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Days 1 and 2. The functional bit…
After a tough few weeks at work it felt good to be on the road and looking forward to the better part of two weeks of freedom with just a few good friends and my Ducati for company. The weather wasn’t great, but who cares? I met up with Matt on the outskirts of Kidderminster and then headed down the M40 where we met up with Andy at Warwick Services. Heavy rain briefly stopped play but we soon carried on and made a way to Portsmouth to meet my old friend Rich. This was a purely functional 165 mile ride; a just ‘let’s get this done’ sort of run. Rich was amazed that we arrived to the minute on time. Andy in particular is not renowned for his timekeeping so Rich was pretty much dumb struck!
The group on route to PortsmouthAs for the bike, the Ducati had proved very comfortable and getting my luggage into my tail pack had not been the issue I thought it might. All good stuff.
What struck me as we queued and loaded with the other bikers was just how few sports bikes were in evidence: Loads of HD’s, BMW R1200GS’s were everywhere, as were KTMs. There was even a matching pair of Africa Twins, but only a couple of sports bikes.
The boat taking us on the 24 hour trip to Santander was more Ferry than cruise ship, but we were grateful for our comfortable cabins to dump our kit off and then head to find food and drink. We sneaked into the truck drivers lounge as the food was cheaper in there muttering loudly about Foden trucks, Yorkie Bars and splitter boxes. Nobody noticed us in truth and it was a few euros saved towards the fuel when we get to the good bits!
The trip was pleasant and we had a laugh in the bar, unofficially answering all the quiz questions loudly much to the benefit of those around us in the bar.
We make our Children so proud…
The all important first beer
The sun setting on my everyday woes as 10 days of biking Nirvana beckons..24 hours is much longer than I have ever spent on a ferry, but the weather was good in the Bay of Biscay, so we had a nice smooth trip. Once in Santander we quickly off loaded up the steep steel ramp. However as headed into Spain and weather wasn’t great. A little light rain, not what we had hoped for: For my part, I had not packed for bad weather. Lets hope things would improve.
The 80 mile ride to Ribadesella was another easy one, we took the direct route as the weather continued to be a little drab. The town itself is beautiful, and as we rode into town a local bar was hosting a local traditional concert and the music drifted out over the town to where we parked up on the harbour front. A good welcome, even if the bag pipe music was not really my thing exactly! The Ferry and short hop combination, is a way better option than a 800 mile drag across France by the way…
The house Matt found is simply stunning, large and set in the centre of its’ own plot with off road parking for the bikes. The business. Fully equipped and everybody had a room to themselves too. Matt hogged the room with the biggest balcony! Anybody would think he had found the place and booked it…
I suppose this will do…We quickly settled in, grabbed some beer and food and started making plans for the next few days while watching a World Cup game with a German commentary. The weather forecast for the week was bad, and at this point our spirits did dip a little it has to be said. But lets see what tomorrow brings…
Day 3: The fun begins!
As the weather for the morning was good we hit the road early heading along the N634 for Cangas deOnis and Arriondas. A cracking road, with smooth bends that flowed one into another. The camber was just so, curved to give you a little help as you glided along. Fantastic! The view all around was stunning, the Pico’s are one of the lesser known European mountain ranges, but on the evidence of these early miles it hard to see why. They are imposing, lush and simply beautiful.
On route we even stumbled across a little classic bike meet where we treated to rare sights for us Brits such as Bultacos, a little single cylinder Duke and old BMWs. Back on the bikes things just kept getting better and better as we travelled along the superb AS114 and utterly sublime N621: These are both pieces of road you must try at least once in your biking life if at all possible. I would happily ride up down the 114 all day given the chance..it really is that good. We passed through Panes and the utterly charming town of Potes as we reached our target for the day. The 1926m peak at Fuente De. Rich is a bit of fitness nut, but we did manage to get him to take the cable car ride to the top rather scale it on foot! This is well worth doing as the views are amazing from the car, and the blue tint of the windows and slightly surreal edge to it all as the vistas stretch out before and below you…
Impressive line up
But Rich has recently got a Land Rover as was like an excited puppy every time he saw one…this is a Santanna apparently
The pictures don’t really do the magnificent backdrop justiceThe cable car doesn’t run quite to the top, so we went for a little explore, bumping into some fellow Brit bikers we had chatted to on the Ferry. Rich was keen to get to the snowline, so we let him…bless..he is such a mountain goat!
The cable car and the Pico’s with a surreal blue tint….
Rich, in his element…
New boy band F*ck That on tour
Matt and Andy strike the pose
Rich headed for the snowline, on foot, not in the Landie! Meanwhile the rest of us headed to the little cafe for a coke…
It was a long way down..The ride back down the valley was better still…corner after corner…I love Spanish roads! The run to Potes was quick and fun. Some of the best biking I have ever done. Matt nearly got wiped out by a nut case coming the other way in a 4×4 straight lining bends, but these things are sent to try us! We checked out Potes properly on the return leg, having a cooling drink in the shade of medieval keep whilst being served by a charming, dark haired waitress. As you can tell we were having a terrible time!
Checking out PotesWe retraced our steps back to Ribadesella, the run along the 114 even better this way if anything! The weather had been superb all day, so much for the gloomy forecast.
Biking heavenA superb day was rounded off with a few beers over a great meal knocked up by Andy. Let’s hope the coming days are good as today…
Great pics and write up as usual Radar.
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Bet there weren’t many petrol stations you didn’t visit on the Duke?
Great pics and write up as usual Radar.
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Bet there weren’t many petrol stations you didn’t visit on the Duke?
Cheers Kat.
The Duke did a consistent 105-110 miles before the fuel light cam on, so it was never really too much of a problem.
Fantastic write up mate, bringing back the fabulous memories. We’ll apart from the nearly being taken out
Yep, top stuff. Your pics made me remember the stunning scenery and especially the brilliant biking roads around the Picos and Asturias/Cantabria.
If you have a spare 5 minutes and haven’t been there, take a look at Google’s Street View on that AS114 or the AS264 here:
Yep, top stuff. Your pics made me remember the stunning scenery and especially the brilliant biking roads around the Picos and Asturias/Cantabria.
If you have a spare 5 minutes and haven’t been there, take a look at Google’s Street View on that AS114 or the AS264 here:
That brings back some good memories
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