Spain in October..?

masherbike said:
I have ridden to southern Spain the last 4 years in September from Santander. Temperature varied between 8 and 36 degrees centigrade depending on elevation. So a bit less in October.
The riding is great. Keep away from the Costas. Loads of great roads near Granada in Sierra Nevada and over to Ronda. One great coastal town to stay in is Sanlucar Da Barrimeda.
Best clothing is fabric waterproof with plenty of vents and removeable quilted lining.
I use Conti trail attacks and have done 7 thousand miles of spirited riding so far and nearly done.
Most town centre hotels have underground parking a t a price. In the smaller places I am happy to leave on the street with a good lock and chain. Never had any trouble and it was a brand new GS 1200.
I always use Michelin maps as they highlight scenic roads and interesting towns. I use Google maps as well which shows any new roads.
Fuel is readily available and yes they accept UK cards and open Sundays. Also it is very cheap now.
On ferry better on side stand as it can rock on centrestand. Totally safe on Brittany ferries.
Way out of Santander depend on where you are going. Head to Burgos for south but avoid motorway. Amazing roads within 20 mins.
Finding hotels is very easy. You can go to tourist information or use Booking.com app or just tour round until you find one. They are rarely full up.
Have a look on Bestbiking roads website. Avoid motorways unless you need to be somewhere quickly or avoid a city.

Have a great trip, you will love it.
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Many thanks, good tips

Hotels are sorted though..................somebody else has booked them for me, cheers oie
 
Dunno about the bottom of Spain never been there, but Madrid is a pleasant city in the middle bit, especially if you stay in a posh hotel like this and plenty of bike parking on the streets outside the front door - hmmmm think they might have their own car park too cos it's proper posh like, hmmmmmm ....... might be a tad too posh for a Yorkshireman?

http://www.westinpalacemadrid.com/en?PS=LGEN_AA_DEMA_CGGL_TPRP&SWAQ=7M96
 
I
Outtomunch said:
.............

Edit: Madrid is shit BTW
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Madrid is great if you know where to stay and want some poper culture like museums and shit and stuff, some nice cafes to chill in on warm summer evenings too :)
 
Outtomunch said:
Also, a 40 min ride away towards the coast and you're in the Alpaujarra, picturesque villages clinging to the Sierra Nevada slopes and some of the best jamon in Spain (and great mountain roads)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpujarras
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Indeed so. I might have said it on here before but if you're riding in Las Alpujarras, be very careful on mountain roads. Several years ago I was doing my usual trick of hooning along the road from Orgiva to Carataunas in my Golf when on one hairpin bend I lost the rear end and just managed to catch it. The car slapped the other way and I caught that and we continued on our merry way. Coming back down the road to Orgiva the next day, I stopped at the same spot and discovered that the road was covered in mica dust from the schist rocks at the roadside. If we'd been on our bikes, we'd undoubtedly have gone down.
 
Outtomunch said:
I'm fairly familiar with Spain, the clue is in my name.

Madrid is shit :)

Andres
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You clearly are uncultured regardless of your name or nationality - The Museo Del Prado has one of the world's greatest art collections including Heironymus Bosch, Rubens, Velazquez etc, etc. The Royal Palace is second to none in Europe There are some great squares and cafes too.

I wouldn't expect a 'dirty arse' biker to be particularly cultured so I forgive your ignorance :)
 
I'm fortunate to live here all of the year, all of the roads are good (away from the motorways, although even the motorways are twisty compared to the uk).

If you get the chance to ride either the A-7000 out of Malaga towards Colmenar or the A-4050 from Almuñécar towards (and past) Otívar are well worth doing!!

There are also a lot of good roads just south of Zahara, through the mountains.

RIDE magazine has some useful GPS downloads for Andalusia.

It's likely to be in the mid 20's here in October, but we do get some rainy days and when it rains it can be very heavy, the locals pull over to the side of the road, or stop on roundabouts, and wait for it to pass.
 
Outtomunch said:
If you're off down to Granada you HAVE to visit the Alhambra.
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The Hotel Alixares just up the street from the Alhambra seems popular with this lot, especially as it has the prerequesit garage everyone seems to seek.
Though its an absolute bitch to walk up the steep hill along side the Alhambra from town when your full of local food & beer and its 47`C at 7pm
 
Peirre O`Bollox said:
Though its an absolute bitch to walk up the steep hill along side the Alhambra from town when your full of local food & beer and its 47`C at 7pm
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I walked up there around 6.00 am last time I was there which was great then in the evening sat in St Peter's (????) Square to watch the sunset on Alhambra with a bottle of Rioja :)
 
I agree with the comments on Andalusia , it has everything you need for a great bikers holiday. Re the Alhambra,you may need to book. They do a morning ticket and an afternoon ticket. Well worth a visit. Ignore Madrid, like most big city's it's not worth the hassle,just to see one or two things you might like. Enjoy :thumb2
 
Hi JB,
At the risk of getting myself cast out as a heretic, if indeed you are going down to Granada and beyond, you may fancy a stroll through the spectacular Caminito del Rey I know this involves some physical exercise, and can be frowned on by some members of this forum, but booking has just opened for October through to December, and is filling up fast, probably because its free !
If all the available spaces have gone, some of the local hotels and restaurants can provide tickets if you use their facilities.

Regarding the Alhambra Palace, if this interests you, as previously stated, you can pre-book tickets online, then using the same credit card, you can collect your tickets from the ticket machines at the entrance. This is much quicker than joining the queue for daily tickets, and also guarantees that you get one.

Enjoy

CB
 
Many thanks - good shout

I think we are definitely going to see the Alhambra

I will look it up
 
Davey B said:
Can't help JB. Holed up in a hotel in Porto (can never use "bike not seen rain!") at the mo and its pissing it down outside and I aren't sure UK goretex will keep me dry. Justine has the holiday spirit tho, called me a wanker and handed me a dodgy brolly.....off out on the pop...
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Justine's right, you are a Wanker
 
So how was in the end JB?
Did you get lost?
Did you buy new maps?
Did the good old 2610 behave?
Were you food poisoning?
Were you force to get drunk?
Was your bike stolen?
Did you get a ticket?
Were you too hot, too cold?
Did you get wet?
Did your tyres last?
Did you run out of oil?
Did you get enough oil (olive oil)?
Has your Spanish improved?
Did the ferry arrive on time?
Dig it arrive to the scheduled destination?
How did you secure the bike?
Was secured by someone else?
Did the camera work?
Did you have to use a special filter for the Spanish sun?

Come on JB, please tell us!
 
oie said:
So how was it, in the end JB?
Did you get lost? Not much
Did you buy new maps? Yes, in Ronda
Did the good old 2610 behave? Most of the time, fab sat nav:augie
Were you food poisoning? No, even tried calamari, don't think owt of mussels, though
Were you force to get drunk? Nope, 2 shandies a night for me
Was your bike stolen? Nope, the garages were fine
Did you get a ticket? Ticket, not to the Alhambra - sadly
Were you too hot, too cold? Cold, in the rain and ok in south, just dandy
Did you get wet? Yes, see above....but my bike suit didn't leak unlike 2 GS Dry (wet) suits others had
Did your tyres last? New ones, all spangly
Did you run out of oil? Old 1150 used 700ml in 2300 miles
Did you get enough oil (olive oil)? Olive oil on bread, yummy
Has your Spanish improved? Not a lot, but yours was great:D
Did the ferry arrive on time? Early both days, didn't like the Santander loading though
Did it arrive to the scheduled destination? Yep
How did you secure the bike? a nice frenchman, grappled with the awesome steed
Was secured by someone else? A gallic shrug and a 'mais, non'
Did the camera work? Yes, very well..............more photo stops needed though
Did you have to use a special filter for the Spanish sun? If it was hotter, factor 100 is needed

Come on JB, please tell us!
Click to expand...

I'll do a RR in good time...................but with the help of your goodself - all went swimmingly:thumby:

Good mix between culture and good roads and some places to definitely return to............ in future years
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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