Auspanglish

Adprom, thanks for taking the time and sharing your journey and the sights and sensations. These are the posts I like the most. Chronicles of rides, with pics, whether it be a morning half-day squirt, or a 2 week pan-continental. I have deleted my off topic drivel. In retrospect it was clouding an otherwise perfectly enjoyable ride report. Apologies.

The final solution... Emmm... Definitive version!! https://goo.gl/maps/iqYtm3NqBKF2

FUSAR: Anagram for Forgotten Untold Supporters Are Ripped-off

Thanks Sancho!!

Bastards The hell I was put through due to the stator (and wiring) of the 6th gen. Took em nigh on a dozen years to sort that. They should be sued. I should sue them.

OK so I have figured out, MC buddies' local knowledge pending, the curviest yet most direct route possible down to Murcia from the Picos, but to the east of Madrid instead of down the Portuguese border. Something like this... (the last couple of images are links to the routes on a mapping site you can save for your GPS).

I actually used my Krafft spray chain lube (non-teflon)... Seemed to have the consistency, didn't choke the engine at high RPMs or speeds, didn't drip into the airbox with the bike at operating temps. Light application from a good distance (20-25cm). Only data on composition and specs I can find is: Mix: Naphtha (petroleum), hydrotreated light Phosphorodithioic acid, mixed O,O-bis(iso-Bu and pentyl) esters, zinc salts. Kinematic viscosity Less than 20.5 mm squared per second at 40ºC In hindsight probably highly flammable and not the best inventive idea I've ever had.

You've probably outdone yourself! I like it! With full definitive livery it will be exquisite!

SO seeing as I'm thinking of using 12/04 to explore the Picos de Europa in more depth and spend two nights at the hotel in Boca Huergano... the loop I posted earlier is getting 'hornier' with several tangents... a good 5 and a half hours' worth of mountain passes and moto-curvature, not including degustations, ablutions and "repostajes de gasolina".

This Canon 400D uses a CF card... not SD... and I can't find a wifi-enabled CF that isn't just a networking card for a computer... it's the memory card so it needs to have a shedload of memory for pics and the capability to link say... the camera to my mobile (remember I'm not taking the laptop, it's not that critical that I upload pics to forums and social media to have my laptop vibrated to bits... poor thing is a Toshiba from 2002... still does eveything perfectly... but the wireless on/off switch is starting to fail... gonna have to open her up and either hotwire it on all the time or some mod like that). Anyway, now we're getting off topic. I'll just do the pics when I get home to Murcia and offer some instamatic snaps from the mobile from the hotel(s).

Thanks... wish my SLR had wireless smart options... I'll be taking the odd photo with that (a relatively old Digital Canon EOS 400D w/ Canon 28-80mm and Sigma 70-300mm lenses) but won't be taking a laptop so no pics other than those from a smartphone with a 13 megapixel camera, which in theory shouldn't be too shabby, until I am settled back in Spain. Funny I used to take much better pics with my old 'analogue' film reel SLR...

So having made up my mind (and paid for the ferry), I'm mooring at Santander, capital city of Cantabria (the Cantabrians will not be impressed if you say Asturias... I have a friend of many years who is Cántabro and I tease him, pretending to forget and call him "Asturiano" and even after more than ten years I'm not quite sure he can take the joke), on 11/04... that's the 4th of November for you 'Mericans and the 11th of April for the rest of us, at 18:15h. Sunset is officially at 20.59h leaving me roughly 2 and a half hours of sunlight, which is what Google says I need to get to where I'm thinking of staying the night: Boca de Huérgano. This, is all Wikipedia has to say about Boca Huergano (do I hear duelling banjo and guitar?): Boca de Huérgano (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈboka ðe ˈwerɣano], Leonese language: Boca de Güérganu) is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2010 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 531 inhabitants. So I will wheelie off the ferry with the following route on my GPS (Satnav for you poms). First bit is highway, in Oz where I learnt my English we say highway (motorway or freeway for you foreigners)... and the last bit is what they call a National road... it's maybe a byway for the USAranians, it's a highway but there is no large median strip between the two different directions of traffic, often has two lanes per direction and higher top speeds (than country roads, but less than highways or tollways) and in good nick... but I get off that ASAP and take what they call Provincial Roads... backroads basically... might be two way, may not have markings, can have tractors lying in wait, cows and other obstacles. There is a pass I come into off the backroad which may or may not still be having roadworks done... cross fingers. With squiggles like this I just have to try (Mr Squiggle, the man from the moon, eat your heart out; sorry Aussie reference)... Here's an idea of the classification of roads in Spain (with pictures for non-Spanish speakers and Timmy). Yes, Km/h!! My main POI on the trip is to see (and ride) the Picos de Europa so the next day I will do something like this loop between breakfast and morning tea (almuerzo)... That will take me through places that look like this: Probably will go past Oseja de Sajambre up to Soto de Sajambre and then back to the loop. Then I have the rest of that day, probably another 8 hours of daylight which is how long Google says it take in a straightish line... and all the next day to make it to Murcia, my home again after 2 years working abroad in a land where the sky constantly falls on your head and they drive on the side of the road which is not right, it's left. I realize now that my timeframe has been limited by circumstances differing to earlier... now I'm leaving later and also have a due date (14/04 not too late in the PM) which I previously didn't have... that I could essentially get back that same day (12/04) if going East of Madrid where there are plenty of curvey options, instead of going west down the Portuguese border and across to Murcia along the Betic ranges... I could get home that same day (more pain than fun) or take it easier and enjoy it over 2 days, which I do prefer. As such I may very well take the entire 12th just to make incursions into the Picos de Europa from different angles and try and see the most of it... so here's a tanget I could easily add onto the above loop... In as much as from there to my Endpoint Destination ...As the crow flies-ish it looks like this... I am awaiting well known local info on the least straight line for the journey over 2-3 days to the East of Madrid... as I said, probably won't do the Portuguese border route. It's the green patches... national parks and mountains... that's where the good motorcycling stuff is. Wish me luck.

I'm feeling decidedly neanderthal gear-wise. Couldn't feel my feet on arrival to Oxford from picking up the bike near Hastings in November. If I weren't heading imminently back to SE Spain I would invest in some heated gear. The heated grips that came on the bike made the 2.5 hour trip back just humanly possible. Had enough of the cold. I reckon the cold is only good for making the ice for my drinks and slowing putrefaction. How did humans ever end up populating places like Greenland, and why do they call it Greenland? Surely it's Whiteland.

Smoked bacon might fry... Hmm.

At £163 on the 10th of April even though I don't have a cabin with a bed it's just a reclining chair probably an uncomfortable one it certainly takes the economic argument of whether to go over land or by sea I would get off the ferry at just after 6 in the afternoon in Santander so probably straight to a hostel or hopefully someone from the Spanish VFR forum has a bed for me and then the next day head off to see how far up the Picos de Europa I can get before I reach some sort of snow or ice line, then leg it home down to Murcia in the South East via the mountain ranges that I can find along the way probably down the Spanish Portuguese border and then cut across from there along the Sierra Morena to find the most amazing and beautiful Penibética system traversing Cazorla and Río Mundo national parks (endless curves for days that will warp your brake discs if you're not careful) and home.

Congrats

Funnily enough this time I CAN see the pics. Weird was what came to mind. Maybe clear would work better. Anyway tastes are like asshole, everyone has one. Don't mean to be one. Having ridden almost all winter here in Oxford I do empathize with you. My Tigress has heated grips and wind protectors, just a matter of stereotyping I guess, you expect a "trail" bike to have them. Ungainly looking as they are I surely would have lost my fingers to frostbite on bringing the bike from Hastings way back here in November without them. I can imagine, now I've experienced UK riding, using a heated vest or jacket... and even pants ... but heated gloves sounds cumbersome. How does that wire up? Out the sleeve hems I guess.

Also my French is crapê

The plot thickens! Thanks for the real life experience advice. I haven't completely written off taking the ferry. Precisely because that part of France looks and sounds like a non-event biking-wise. Lots of rather dull miles me thinks. Weighing up options. Will check availability for ferry ride again tomorrow and come to a decision. Wife wants me to take ferry so that's a heavy factor leaning towards the maritime shortcut!

Sebspeed is synonymous with quality craftsmanship!!

Awesome firsthand knowledge! Thank you! I'm well acquainted with the Pyrenees so I know how right you are!

Thanks guys. I was actually contemplating not doing anything francospecific and just pulling the "I'm an ignorant Australian" and apologize profusely... But I know ignorance of the law does not equate to being exempt.

Hoots mon!!

Yes I have a Spanish licence, intend to run the bike through the MOT before leaving and have insurance with roadside assistance and coverage for Europe. I paid the tax online and have the V5C in my name etc. I'm not a British or European citizen though, I do have permanent Spanish residency and a visa for the UK until March 2019 so I usually use the "other" lane at customs. So I figure I'll grab a cheap French road rules pack online I see offered with hi-viz overcoat and breathalizers and a GB sticker... There's something else I'm seeing about helmets having to have reflective stickers front back and rear of a certain size... Maybe I need Christmas lights as well.

So now I'm thinking of taking the Chunnel and crossing France to get to Spain instead of taking the ferry from southern England. While looking at possible routes of interest for heading north to south though western France (which appears to be mostly flat so perhaps either coastal cruising or traversing a few national parks is all it has to offer a motorcyclist (any tips on route much appreciated)), I've come across the odd webpage claiming that new motorcycle road rules have been imposed since 2016 which are instant fines if not followed (easy moneytrap for unassuming foreigners) including the following: - Hi viz vest must be warn if not on/in vehicle when stopped at roadside (assume motorways/highways/freeways), so you may as well be wearing it already if on a bike because as soon as you step off on the roadside... - Conversion kit if headlights shine the wrong way (British vehicles in Europe). This may not be a problem if your vehicle is new enough to be the sort that shine straight as they tend to nowadays. Otherwise you will be blinding oncoming traffic and if that traffic includes a cop car... bingo. - Spare set of lightbulbs and fuses carried onboard - 2x breathalyzers (in case you use one you'll still have a working one). Don't French cops carry these? - Sticker with abbreviation of your country of origen like GB (Great Britain) CH (Switzerland) AFG (Afghanistan) E (Spain) - Extensive documentation and proof of roadworthiness and insurance, etc. (In spain they can check through HQ if you've got insurance) and/or a letter from the owner, if you aren't, granting you permission to use the vehicle on the dates in question... not sure if this must be in French via sworn translator. - Lane splitting is a big no go Anyone know if this is something the police are actively fining for? Will I get pulled over and grilled? Now to find out if my lights lean to the left, could be a prob in Spain too if they do. I don't mind wearing the vest but want one that meets the law's standards and is robust enough to survive being worn on the bike although I understand I could swivel around and pull it out of the topbox, or perhaps they are not so desperate for revenue they would fine me in the few seconds it would take me to dismount and get it out of the topbox... cause the flapping around while I'm riding will get annoying and will eventually surely destroy the vest. Any Euroadvice??