PT in Europe......

[Posh Tourer :P]

Yep, thats right, I'm heading to Europe, to find somewhere warmer. At the moment I am in a tent, and on Monday morning woke up to thick frost on my bike, and a frozen tent outer.... It is getting up to maximums of about 7-8°C, and they have just started gritting the roads. I have finished my job, and been chucked out of the flat (obviously), and I'm now in holiday mode...

Look out for a few updates ovr the next few months.
Any suggestions of favourite places,roads,things to see or do, would be interesting. I will be in parts of southern Spain, Morocco, southern Italy, Greece, and the Dalmatian Coast over winter, and heading further north as weather allows.

Incidentally, the campsite where I am staying has used a few of my photos in their new website, www.top-farm.info/surroundings.htm. Not all of them are mine, but the ones that are come up with my name on the file. Great campsite if you want to get away from civilisation a bit, something that is almost impossible to do in England...

Maarten

[Sniper]

Good to hear Maarten. Travel safe mate.

[Stevo]

Apparently Switzerland has some great twisty hills (from a post I read on here the other day).

Could you seriously not think of a better time of year to do your Europe bike tour???? Conditions here are now approaching superb. IMHO Your timing is about 6 months up the poo.

[parsley]

Great campsite if you want to get away from civilisation a bit, something that is almost impossible to do in England...
I disagree. There are large areas of England that are completely uncivilised - Milton Keynes, for example.

[Fordy]

San Sebastian is beautiful. The N523 from Caceres to Badajoz and E4 Navalmoral to Trujillo are (apparently) incredible. The Paradors are the place to stay if you want to treat yourself http://www.parador.es/english/index.jsp government run good value, but not cheap, hotels in historically significant buildings.

Essaouria (sp?) on the Morrocan coast is a tranquil spot, a complete contrast to the hectic buzz of Marakesh. Atlas mountains are superb. Brace yourself for the harsh contrast between the 'haves' and 'have nots' in in Morocco.

Southern Italy can be very wet this time of year, but Pompei/Herculaneum are a sight to behold.

Greece is a great place to discover little taverna's up a track on a hill, where the tourists don't go and you'll taste simple but fantastic cooking. I like Aegina, an island off Athens, but I guess you'll be sticking more to mainland Greece.

[Posh Tourer :P]

I disagree. There are large areas of England that are completely uncivilised - Milton Keynes, for example.

Hehe, true... Let me re-phrase that then..... perhaps 'get away from people' or 'minimise the number of englishmen around oneself'

[Posh Tourer :P]

Could you seriously not think of a better time of year to do your Europe bike tour???? Conditions here are now approaching superb. IMHO Your timing is about 6 months up the poo.

Well, I have about 15 months to do this thing. It is still around 15-20°C in the south of Spain, so that'll do me... Also, I'll still be there 6 months 'down the poo' when conditions will be perfect for a lot more of Europe. Anyway, Europe is better than England at the moment, and I'm not going to waste £600 coming back to NZ, when I could be seeing Spain, Portugal and Morocco....

[Hammer]

Check this site out: http://www.alpineroads.com

I used it when I was over there and it might be a help.

[mjvduc]

hey welcome in europe:blip: its bit cold up here that's true:yes:

stick around spain or southern italy as long as you can, if you wanna try greek drop me a line and I will talk to my work mate he is from athen.

have a lots of fun:banana:

mjvduc

if you need any advice concerning switzerland/italy/germany/austria let me know

[Posh Tourer :P]

Thanks for that MJV and Hammer :)

[wari]

Thanks for that MJV and Hammer :)

DONt fur-git marcus .. a-liarse brockhause in AUstria who tourd heer a couple'a years back. :yeah: .. marcus.eder@gmail.com

NIce fella .. tellim wari sent ya ..

MInd you .. itsa tad coldin Austria init .. :scratch:

[mjvduc]

f.... cold since yesterday:cold: not used to it anymore:angry:

if anyone finds his way to northern italy drop me a line, nice roads:2thumbsup tones of good looking girls:banana: and beer on mass:blip:


mjvduc

[clint640]

You lucky bugger

From my entire 5 days spent riding in Europe I can thoroughly recommend the Sudtirol & Bavarian Alps, but you'll have to wait for summer now. There's tolls on many of the cool passes but they're worth it.

Freytag & Bernt's Osterreich & Sudtirol Motorcycle Atlas covers a good whack of the alps & highlights all the cool roads at a good scale. It's in a binder with laminated pages y' can pull out & stick in yer tankbag or pocket. 'Bout 30 euros but well worth it.

Cheers
Clint

[Posh Tourer :P]

Here are a couple of piccies of the travels so far. There are more on my gmail account - pm me for pw/username..

Attached is where I am now staying, as it was a few days ago - with my bike visible in the garage...
Also a shot of the bike ready to get a going over, up on the stand in the garage
And thirdly, one of the bike on the ferry, nicely tied down... and I didnt even need to bring my own straps....

As you can see, it is a little cold here (still max 2, min -3, but the snow is now gone....), and I've booked the train for tomorrow morning, with bike, to Narbonne..... Warmth here I come!! I was planning to ride down, but it is easier and cheaper to takethe train, and it saves me lots of autobahn/motorway boring stuff (I'm buggered if I'm going to take the scenic route when it is this cold....)

It is over 10 degrees in Narbonne!!! :P, and over 15 on the coast of Spain....:banana:

[Zed]

Incidentally, the campsite where I am staying has used a few of my photos in their new website, www.top-farm.info/surroundings.htm (http://www.top-farm.info/surroundings.htm). Not all of them are mine, but the ones that are come up with my name on the file. Great campsite if you want to get away from civilisation a bit, something that is almost impossible to do in England...

MaartenBeaut pics man, 5 out of 12 pics on their website is something to be proud of, and those sunset/rise pics are stunning!

Godspeed Maarten. :ride:

[crashe]

Great pic's PT.....

Glad to hear all is going well for you on your OE....

I enjoy reading all your write-ups or your adventures around Europe and the UK.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Beaut pics man, 5 out of 12 pics on their website is something to be proud of, and those sunset/rise pics are stunning!

Godspeed Maarten. :ride:

Thanks Zed :)

[mjvduc]

hi PT,

are you currently in HAMburg??

btw a BMW is a "gummikuh" and not a kau:nono:


if you like the snow and something "special" that's a must do thing:

that's in italian, but the pic's are not bad:2thumbsup

http://www.elefantentreffen.it/modules/news/

here some infos in english, no we germans are not crazy:wavey:

http://www.bvdm.de/modules.php?name=Elefantentreffen&file=lang_en

have fun

mjvduc

[Posh Tourer :P]

Ta :) I might be able to drag myself up from sunny spain to do that, looks like good fun :D

gummikuh... oops, I just wrote it as I heard it......

Oh and yes, I am just south of Hamburg, but only for another 4 hours.... Then I'm on the train....

[Posh Tourer :P]

Ello ello ello....

Well, I´m currently just south of Valencia / north of Alicante, and the weather is fantastic - 20-odd degrees, 14-15 degrees minimums :) At the moment we are waiting for a bike shop in Cullera to fit a new chain to my friend´s bike. Anyway, lots of sunshine, and I´m travelling with a guy from Denmark, who I met on the train from Hamburg.

The trip from Calais to Hamburg wasnt *that* notable, apart from most of the second day spent at 90-100mph (150-160-odd kmh) all the way from Cloppenburg through to Hamburg... Autobahns are fantastic.....But only in small doses...

The auto train from Hamburg to Narbonne overnight also wasnt that notable, and I spent most of the time chatting with the 2 other guys in my cabin, one from Barcelona, and one from Hamburg. The guy from Spain spoke Catalan, Spanish and Swedish, and the guy from Hamburg spoke German and Danish, and I spoke English and a few words of German and Spanish....Somehow we understood each other though, so that was ok.....

Anyway, after getting out of France as quickly as possible, we hit some fantastic roads along the coast, on the southern end of the Pyrenees. We stayed the night at a hostel in Roses, on the coast near Cap de Crues. The road the next morning from Sant Feliu de Guixols to Lloret de Mar was absolutely awesome.......

We stayed that night in Barcelona, which has got to be the most fascinating city I have visited yet. The traffic is nuts, but at least they are aware of everyone around them.... There is something about the city though, it has an atmosphere which is fantastic at this time of year - not too hot, still sunny, etc etc.... You ought to try sometime a beer called Sant Michuel (or something similar) - it is 14 percent, like wine, and it tastes fantastic. Get a half pint and drink it with a chocolate dessert - ice cream or something....

After a day spent trying to get away from Barcelona (evil vortex that sucks you back in at every opportunity) and a hangover, the next day (yesterday) we took a scenic route up onto the plateau east of Zaragoza. 1000m up, some of the scenery is similar to the Central Plateau, but there are also ruined churches and little villages dotted around the place. The mountains are stunning, and it is a sight not to be missed.....

Last night we stayed in Valencia, but didnt see much of the city - it is not as spectacular as Barcelona, but still nice. I think I like Spain........ :)

Some pictures will come up soon... I havnt had that much of a chance to take any really good ones, but I have seen some great sights - scenery, sunsets, villages and cities.....

Maarten

[Posh Tourer :P]

Well, we stayed that night at Denia, worth mentioning as it is a great looking little town, and there is a fish market, which I would have been into like a shot if I had been able to use my cooker in the hostal somewhere......

After that was lots of travelling through the higher areas, down towards Granada and Malaga, near where I am now (www.campingelpino.com).....

The Costa del Sol..... would be great, but a lot of it is English...... :bleh::bleh:

Anyway, here are some piccies....

There is one in the Sierras somewhere northeast of Jaen, a not very good shot of a typical Spanish road - they vary between this and 80mph corners wide open and flowing..... fantastic!!!

Lastly, the obligatory pic of a sunset - on the Costa del Sol, but by no means the most spectacular I´ve seen - most of the time I´ve been having too much fun to stop and take photos..... This one was at the campsite.... It is what I look out on from my tent...

[Posh Tourer :P]

Oh and another update.....

I´ve managed to fall foul of the same rule twice..... Caught by the Spanish police, and paid fun tax to the tune of 100-odd euros. Ok Firstly fair cop for passing on a no-passing lane (line of cars behind a tractor, good vsibility but round a corner). BUT! Did you know, that on one of these solid white lines (like solid yellow in NZ) you cannot even turn left over one?? Stupid rules, but I suppose, thems the breaks. Both times, the policia were waiting, obviously at a known trouble spot.....

OTOH, speeding doesnt seem to be a great problem ??

[raster]

Great pics, thanks for the updates.

[Posh Tourer :P]

More Spanish driving observations....

If you park somewhere, and it happens not to be legal, put your emergency indicators on. This solves all problems of access and also suddenly makes everything legal. On the other hand, if there is a police car parked illegally, not only can you do the same, but you can also leave your emergency indicators OFF, thus blocking in nearly everyone in the carpark while you do your shopping.

When you are blocked in and want to leave, the correct procedure is to toot your horn until everyone comes running out and someone moves their car. Then, you must toot again as you leave.

If you are on a scooter or a motorbike, none of this applies as you can park anywhere you please and nobody cares...

[Beddhist]

BUT! Did you know, that on one of these solid white lines (like solid yellow in NZ) you cannot even turn left over one?? Stupid rules, but I suppose, thems the breaks.

It is worse: you are not allowed to even drive ON them, i.e. if your mirror is over the line you can get booked. Assume this is the case in most of Europe.


OTOH, speeding doesnt seem to be a great problem ??

Don't bet on it. If the Spaniards book you for speeding expect to pay more than 100€...

When it gets a little warmer don't miss the hinterland of the French Riviera. Bikers' paradise. I know, I've just spent 7 years there... Avoid the coast, however, it is the pits.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Ooer... Well I suppose it makes sense, as long as they apply some discretion....

Re speeding, if the Spaniards book you for speeding, you must have been doing something horrific from what I´ve seen, and you´d probably deserve 100 euros or more...