Total distance = 468 miles
Moving time (for me) = 14:51
Total time on the road = 23:24
Average (moving) speed = 32 mph
Touring Spain by motorcycle in company with a car!
Last year we did a longer trip in a shorter time, but, as I said in the summary for that trip, if we were to do it again in complete matrimonial harmony then certain compromises had to be made.
Since the trip almost coincided with a significant birthday for Susie, for which I will be hung drawn and quartered if I should mention which significant birthday it is on the Internet, I had endeavoured to make this a very memorable trip.
Susie had said she would like a Porsche for this birthday. Well some can dream. I would like an XJS or maybe a BMW M3 but it isn't going to happen. However, I did try to hire a Porsche Boxster for this trip. The only firm I could find who supply Porsches in Spain was Avis-Rent-a-Car. I contacted them but, even after some considerable effort made by their Internet rep, I was given a very firm refusal since they only supply Porches from their Madrid office and would not deliver to Santander. Personally, I think that this was a mistake since a) they were assured of a 7 day hire and b) they now have this bad publicity on the Internet. Their loss.
This avenue now blocked I booked Susie's own "mid life crisis" and answer to my Sprint ST, her Peugeot 206 Cabriolet, on the ferry and cajoled, implored and bribed Tim, her son, to accompany her - I think blackmail was used at one point too.
There were some un-altruistic aspects to this decision, I have to admit. It did mean that I could be solo on the bike around those wonderful roads of the Picos and at the same time give Tim my digital camera to play with during the trip (another incentive for him) and have a better record of events.
I will not attempt to give a such detailed personal perspective of the route this time since that was done on my trip last year and it would be boring for the reader to have a regurgitation of my previous long-winded essay, likened by some to "War and Peace". This time I will, thanks to Tim with my digital camera and me with my helmet video camera, present a pictorial log of the journey. This does mean that the pages may be slower to load due to the high graphic content but hope that the reader will be patient and enjoy the images presented. As usual clicking on the thumbnails will reveal an 800x600 image in a new window..
Constant(ish) communication between car and bike was ensured by use of PMR radio and, at a last resort, mobile phone, since both are plugged into my Autocomm.
I had changed my rear sprocket from 43T to 45T prior to the trip. I have an 18T front sprocket, Since most of the work on the mountain roads is in 1st, 2nd or 3rd this change made a significant contribution to the bike's performance and is highly recommended.
The first test of bike-to-car comms actually took place on the journey to the ferry since there had not been an opportunity to test it beforehand. This went smoothly and Susie managed to keep me in sight (and sound) during our journey to Plymouth.
The only hitch occurred during boarding the ferry as the passenger (Tim) was on my ticket and not Susie's. She was halted on boarding as her boarding pass showed one occupant and she had to wait for me to come and vouch that her passenger belonged to me. I was glad to see that the officials were on the ball on our side of the Channel at least. Fortunately, our comms allowed us to establish this was a problem and for me to join her halfway up the boarding ramp to rectify the matter.
As usual, my self-provided straps were quickly in place to secure my bike amid the odd derisory comment from other bikers "Oh, I see he's come prepared/done it before."
Once on board, Commodore Class for Susie and I and "steerage" for Tim, we settled into the comfort of the trip. Our only complaint was that the previous occupants of our cabin had been smoking heavily in the cabin and it and the bedding stank of cigarette smoke for the whole of the trip :-( The Bay of Biscay was like a millpond in comparison to the previous year.
The entire route
The entire route profile
The Helmet Video Camera
A sample video in DivX format is here on day 6
A 16 min DivX video (45MB) of the "interesting" bits of the trip is available to download here (warning big file = 45MB!! - if you do not have the DivX codec it is available from http://www.divx.com/divx/ )
Email for a DVD which includes 90+ of the stills taken during the trip (£2 plus postage and packing).
Contents - click on the text to go to the relevant page
Day 1 - Santander to Selores, Cantabria - 40.6 miles
Day 2 - To Carillon de los Condes, Castilla-León - 89.4 miles
Day 3 - To Parador de Cervera de Pisuerga, Castilla-León - 73 miles
Day 4 - To Parador de Fuente Dé, Picos de Europa - 54.3 miles
Day 5 - At Parador de Fuente Dé, Picos de Europa
Day 6 - To Parador de Cangas de Onís, Asturias - 94.4 miles
Day 7 - To Selores, Cantabria - 70.8 miles