Tour around Spain next June

Gstom, they're excellent prices for what is only a little more travelling.
Defo with the bike trip going to book that route, when I go with the Doris in July in the car, as she's not good on water, we'll book the overnight to Caen as we always do. However, including a sea view berth both ways we're looking at over £600

Hmm, we used that run twice a year when we first had out house here in the Pyrenees but lived in Brighton. Trouble with it being that you have to go through Rouen where we almost always got lost despite it being around midnight and so no traffic. So after a few years we found that the Portsmouth to Caen run infinitely better...

Crossing the Pyrenees towards Zaragoza via Portalet is pants as the run up from the French side is long and congested and from Sabinanigo it's motorways only until well beyond Zaragoza. Canfranc and Jaca is a bit better but still motorways from Huesca. Think about the Vall d'Aran route. The road to the frontier from Montrejeau is greatly improved with the bottlenecks bypassed, especially St. Beat, and of course you're in Spain - cheaper fuel, drinks, better food and friendlier people! - on the north side of the Pyrenees.

After that you have two routes to Lleida and from there a sublime run to Cuenca via Teruel: Caspe, Alcaniz, Escucha, Alfambra....
 
Hi all, I've now got some dates in mind for the end of June (18th onwards) to early July, I was thinking about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks from and to Dieppe.
So a question I have is: Not being very techy, I would like to learn how people have made it so that others can see my route, and in particular, where I am in the world in preparation for the longer trips.

The reason I'm interested in this is to be able to find accommodation when in far flung corners of the globe where other motorcyclists have stayed in fellow bikers lodgings, quite apart from the ability to pick up ride hitchikers who may only want to do a portion of this trip.

Sorry if I don't make myself clear, I actually have no idea what I'm talking about, still, keen to learn.
 
Hi all, I've now got some dates in mind for the end of June (18th onwards) to early July, I was thinking about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks from and to Dieppe.
So a question I have is: Not being very techy, I would like to learn how people have made it so that others can see my route, and in particular, where I am in the world in preparation for the longer trips.

The reason I'm interested in this is to be able to find accommodation when in far flung corners of the globe where other motorcyclists have stayed in fellow bikers lodgings, quite apart from the ability to pick up ride hitchikers who may only want to do a portion of this trip.

Sorry if I don't make myself clear, I actually have no idea what I'm talking about, still, keen to learn.

You are about to hijack your own thread on a three week’ish jaunt into Spain, turning it into one on:

A. Knowing how to navigate around the globe.

B. Knowing where you are, anywhere around the world and for others to see where you are.

C. Finding out how to find a biker friendly hotel, anywhere around the world.

D. How to pick up touring companions (hitchhikers) to apparently have them join you for parts of your jaunt.

I have cut you a fresh, completely separate, thread, so as to hopefully keep your Spanish holiday on track:

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/573626-I’m-thinking-of-riding-to-India-and-beyond…

Richard


PS If I was to go to Spain from the UK, I wouldn’t necessarily chose a cross-Channel ferry to Dieppe. I’d probably look at one sailing into St Malo (if I wanted to ride through France) or one of the ferries running into say, Santander.

If, as your opening post indicates, you intend to cruise around Spain and start / finish in Dieppe, I’d maybe look at making it three-and-a-half weeks, rather than two-and-a-half, assuming you want to stop and see things as you cruise about. Spain is a big country after all and you’ll maybe lose two days (maybe three) cruising across France on the way down and the same coming back up.
 
Sorry, you're quite right of course Richard. I was asking too much- spurred on by the friendly nature of people here, I've got ahead of myself.
One of my trips to Spain I did do in two weeks and that was from Calais, but I only went around half of Spain.
Anyway, I'll carry on from that you have moved..
 
No problem.

I guess it all depends on what you intend by a ‘Tour around Spain’?

By way of comparison, I did a lap of the outside edges of Germany in 21 days, starting and ending in London. Germany is smaller than Spain, at roughly 70% of the area. But in doing so, I used a decent mixture of roads from very small through to motorways, where it made sense to do so. Not least, I used motorways to get from Calais to Hamburg, where I started the clockwise lap from. I also had days off the bike in some cities that I came close to, as opposed to just riding every day. It sounds obvious but some people do forget that whilst you are standing still (whether that be having lunch, filling with fuel, pressing flowers, asleep or just looking at stuff) you are not moving forwards. Spend two hours over a lunch and you’ll arrive at your final destination two hours later than you might otherwise have done.

Similarly, I have lapped France several times. Once, on my own, I lapped it in just a few days but I cracked on each day and had no days off. This was years ago when I did a recce on behalf of a longer lap made with some friends. France is closer to the size of Spain, being slightly larger by about 10%.

You know you, far better than we know you. You’ll know what you want to do, what you can manage, where you want to start the journey from and to finish, how long it should take you and, not least, why you are doing it in the first place. Whatever it all is, have fun.
 
Yes Richard, a bit more info I should've proffered, I'm forgetting my forum etiquette.

The why: The two reasons are these.

1. To check the Super Tenere's comfort and durability for a longer trip (I have about 15 months of an extended warranty to iron out any kinks in the bike, or its intended use)
You see, the three trips I took to Spain and back I did on my Harley Sportster, and two of those I did with my son on pillion. The luggage,screen and equipment rollout evolved during those three trips to the point that I now know what to take/not take etc and how many miles I can do without stopping etc
As you know, I'm planning something far more adventurous and the fettling of the bike has to be done in advance, and those trips will be done on the Super Tenere

2. Next year, my son finishes his PhD and he's insisted we do the trip I'm going to test out this June on my own, but on the Harley as he liked it so much (now that I have shaft drive proper adventure bike, the shortcomings of the Harley are obvious to me and so I wanted to test the ST)
So to top the previous trips where we just skirted around Madrid, up through Avila, Vallodolid and through the Basque country, this time I want to continue down to Almeria, swing west to Sevilla and up via Caceres through Extremadura and pick up the old route again.
So this June I'll sort that route out that next year there's no guesswork where to go and stay, sights to see etc as I'll already have done it.
So that's more or less the where.
I have never planned a time limit, nor will I do so when doing the longer trips, save the complications of visas, carnets and crossings which I'll obviously have to organise to a degree, as setting a fixed limit seems to detract from the free spirit element that biking affords me.

On the Spanish tours, I've bought open crossing tickets in case I come back early or late. That works for Europe, but clearly more planning is involved with any asian trip.
Cheers.
Julian
 
Hi Semmyroundel, have sent you a pm which I guess you may not have noticed it was there.
 
Andy and I will be starting soon..

Hi all, Andy, one of your intrepid bikers hereabouts and I will be starting this epic voyage on the 16th this month.
I hope to have time to send in the odd report, if not then defo a RR at the end of the journey.
A very brief outline of the route (I don't know how to do one of those map uploads) will be:
Dieppe
Rouen
Evreux
Dreux
Chartres
Tours
Poitiers
Angouleme
Bordeaux
Pau
Zaragoza
Teruel
Albacete
Almeria
Granada
Sevilla
Merida
Caceres
Plasencia
Salamanca
Vallodolid
Burgos
Bilbao
Gernika
San sebastian, then similar route home through France, but in reverse, of course.
 
We used to drive due south along that route as far as Angouleme from there on the roads get lovely, Perigaux, Agen, Auch ...
From Huesca to Teruel is very boring as you're stuck on the motorway but south of Zaragoza the original national road is a gem not to be missed, almost deserted ...
 


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