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Thunder in the Mountains and a Splash of Paella
The poor weather forecasts continued so we decided to hit the road early again to try and get some good miles in on dry roads. Target for today was some of the lakes and dams that litter this area. However as we swept along the beautiful mountain N road, we were bathed in sunshine and above us was a crystal blue sky. I love it when the forecasters screw up!
We headed for Arriondas and Cangas before getting to a road and ride that will linger in my memory for years to come: The N625 towards Bouron. This devilishly twisty road winds up way up a spectacular, 1200m high steep sided valley. There was a little traffic to contend with, but I got lucky with some overtakes and pushed on a little ahead of Matt and Rich. The Ducati was revelling being pressed on a road that was almost perfectly matched to its’ character. The V twin motor flung us from bend to bend, the big Brembo brakes dragged us back to a speed that I could chuck it back into yet another corner. All the while I was accompanied by a wall of sound as the twin Termi’s echoed off the valley sides. My God, this is biking at its very best. I took advantage of my slight lead to park up and grab some photos of them as they rode through, good memories of a great ride
Pretty much from the off the views were majestic
Roads you could ride all day, again and again and again…
Andy, Rich and Matt enjoying some of the best biking roads you will ever come acrossIt was Monday morning, and as we sat outside a small local café sipping a refreshing ice cold Coke with the Pico National Park as a backdrop it dawned on us that normally we would normally be facing yet another gruelling working week. Rarely has a Coke tasted THAT good…
Slightly scruffy little cafe, but it beats a Monday morning meeting at work…
Especially with a backdrop like this!
Even the bikes look better in place like this, on a day like thisBack on the bikes we enjoyed an extended run past the Lake Embailse De Riano; Impressive viaducts spanned valleys. Andy and me had fun blasting back and fro over the top of the Dam LaSalas as Matt took some ‘action’ shots: We both tried our best to look like we were really going for it!
The only problem was deciding whether to take in the beauty all around you or to focus on the fantastic road laid out before you. A tough call. Like yesterday we were treated to an impromptu classic show, colourful old Citroen cars this time, at one of the fuel stops. Good to see these venerable old cars getting some demanding use! We continued to Sabero and Bonar, where Andy nearly got taken out by an emergency Ambulance of all things, it least it would have been handy had he been hurt I suppose!
Dam LaSalas
Andy at at least Warp 9…
But of course my Duke is good for at least Warp 10!!
What colour Citroen would you care for??
Hard to know whether to look at the surroundings, or concentrate on the superb roads…Lake Emblaise was next, where the lads thought it would be funny to bugger off while I took some pictures. However I had the last laugh as I had great fun hammering through a few twisties to where they had parked up. Thunder in the Mountains!!
Just taking it all inThe LE333 over the mountains was not such a good road, bumpy but manageable, before taking the altogether more fun AS117 that twisted and turned and pierced its way through tunnels as we made for the Dam at Rio Seco. Here you can really see where Spain has benefited from the millions the European Union has pumped in to try and keep their economy going. We all smiled when a local flashed past on a GSXR, cranked over, but still finding time to not only wave at us, but also shake a leg and sound his horn! Very funny and rather cool.
The run back was not so good, the road to Infesto was really bumpy and both me and the Ducati were struggling. Meanwhile both Matt and Andy on their adventure barges engaged comfort setting; otherwise known as ‘Smug Mode’ . I was not a happy bunny, and my famed blue sparkly dress was about to get an airing. (watch the Snickers advert with Joan Collins…). But we eventually got to Infesto and another rest halt to fill both the bikes and ourselves. A quick blast back to our waterfront parking spot in Ribasedisella was a good way to round off another cracking days riding.
Beach Bums on Tour
After a couple of pretty intense days riding we had covered over 350 miles, so we decided to have a more gentle day to today and amble along the coast road, N632. Andy had fired up his trusty TomTom and was taking down some seriously small and bumpy roads. I was not a happy bunny at this stage and actually got off my bike much to the amusement of Matt and Rich to have a ‘chat’ with him. I do a good ‘hissy-fit’ it has to be said, and none of our Euros tours are complete without one of my irrational spats featuring at some point!
As usual it worked out to the good in the end as we worked our way through the tiny cobbled streets of the charming village of Vega. Once back on the N632 proper Andy thought he would play tour guide and was so intent on pointing out something to us that he wondered into the path of a car coming the other way, much to their (and our!) terror. Later, our heart rate back to normal we found some charming little bays such as Arsen de Moris, where we looked rather odd walking along the beach in full bike kit. Mad dogs and Englishmen…
Arsen de Moris
Rich striding ahead as usualThe N632 was yet another well surfaced, curvy road and we enjoyed the ride to the small fishing harbour of Lastres. We watched the fishermen unload their catch and the highlight for me was Andy, commenting ‘did I feel a spot of rain?’ It was a seagull, err, making a ‘deposit’ on him. A local lady found this highly amusing! Slap stick is an international language it appears!
Lastres itself is a beautiful, maize like, town clinging to the side of the hill overlooking the harbour. Many of the houses are hundreds of years old and you sense and feel the history of the place in every nook and cranny. A small 1600 chapel hides away in one corner, dedicated to the fishermen who have plied their trade here for centuries. A simple, but moving place.
The charming fishing village of LastresWe enjoyed a traditional (if relatively expensive) lunch here, I shared a tasty seafood Paella with Rich. Matt didn’t fancy that, but as Rich enthusiastically torn into the shrimps and crabs to extract the meat, he managed splash him with the juices from it any case…he didn’t look very impressed!
Rich generously shared the Paella with Ses..Our mini beach tour was rounded off at the larger impressive beach at Rodiles. We were here just before the peak season and the place was all but deserted. The beach side is lined with Eucalyptus trees and amongst those were dozens of wooden benches for the absent holiday makers. It lent the place as slightly eerie feel, but this was quickly dispelled as we made our way on foot to the magnificent beach.
The unspoilt golden beach of RodilesWe whiled away an easy hour checking out the beach and the river estuary before getting back on the bikes and heading back to base for a relaxed evening, drinking beer, watching more World Cup coverage in German and letting Rich play with the log burner, despite 20+ degree temperatures.
Time for a bit of Prodigy anybody..?So far so good and the widely predicted bad weather had not reared its ugly head. So far Northern Spain was blowing me away and is starting to emerge as the best place I have ever had the good fortune to ride a motorcycle.
Next thrilling instalment soon!
So many good memories! Great write up again. The photos don’t get across just how much of a maze that place was
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