The night was rounded off by a spectacular Fireworks display which I grudgingly admired
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Interesting Route Malaga to Salou
- Thread starter de crowe
- Start date
You'll be drummed out of the Brownies for not having shiny panniers....
Thanks for taking the time to say 'Thank you' for the help given. So often we hear nothing beyond the first "I need help, fast...." plea.
Thanks for taking the time to say 'Thank you' for the help given. So often we hear nothing beyond the first "I need help, fast...." plea.
The next day I headed off tootling around the back roads and reservoirs east of Ubeda before working my North onto the N-322 direction Albacete and from there staying on the N-322 to Requena. For the most part I really enjoyed this journey along a largely quiet rural road with spectacular landscapes particularly as I looked East.
As i approached Teruel I found a hotel in a place called El Castellar about 30 kms away. I ended up taking an unintended detour onto a mountain pass road the VT-TE-09 and as the evening approached and up at around 1500 meters and in Spains apparently least populated area I was relieved the F800 GSA has proven so reliable. Great area for watching the night sky and dinosaurs! I stayed in a lovely hotel, only otger guest being a widower from Switzerland on a tour around the Iberian peninsula in a VW polo. The above recommendations guided my route choice.
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As i approached Teruel I found a hotel in a place called El Castellar about 30 kms away. I ended up taking an unintended detour onto a mountain pass road the VT-TE-09 and as the evening approached and up at around 1500 meters and in Spains apparently least populated area I was relieved the F800 GSA has proven so reliable. Great area for watching the night sky and dinosaurs! I stayed in a lovely hotel, only otger guest being a widower from Switzerland on a tour around the Iberian peninsula in a VW polo. The above recommendations guided my route choice.
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You'll be drummed out of the Brownies for not having shiny panniers....
Thanks for taking the time to say 'Thank you' for the help given. So often we hear nothing beyond the first "I need help, fast...." plea.
I always very much appreciate the help And advice i get even if I don’t always take it. So thanks again
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Name of the hotel etc etc please. Not so bothered about the widower. Young, Swiss and female, on the other hand, preferably very rich....
Tuesday morning in El Castellar was barely above freezing and i waited a little time before departure, being mindful back in Ireland the sun was splitting the stones.
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The A-228 and A-226 are cracking roads although with the temperature around 3.5 degrees and the altitude rising to 1730 meters I was reminded for some reason of riding through Massif Central in France but in a more desolate landscape. I took a right turn, not necessarily deliberately off the A-226 at Cantavieja heading on for La Iglesuela del Cid and onto Vilafranca del Cid onto Castelfort and down the CV-124 to Morella. The day had brightened up and I even spotted another bike coming against and a little later a bunch of KTMs 1190s or 1290 types parked up gazing jealously at my stunning 800GSA
.
I parked up on a hill opposite Morella to take stock, well satisfied for myself.
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.I parked up on a hill opposite Morella to take stock, well satisfied for myself.
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Hotel Rural Curia in El Castellar!
Hotel Rosaleda Don Pedro Ubeda.
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Mindful that the boss and no 3 son were flying into Reus Airport around 2pm and that number 1 son was arriving by train from Barcelona and knowing I was coming back the road in a few days, i took an executive decision and picked up the N-232 and headed in the direction of the coast and Picked up the N-340 near the coast to head North to Salou, the N-340 being one of my least favorite roads whether in the North or South of Spain. I am not certain I made up much time. The road was relatively busy and as usual it was blustery but at least it was warm and sunny. I checked into the apartment complex showered parked up etc., and was coincidentally at the complex gate when the Queen arrived . We then headed to the train station via the promenade to pick up another son and spotted something interesting parked in a hedge of the pedestrian drag in Salou.
The return journey follows later!
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The return journey follows later!
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Not only are your panniers not shiny enough, but you haven't changed the vehicle on your sat nav from a car to a bike. You should hang your head in shame - no wonder Johnny Foreigner thinks we're an absolute shower...
Sounds like a great trip!
On Holy Saturday ( the day before Easter Sunday) I loaded the bike. The day was pleasant calm and bright but not overly warm. Over the previous 4 days I had been receiving report of “heatwave” which had befallen Ireland. In any event following recommendations above I travel the N-340 south and pick up the C-44 to Mora d’Erbe.
Immediately once off the coast road a great biking road opens up in front of me and I am not alone with bikes all over the place. I stop to change a blown bulb bext to the river.
I intend to pick up the C-12 but some how find myself on the N-420 again a great piece of tarmac and find myself the subject of a chase by all sorts of flash sports bikes. Naturally anxious to avoid embarrassing the locals I pull over at a bill board advertising the Reus Bike show May bank holiday weekend, Mmmmm!
This is very much the terrain I like to travel through. Vines, flowers, undulating landscapes, no real traffic. I decide to stay on the N-420 for a while happy that I am heading in the right general direction. My intention being to travel to Morella cross country by a route different to my route North. Also the view to my left /South East id fabulous.
After a coffee stop at Calaceite I turn onto the A1413 heading towards Cretas and thereafter I pick up the A231 to Valderrobres. I follow more stunning road along the A-1414 to Monroyo turning off on a whim to visit a little church and adjacent monastery converted to a museum dedicated to the local industry, the pig industry.
From Monroyo I follow the N232 to Morella, to examine what I had bypassed previously. The town is jammed packed for the Easter ceremony and i am obliged to park up and potter about. I pick a spot between an R1200r and a stunning r1200rs sport.
Morella is a stunning wall town perched on a hill.
Fuck off truffles, fuck off cars, fuck of knives!
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Immediately once off the coast road a great biking road opens up in front of me and I am not alone with bikes all over the place. I stop to change a blown bulb bext to the river.
I intend to pick up the C-12 but some how find myself on the N-420 again a great piece of tarmac and find myself the subject of a chase by all sorts of flash sports bikes. Naturally anxious to avoid embarrassing the locals I pull over at a bill board advertising the Reus Bike show May bank holiday weekend, Mmmmm!
This is very much the terrain I like to travel through. Vines, flowers, undulating landscapes, no real traffic. I decide to stay on the N-420 for a while happy that I am heading in the right general direction. My intention being to travel to Morella cross country by a route different to my route North. Also the view to my left /South East id fabulous.
After a coffee stop at Calaceite I turn onto the A1413 heading towards Cretas and thereafter I pick up the A231 to Valderrobres. I follow more stunning road along the A-1414 to Monroyo turning off on a whim to visit a little church and adjacent monastery converted to a museum dedicated to the local industry, the pig industry.
From Monroyo I follow the N232 to Morella, to examine what I had bypassed previously. The town is jammed packed for the Easter ceremony and i am obliged to park up and potter about. I pick a spot between an R1200r and a stunning r1200rs sport.
Morella is a stunning wall town perched on a hill.
Fuck off truffles, fuck off cars, fuck of knives!
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Nice one Con 
Any amount of great roads between Morella (lovely spot for lunch) & Mora d’Ebre but the 1200RS might have been a better bike on the C-44. Provided there’s no cops at Vandellos or Masruidoms
Many of the roads above Reus are stages in Rally Espana & are worth of couple of hours. Next time try the C-242 from near Reus airport
Any amount of great roads between Morella (lovely spot for lunch) & Mora d’Ebre but the 1200RS might have been a better bike on the C-44. Provided there’s no cops at Vandellos or Masruidoms
Many of the roads above Reus are stages in Rally Espana & are worth of couple of hours. Next time try the C-242 from near Reus airport
I leave Morella and make my way back to Cantavieja by a different route to the one I descended. Again fabulous winding rising road, by the time I get to Cantaviega the temperature is way down and it is starting to spit a little rain. I stop to put on all available layers.
My destination for the night is a ski resort town of La Virgin de la Vega. As I climb and climb the ice warning thing starts flashing and the rain gets heavier. I cross back over 1730 metres at some stage. I make it to Allepuz on the A-226 before turning onto the A-228 and with the weather I am beginning to wonder about the prudence of following the earlier route recommendations above. The road surface on this section is fantastic but the heavy rain and low temperature limit me to a very pedestrian rate. I arrive at La Virgin de la Vega and make my way to the Hotel Esther where the manager, having had a quick look at me hands me the room key and suggests we sort out the check in later. Top guy top place. Turned out as a teenager he had travelled to Dublin to learn English, in Artane and Raheny
.
The village must be fantastic in the snow or in high summer, lot of families around for Easter, but my was it cold. Not much insulation in my Connacht rugby hoodie. The limit of the Rallye Series of Bmw jackets is very much revealed on days like today. Waterproof with the benefit of the separate goretex liner the outer jacket gets very heavy in the wet and I was missing the protection of my well tested Tourshell jacket. Here I was getting Achill weather. That said with ventilation etc., while not the most appropriate this day, i find the Rallye to be the best Spanish jacket. Sartorial issues aside here are a few pics, I will return. There was a great party vibe around the place given the weekend that was in it.
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My destination for the night is a ski resort town of La Virgin de la Vega. As I climb and climb the ice warning thing starts flashing and the rain gets heavier. I cross back over 1730 metres at some stage. I make it to Allepuz on the A-226 before turning onto the A-228 and with the weather I am beginning to wonder about the prudence of following the earlier route recommendations above. The road surface on this section is fantastic but the heavy rain and low temperature limit me to a very pedestrian rate. I arrive at La Virgin de la Vega and make my way to the Hotel Esther where the manager, having had a quick look at me hands me the room key and suggests we sort out the check in later. Top guy top place. Turned out as a teenager he had travelled to Dublin to learn English, in Artane and Raheny
.The village must be fantastic in the snow or in high summer, lot of families around for Easter, but my was it cold. Not much insulation in my Connacht rugby hoodie. The limit of the Rallye Series of Bmw jackets is very much revealed on days like today. Waterproof with the benefit of the separate goretex liner the outer jacket gets very heavy in the wet and I was missing the protection of my well tested Tourshell jacket. Here I was getting Achill weather. That said with ventilation etc., while not the most appropriate this day, i find the Rallye to be the best Spanish jacket. Sartorial issues aside here are a few pics, I will return. There was a great party vibe around the place given the weekend that was in it.
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The morning began at midday as I waited for the temperature to rise and rain to stop. Neither of which happened. I retraced my steps to some extent and tip toed my way back to Allepuz and back onto A-226 . Next stop Cedrillas. Again the road is cracking but there was virtually no traffic on the road at this stage of Easter Sunday. Again I must return. A Guardia Civil car came against me and I could clearly read the w.t.f expression on their faces. Resigned to the long haul I rode on. I had booked a hotel in Baeza just south of Ubeda but even at this stage I was thinking that might have been a wildly optimistic decision. Eventually i start to come down from the heights to around 900 metres as I ride around the town of Teruel. From here I follow the N-330, following a river now in spate through a terracotta coloured landscape. i have been up and down this road over the years and for this section the temperature was up to a balmy 9 degrees and the rain had stopped so I could actually enjoy the ride and I did. Meanwhile there is largely no one on the road but me. I join the N-420 and as the rain resumes in a big way I make an executive decision to use the motorway to journey south. The rain, buffeting wind etc., really start to get in my head on the A-3 motorway and sometime after 5 pm at a fuel stop near Tébar I enquire how much a room is. €27. Thats grand. Long hot shower and bed thats me for the night.
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The morning brings a some what drier somewhat brighter and warmer start but with a forecast of rain. I stay on the motorway to scrub off some distance and despite the improvement in conditions i am still viewed with some bemusement when I stop for fuel or coffee. There is a lot of traffic heading North but I am happily heading south and by the time I hit Jaen I can lose the liners and switch off the heated grips. Pass the airport after Granada I turn off the main road and follow along one of my favorite stretches on the A-420 to Alhama de Granada and on over the pass to Zafarraya and down into Vinuela but not before stopping for a sin alcohol beer. I enjoy a nice warm Tapas of ham, broad bean and some other tasty mush while the locals, some of whom have been working on this holiday, outrageous!, enjoy more substantial and hearty fare. I really like this area, the roads are great, surface not always perfect but cracking landscapes .
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After a stop off to check on a friends house I make my way back towards Malaga on south to San Luis de Sabinillas another 120 kms approximately away from my buddys house. It is a small town, just south of Estepona. Apart from disliking the A-7 for bluster from the sea and the hills, I never feel that safe on it. In any event I check into the Hotel Don Augustin for a very modest fee and wander around a largely deserted and later very wet sea side resort.
The next morning brings a visit to a Dublin man now relocated near by who has been in the motorcycle trade all his life. Armed with all the service parts and oil I rock up at 9. The day dries up as I potter about having breakfast etc., doing some work before it is time to collect and head
for the depot at Malaga airport. as I book my lady back in I admire a few of the bikes awaiting their owners.
All i need now is to fit a new rear tyre, there is a tyre place very close by, and the bike is good for another 10k kms. I continue to remain impressed by the F800GSA . Back in currently balmy Ireland now. Safe riding.
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The next morning brings a visit to a Dublin man now relocated near by who has been in the motorcycle trade all his life. Armed with all the service parts and oil I rock up at 9. The day dries up as I potter about having breakfast etc., doing some work before it is time to collect and head
for the depot at Malaga airport. as I book my lady back in I admire a few of the bikes awaiting their owners.
All i need now is to fit a new rear tyre, there is a tyre place very close by, and the bike is good for another 10k kms. I continue to remain impressed by the F800GSA . Back in currently balmy Ireland now. Safe riding.
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Thank for taking the time to post everything up..
Really enjoyed the write up and the photos.
Your welcome
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Nice one Con
Any amount of great roads between Morella (lovely spot for lunch) & Mora d’Ebre but the 1200RS might have been a better bike on the C-44. Provided there’s no cops at Vandellos or Masruidoms
Many of the roads above Reus are stages in Rally Espana & are worth of couple of hours. Next time try the C-242 from near Reus airport
Maybe on my next trip North Jochen.
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