collect your bike around 11ish.. freshed and ready to drive whereever.. best 300 quid (euro) ever...

here is a handy link

http://www.seat61.com/Motorail.htm

 

[Leeman]

again, another excellent reply - thanks

All good advice and will certainly take a vat of savlon

when it happens in May, Ill report back with details of the whole experience.

 

[Glyno]

I live down here on the Costa Blanca,I brought my GS1200 down last Sept but due to commitments I couldnt hang around and stuck to the autoroutes.Boring as they are they serve a purpose and the miles fly by.My route took me from Calais,Le Havre to the east of Paris,Orlean then straight down to the border via the A75 i think it was.The bridge at Millau in the central massif is a real treat as well. Avoid travelling the first weekend in Aug though it can be a nightmare then !!! Happy hols !!