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A motorcycle trip through Spain

Martin B

• adventures
• OffRoad
• AJP
• Holiday
• Spain
• Kawasaki

If you are feeling inspired after reading Carl's Spanish story or John or Dave Newman's travel adventures - here's another to give you food for thought.  While Carl was in Spain he met some friendly chaps who were having a motorcycle holiday in Spain. When they got back they sent us the story of their holiday - and it sounds like another good time was had by all...

We are a group of four old friends who have been riding for more years than we care to remember.  For the past 11 years we have had an annual road trip abroad, starting as a lot of people do I guess with France and Belgium, and gradually venturing further from home. For the past 8 years we have taken the bikes to Spain via the highly recommended Plymouth/Portsmouth/Santander route.





Our plan for this year was to depart Santander at noon on the Monday and head for the town of Leon, which means crossing an area which is nothing short of biking heaven, the Spanish call this The Picos de Europa. We tend to allow plenty of time for our trip as riding too fast for too long is not something you want to be doing on roads like these, besides the scenery really is worth a look, which usually means a stop for drinks and photo opportunities, not to mention the inevitable loo breaks, I did say we are getting on a bit!


Would take us from Leon to Caceres, a beautiful walled mediaeval town. Again our route would take a somewhat meandering path to avoid anything that resembled a dual carriageway. I should mention at this point that accommodation is usually pre booked and we try to use good quality hotels which if you research on line there is an abundance of throughout Spain, and all of them are ‘Biker Friendly’  


Saw us leaving Caceres and heading for our half way destination of Villanueva Del Trabuco, again following a tortuous route passing through Azuago and Cordoba. As a general tip for great biking roads in Spain head to any of the National Parks, of which there are many!




So why Villanueva Del Trabuco? Well it’s the home of Trailworld in Spain, an off road adventure centre where for a very reasonable cost you can forsake your road going bike and try out some off road kit, this year it was the rather excellent AJP off roaders manufactured in Portugal. The operation is run by Andy and Fran who we have known for many years, having in the past taken advantage of their excellent ‘fly ride’ weekends. These are a great way to experience the wonderful scenery of the Sierra Nevada, a world away from the traditionally well-known Costa’s of southern Spain.

It was here we met three Guys from Scotland, Alan, Sandy, and Vic and a boy named Sue! I can’t lie his name was actually Carl (Carol) really, but I wanted to use the name Sue(?). Doubtless you have read about his exploits in Southern Spain elsewhere in the ‘News’. Our plan was to have a gentle

ride off-road and get even closer to the scenery; Alan, Sandy, and Vic were taking a well-earned day off so it worked out well. Once kitted up and dressed by Fran we were off into the countryside.  Our day was unfortunately cut short by a small but catastrophic accident, which rendered one of our team unable to ride, however Spanish efficiency and good insurance saw him and road bike returned to the UK within the week. Big thanks go to Andy and Fran from Trailworld for going above and beyond the call of duty, making sure everybody was very well looked after.

Once our injured compatriot was safely sorted in hospital the three of us resumed our trip heading back North via a different route once again to the town of Caceres. A very different town this time due to a fiesta, something that the Spanish do really well and consequently one simply has to go with the flow and join in!

Another day, another national park, some great views, and more great food. Until you experience biking in Spain you cannot appreciate just how good the roads are, mostly traffic free, well surfaced and very twisty. Until recent years they have been all but police free as well, however during the last two years they have discovered the dreaded radar gun which has meant an increase in the presence of the Guada Civil, doubtless motivated by an ailing economy. I am pleased to say we did our bit and made a small contribution. Every little helps.

Zamora and back into to the Picos, As I said earlier the Picos De Europa really is worth a visit for any biker, you could easily spend a two week holiday just riding in this picturesque mountain range. In May which is when we usually go you can get bad weather, but more often than not its perfect, yes there is snow on the hill tops but the lush green valleys are dry and warm. We always stop the last night in the small mountain town of Potes. It’s a kind of a tradition now and one that we intend to continue. At a distance of 60 miles from Santander it’s a perfect last night stop prior to the return ferry which sails at 15:00. However if you get on the road by 08:30 then there is a 160 mile circular ride back to Santander that just has to be ridden. Again this has become a tradition and one that the whole trip is built around. A reminder of what continental motorcycling is all about, bendy roads, stunning views, no traffic, and near perfect road surface, life really does not get better than this.
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Are we going again despite this year’s mishap and having to leave a man behind? Yes of course, would we go anywhere else? Possibly, but to be honest, getting to anywhere that offers the same experience means huge mileage, and the chance of indifferent weather. Spain is the place to go, no contest.


*      Plan each day carefully
*      Don’t overdo it plan a day of no more than 250 miles in the mountains
*      STOP you see so much more that way and safely
*      Book hotels in advance online it's easy and most speak English
*      Use a Sat Nav, it's not wimpy, it will give you 100 miles a day riding time, nothing worse than a wet paper map on a mountain top in the snow
*      Make sure that more than one of you has a Sat Nav preferably the same type so you have a back up
*       If you fancy it use bike to bike comms, it adds another dimension to the trip, and it's always a laugh
*        Use google street view to check for road size and condition, it does help
*        If you are thinking ‘I would like to do that’ JFDI, there’s no problem a credit card cannot fix if required, and none of us are getting any younger!

Bon Voyage or should I say: Viaje Seguro!
Thanks very much to Martin B and his crew for that story - sounds like a brilliant holiday on two wheels.  If anyone out there wants to send us their comments or holiday stories please do we would love to hear them - email us at: [email protected]