Motorbiking over from UK to Spain.

[freebird]

My other half is feeling adventurous. He fancies riding over. Not being a biker-babe these days I'm more than happy to fly over a few days later with the suitcase. Has anyone ever done this and can you offer any advice / tips, route to take, places for overnight stops when bikes can be secured etc. Suggestions regarding riding through France & Spain, or just take the boat to Santander - much more expensive though. He'd be riding alone too. Has anyone had any problems with safety etc.

Any info much appreciated.

[iain crosbie]

done it

recommend
boat to bilbao
ride to Bourgos , stay a night with El Cid's statue and see the town.
Continue the next day
avoid the aragonese mototwayt as It's invariably open and very windy.
I needed to keep the bike at about 30 degrees just to go straight

[mjl]

biking to spain

We did this trip this time last year. Rode down from Scotland, and took the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao. Ferry crossing was fine, and cut out alot of the riding. Travelled from Bilbao towards Madrid. Easy to get onto this road, as there were so many other bikers starting out in the same direction! From Madrid, we headed down towards Albacete, and then out towards the coast. Managed the trip through Spain in one day, but it was really hard-going towards the end. Got to Madrid by early afternoon. In hindsight I think this would have been a good time to stop! Finally arrived near Villamartin just before midnight. Bear in mind the ferry arrived at Bilbao at 8am! Couldn't consider getting back on the bike for a couple of days afterwards!

My other half did all the riding, and I was pillion. We didn't encounter any problems with safety at all. We hooked up with another biker we met on the ferry, who was heading in same general direction. We stopped several times during journey, always at service stations. While stopped, we parked the bike with luggage within eyeshot, but didn't have any problems.

Also, bear in mind the temperature. Very cold when you leave the ferry - the climate in Bilbao was much like home. However, as we travelled south, the heat became intense, so don't expect to be able to wear full leathers, like at home.

At times this trip was tough, as we tried to do too much in one go. We had a fab time, though, and have enjoyed many other biking trips in Spain since.

Hope this helps.