Help & FAQs    Search BCF    Members    Groups    Events Calendar
Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


BCF Spain 2016 Trip Report [55MB DATA]

 Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> Show & Tell Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

Snowdonia Rider
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Oct 2014
Karma :
PostPosted: 18:40 - 09 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Fook me that's an adventure you'll all never forget Thumbs Up
____________________
I want your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
Suzuki GP125 Suzuki GSX600F Suzuki SV650S KTM EXC250F SkyTeam Bongo 125
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SnowdoniaRider
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

chickenstrip
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Dec 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 18:49 - 09 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
barrkel wrote:


As to the scenery, I like roads that make me focus solely on the roads. The Pyrenees aren't as photogenic as the Alps; it's brown, scrub and brush. The roads in the Alps are, as a rule, a series of straights and hairpins - these, for me, are the most tedious and least entertaining roads of all. I can quite easily imagine never riding a bike through another Alpine pass ever again. There are some incredible sights in the Alps though.


The best days out for me mix up some variation: fast, winding, good surfaces for some fun, gnarly little mountain roads for low speed negotiation of hazards and good scenery, and maybe something less challenging for the route home.

The one road where on the few occasions I've done it I can never decide whether to gawp at the scenery or cane it like a race track is the road out to Kyle of Loch Alsh, through Glen Shiel.
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

stevo as b4
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Karma :
PostPosted: 20:22 - 09 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Excellent write up and pics of an epic sounding trip. Shame about all the machinery, directional and popo incidents though.

Seeing the French part really took me back 12years to my best bike adventure ever. I loved seeing St.Naziare and La rochelle again, beautiful places and nice sea and beaches too. I loved the D-roads even more than the N-roads when I went, and the state of them was excellent, making Britains best look like third world tracks.

Oh and I too found the J-series Ninja6 a great sports tourer, and a comfy bike for long distances too. Mind you 612miles in a day was too much but only because of arse ache and clutch hand muscle pump/cramp.

Oh and I don't think BCF needs to worry about tarnishing relations with the Spanish authorities, as I think Fast bikes did enough to really please them back in the late 90's. Laughing
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Matt B
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 May 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 11:52 - 10 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
chickenstrip wrote:
The best days out for me mix up some variation: fast, winding, good surfaces for some fun, gnarly little mountain roads for low speed negotiation of hazards and good scenery


I agree, that would be perfect. Unfortunately, when you have 11 bikes in the group, it often comes down to a lot of compromise on routes with where to go and what to see and the factor of time is massively important.

We have coined the term "Eurojolly Factor" to describe the way that a 250 mile 4 hour day inexplicably turns into an 8-12 hour one. Seeking out the twisties is fine but if it adds hours to the journey it can cause headaches, and before you know it you are riding in the dark. We ended up doing this a few times, not an issue with only a couple of you, but we got separated in Pamplona because it's really hard to spot people doing the drop-off system in those conditions. Problematic when there are only one or two decent sat-navs within the group. Also comfort breaks and fuel stops can easily stretch out and eat up time when there are a large number of bikes and stomachs to fill and bladders to empty.

I think we just chose a destination that was too far this time, bashing out miles on dull roads to cover distance. The Spanish roads down to Barcelona probably would have been better riding "normally" but one of us had just had his bike impounded and carted off in handcuffs for speeding and the place was awash with police. Nobody wanted to really take the chance so we stuck to the limits.

I enjoyed the trip, don't get me wrong, but a lot of that is down to the group and the fact we always manage to have a laugh regardless. We were spoiled last year because we had it all - excellent roads, stunning scenery, lovely towns to stop in for lunch. The B500 through the Black Forest for the fast sweeping bits, Stelvio and the other passes for the gnarly mountain roads, Alpine scenery and a trip to the Nurburgring. If I did Spain again it would be on the ferry to Santander and more time up in the mountains.
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Wobbling Dog
Nitrous Nuisance



Joined: 12 Mar 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 13:01 - 26 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
those police weren't 'really reasonable about it'. you ended up with the worst possible outcome from being 1mph over an on the spot fine. i've had a bitter taste of french policing a few years back,angers me to this day. my last trip abroad was on a grands worth of jap bike. i fully intended abandoning it should something similar happen. if possible i'd fire the thing leaving nothing for them to salvage. go fugitive,how romantic .
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

-Matt-
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Apr 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 13:16 - 26 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
"Wobbling Dog"]those police weren't 'really reasonable about it'. you ended up with the worst possible outcome from being 1mph over an on the spot fine.The police that were dealing with me were very reasonable to be fair, they let me out the cells for numerous smoke-breaks with them in the public carpark for the few hours I was at the station and the two at the roadside spent over 5 minutes on the phone trying to get permission to write it off as a ticket when we all pulled in and they were even apologising about it, which they certainly didn't need to, but they were refused because i'd gone over the threshhold.

They also hung around and took quite a bit of time making sure the bike was secured properly on the lorry afterwards from what I gather, rather than letting it just get slung precariously on the back without any padding etc.

Also gave me details for the hotel nearest the court and ordered me a taxi to the custody block can't complain really.

The magistrate and court however was another matter .

Last edited by -Matt- on 22:16 - 25 May 2018; edited 5 times in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Matt B
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 May 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 13:25 - 26 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wobbling Dog wrote:
those police weren't 'really reasonable about it'. you ended up with the worst possible outcome from being 1mph over an on the spot fine.


I think they were, -Matt- may well have a different opinion but I think he agrees.

AFAIK it was 15 kmh over what was the threshold for an on the spot fine. They were chatty, pleasant, even apologetic but it was caught on camera/radar and they stuck to what they had to do. They were patient while we sorted the luggage and split it amongst the group and decided what we were going to do. They even gave -Matt- advice on trains to catch to Barcelona. They could have turned into assholes and checked every bike over then asked to see all our documents, but they didn't. They were pretty much a couple of very reasonable police officers, even let us sit in the car and look at the speeding pics.

If we had been in France, and not Spain, I know from experience the whole thing would have been much less pleasant.
____________________
stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Carvel
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :
PostPosted: 13:40 - 26 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
After hearing we were heading to Barcelona they warned us that the speeding tolerances were much tighter. They handled it really well tbh. Made light of quite a serious situation. (They wouldn't cuff him for a photo opportunity though Razz ) Apologized profusely for disrupting out trip despite them just doing what they're there to do.
____________________
2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Wobbling Dog
Nitrous Nuisance



Joined: 12 Mar 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 13:46 - 26 Apr 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
oh man, now i look a reet whinger after you've released previously classified information. i retract my statement.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Fin
World Chat Champion



Joined: 27 Feb 2016
Karma :
PostPosted: 19:01 - 14 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote
You should have ran from the popo.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 7 years, 255 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> Show & Tell All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3
Page 3 of 3

 
 You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 
Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.08 Sec - Server Load: 0.49 - MySQL Queries: 17 - Page Size: 74.13 Kb