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Bilbao/Santander to Casares region
I am an all year round biker and would love to do a decent euro trip but due to family committments it will probably not happen for several years until our 12 year old lad has gone his own way. The wife and I have talked about touring Italy.
I am not sure I can wait that long. The company I work for may become involved in a job in the Casares region of Spain which will probably involve me being down there for a few days in October. I am considering getting a ferry to Bilbao or Santander and riding down. I love being in the saddle and the saying `better to travel than arrive` may have been coined for me. I am not afraid of covering longish distances in one hit. I have had a look on google earth and I estimate the distance to be around 700 miles each way in a rough `crow flying` direction A few questions for you seasoned travellers;- I own a Triumph Trident 900 with luggage and a Yamaha XTZ660 with luggage. Both have a range of around 200 miles including reserve. Are the roads good enough for me to make use of the Tridents extra power and cruising speed. (I can cruise comfortably at 85-90 on the Triumph, but only at about 70 on the Yam)? What would be an achievable average speed, and hence distance covered in a 10 hour day with say 8 hours continuous riding? What is the weather like in October? Any informed views most welcome! |
Off to Casares
Hi Mark,
I've done this run many times in my Land Cruiser. Which is why I take 2 easy days, stopping near Madrid. However, you're on a bike, the Bilbao boat arrives at 8am so you'll have an early start. The roads are excellent, only a few toll booths and no real traffic till you hit the south. The Trident will love it! Weather's as variable as here. It can be v.cold in the north and windy across the plains. Or not. Jojo |
My uncle drove from Santander to Cadiz (in a car) in a little over 10 hours, or so he claimed, so it seems feasible to do it in one very long day but there is so many nice places to stop on way for one night it would seem a shame not to stop.
An interesting half way(ish) stop would be Salamanca or Segovia (just north of Madrid) or Madrid. Or a bit further south, Merida is an interesting place. Seeing as you are in the area, and if you have time I would strongly recommend visiting Ronda. 90% of the roads to or from Ronda are great for some high speed cornering. The only place I experienced any real traffic was around Seville (July 08) but I should imagine you'd probably find some on the outskirts of Madrid, if you go that way. |
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