France/Spain in February ?
 

Hi,

I am new to these boards but not new to riding - usually cover 20,000 plus miles a year but mainly over the spring/summer/autumn rather than in the depths of winter.

I need to get to Gibraltar in about 6 weeks time - mid February - and am considering doing the trip by bike just to be different. Can anyone advise on the following :

1. Likely weather through France/Northern/Southern Spain

2. Fuel availability in Spain on Sundays (France can be a nightmare if you are away from autoroutes)

3. Paperwork/insurance issues (for both me and the bike) if I decide to cross over to Northern Africa

Thanks in anticipation of your help,

Owen

1. cold, probably wet at points and getting slightly warmer further south. You might get lucky and be warm and dry all the way, but I tend to find the range of weather pretty much the same as the UK (certainly for France and N Spain).

2. can't remember it being a problem on the main routes.

3. passport, v5 (log book), insurance doc and drivers license. Try to make sure they all have the same name/address to make things easier. I think a photo license is going to make life easier too. Photocopies of these are a good idea. Talk to your insurance company, but they'll probably want you to specify dates and duration for Morocco (and France/Spain?). The Moroccan authorities probably won't care as long as they can check the 'has insurance doc' box, and you don't get into trouble.

You should go over to N Africa, it's not as difficult as you imagine.