The first of a series of videos detailing my motorcycle tour to Spain, to see World Superbikes at Motorland Aragon, and the La Merce festival in Barcelona. Unfortunately, the tour didn't get off to the best of starts...
I enjoyed coming along the start of a great adventure. Not a great experience getting soaked, but your heading for warmer climes. Looking forward to part 2. Thanks for taking us along.
Great vid, when I listened to your woe’s I wondered what I would’ve done, poss turn around and go home, but then I thought about the excitement I always feel when going away on my bike. I’ve experienced both extremes of weather in Europe, cold cold rain last feb whilst riding through France and Belgium and then a heat wave in Normandy a few years back, each feels unbearable at the time, so not sure which I prefer! But still love the feeling of getting on my bike at silly o’clock all packed up and setting off. Ride safe
Glad you enjoyed the video. I did think of turning around, but that would have been another soaking wet 2 hours on the road, but for nothing. Whereas carrying onto the port might offer the chance of carrying on the adventure. Which it did - thanks to the professionalism of the Brittany Ferries staff! 😃
I’ve just found this, great stuff and an easy watch. It looked like the trip from getting to Plymouth and then on to Pompey. Missing the Plymouth ferry is so stressful seeing that it only runs a couple of times a week but looking at the weather, you may have dodged a bullet, the sea in the Bay of Biscay can be horrible when the weather is bad and a shorter crossing may have been the better option. 👍 Respect though, riding to Plymouth with the stress of knowing you’ve missed it, in that weather, then having to ride another 4 hours, followed by a 13 hour ride in damp gear, not the best start but shows you’re a true biker and dedicated to the cause! 👍🍻
Glad you enjoyed the video. I just thought that I'd got that far, so I might as well give it a go, to try to get back on schedule. The alternative was a nightmare 3 hour ride back home, with no reward 🤔
Do you know the area then? Local knowledge? Is it renowned for its dodginess? That's one of the drawbacks when planning trips 'on the fly'. I'm planning a motorcycle trip to Germany soon, and suggested to my German friend that we could overnight in Magdeburg. He advised against it, as the town is apparently a hotbed for far right extremists!!! 😯
I did a tour on my old FJ1200 with the FJ club to Spain and Portugal in October 2018. I rode down from Scotland and stayed overnight in WSM. I met the rest of the riders at Exeter services and we rode to the ferry at Plymouth. We came off the ferry at Santander and rode to Salamanca for an overnight stop.
I haven't visited that area, so have no recommendations of places to stay. But one tip is for you to check if any festivals are on during your stay. The Spanish sure know how to party! 🥳🎉🎆
A very good test for your riding suit. Would be interested to know what brand and whether it was waterproof. Nice to know the ferry company were helpful.
My jacket is an oooold Hein Gericke one that I've had since I started riding. It's my biking equivalent of a comfort blanket! 😉 My trousers are branded Bikers Paradise, bought a year ago. My jacket is water resistant. It usually holds up well, but the deluge at the start of the trip was too much. The trousers held up well though. Thanks for watching 👍
Worst nightmare going for ferry or a plane, ffs, that made hard work of that job,. What a load of bollocks closing motorway when at least 1 lane was free, ive done Nimes to Le havre in one hit (8 hrs) and in torrential rain for the 1st part of it and the usual pitstops for fuel, i hope you got reimbersed for shorter crossing ?, you had the right bike for the job in hand tho,. I did my mission on a yzf 750r with a mate on an sp1 (100 mile pitstops) happy days passing the trucks at 150 mph on the autoroute, then doing it again and again after the endless fuel stops, the truck drivers egging us on when doing the "fly bys" its good riding abroad beats the uk any day ,.Brexit done us no favours at passport control tho,.I wish the morons who voted out had to suffer the inconvinience of the controls,. looking forward to the next episode, cheers ,.
Health and safety had to ensure that the radioactive material had been safely recovered, hence the full motorway closure. I got reimbursed £117 for the shorter crossing, but that was probably swallowed by the extra tolls and petrol. I (more-or-less) stuck to the speed limits, as it's better to reduce risks when riding alone. Plus I didn't fancy getting any on the spot fines lol 😉
