Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts

Saturday 4 April 2015

Riding through Spain to the H-D Rally in Jerez in June?


If you are, you might want to consider this law regarding listening to music or communications systems, which includes motorcycle communications systems.



Basically, the use of any music or communication system with headphones or earphones is illegal. That means ear-buds for listening to music, or even speakers inside your helmet for talking to pillions or to other riders, is prohibited. You might want to consider this before riding in Spain.

This is the relevant part of the law, translated by Google…..

23514 Royal Decree 1428/2003, of November 21, by which approves the General Regulation Circulation for the implementation and development articulated text of the Law on traffic, circulation motor vehicles and road safety, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 339/1990 of 2 March.

Article 18, says: Article 18. Other duties of drivers. 1. The driver of a vehicle must maintain their freedom of movement, the required field vision and ongoing attention to driving, to ensure their own safety, the rest of the vehicle occupants and other users of route. For this purpose , you must take special care maintain proper position and that maintain other passengers, and proper placement of the objects or animals transported for no interference between the driver and any of them ( Article 11.2 articulated text). It is considered incompatible with compulsory attendance driving permanent use by the driver with the vehicle moving devices such as screens with Internet access , television monitors and VCR or DVD. Exceptions to these effects, the use of screens that are in view of driver and whose use is necessary for vision Access or down pedestrians or vision vehicles with rear camera manoeuvres and GPS device. 2. It is prohibited to drive and use headphones or earphones connected to receivers or sound players, except for the corresponding teaching and conducting aptitude tests open for obtaining driving licenses circuit two-wheeled motorcycle when so required by the Regulations on Drivers. Use is prohibited while driving mobile devices and other means system or communication, unless the development Communication takes place without using hands or use headphones, earphones or similar instruments (Article 11.3, second paragraph of text articles). Exempted from this prohibition agents authority in the exercise of the functions that have entrusted (Article 11.3, third paragraph of text Articulated). 3. It is prohibited in vehicles mechanisms are installed
or systems, instruments are carried or upgraded manner designed to evade surveillance the traffic police, or to be issued or made signs for this purpose, and the use of mechanisms radar detection.


So, the law is quite clear and you mustn’t do this.

A few years back, a friend and I were riding through Spain and we were using a bike-to-bike communications system to talk to each other as we rode. Early one morning, we were stopped by the Guarda Civil who, having seen the cables leading into our helmets, told us we must disconnect these and stop using them. They were very polite and told us it was illegal and didn’t prosecute us and we clearly were surprised by this unusual law.

Saturday 28 April 2012

An epic, soaking wet journey in the Cobra!

We finally arrived home in the UK last night in our Cobra, soaking wet and bloody cold! We did 1,661 miles, more than half of which was in really bad weather.

The first part of the drive, through Spain, was very good, in hot temperatures under blue skies. Then it all went wrong. Due to a faulty connection on the alternator, the battery wasn’t being charged properly and as the power dropped, the fuel pump cut out, leaving us stranded in the pouring rain, with no roof on the car, on a motorway, just 15 minutes away from getting our ferry back to Portsmouth from Northern Spain. Bugger!

After that, all subsequent ferries were cancelled due to the bad weather, or full, and we ended up having to drive through France in miserable weather to get a ferry from St Malo. Not normally a problem, this was a huge issue in a car with no roof – I don’t mean a convertible, I mean no roof whatsoever, which is no fun in the rain. The bad connection on the alternator turned out to be the alternator had a quickly failing terminal disease and another stop at another garage confirmed it was a specialist alternator and yes, they could get one in 4 or 5 days. We decided to drive on anyway, charging the battery whenever we could, so we could keep driving.

We got into Portsmouth last night in heavy rain and started driving on sidelights only in terrible spray, only turning on the wipers every few minutes in an attempt to preserve what little power was left in the battery. I really didn’t want to break down at the roadside in pouring rain, so headlights were out of the question. At least keeping moving causes most of the rain to get blown over the top of the car (okay it then blows backwards into the cockpit so our backs were pretty wet) and somehow, we made it back in 2.5 hours of hell. People were waving and honking their horns at us in support, but most were probably thinking we were crazy, which of course we were. I was wearing my Harley-Davidson motorcycle waterproofs and Jackie had the car cover over her to keep some of the water off.

Our son Jeremy had put up the gazebo so we could park the car on the drive under cover, but the wind was blowing it away, resulting in us having to tie it down. Anyway, we got home safely and a warming cuppa soon sorted us out, with clothes and gear dripping everywhere in the house. What a journey it had been, driving as we did from near Gibraltar in southern Spain, all the way to near London in the UK, in some of the worse weather I have seen. Madness!

Many thanks to Jackie for once again being a real trooper. She hates the cold and went the whole journey without a single complaint – I am so lucky to have her as a wife! Next time, let’s hope for better weather!

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Sunday 11 September 2011

Friday 12 August 2011

Spain - The Final Frontier. Plus, Police use Scooters?

Concluding our trip in Spain, Paul and I soon reached the northern coast of Spain and prepared to get on board a ferry to take us back to the UK. The last few miles soon raced by as we went through the mountains to get to Bilbao, where the ferry port is located.

Before we arrived there, we had some terrific roads to ride on, set in spectacular scenery. We passed a lake with a very low water level....


























We took roads that twisted through gaps in the mountains....




















Here we had stopped to fix the GoPro video camera to my Harley-Davidson Road King while Paul checked his e-mails....




















The gorge we rode through was very twisty and great fun. We came out the other end with big grins on our faces!....




Stopping for lunch on the northern coast of Spain, we had an exceptional view....





















We stayed the night in Hondarribia, which is right on the frontier between Spain and France. This was the view from the hotel, with Spain on this side of the river and France on the other.  One could say, the final frontier we saw....




















Hondarribia is in the Basque country in northern Spain and this region is an Autonomous Community within Spain. It has its own language and this is immediately noticeable with road signs being very different from the majority of Spain. We stayed once again in a Parador hotel which was a converted from a 10th century fortress castle. The hotel has thankfully retained many of the castle’s original features, including one wall left in its original rubble condition....





















A main dining room....





















A massive stone staircase....





















The bar area....





















Paul and I walked into the main part of the town which being a Friday, was packed with many families, friends and groups all out enjoying the evening and the start of the weekend. The atmosphere was terrific and very laid back. We noticed this scooter, which very unusually, was a police bike! I have never seen a scooter like this before....




















The next day, our ferry didn’t leave until the evening, so the two of us took a ride into France, to the town of Biarritz. Being on the Atlantic Ocean, the waves are often good enough for surfing, in a pretty spectacular setting....




















More views along the coast as we made our way to the ferry....





































In Bilbao, we went to see the famous Guggenheim Museum, a contemporary art museum designed by Frank Gehry. The building is known as one of the most important pieces of modern architecture in the world and it is easy to see why....




















We didn’t go inside the museum, for it was the building we came to see.

Interesting public art outside the museum....







































A final shot of the two of us on this trip....




















And one of our bikes, which had performed tirelessly and without fault....




















On the way to the ferry, we had to cross a river by a ‘flying transporter bridge’. Capable of carrying just 6 cars (or 5 cars and our two bikes) the bridge is not really a bridge at all, but a cable car that you drive into, slung beneath a tall steel structure across the river. This picture is looking back at the structure....





















Paul, sitting on his bike paying the bridge attendant for the crossing....




















From our ferry leaving Spain....





















It was on the ferry that I discovered I had left my laptop behind in the last hotel we stayed at and a quick phone call confirmed it had been found in my room, where I had left it. It was a relatively easy job to get it couriered back to me in London.

As the ferry arrived back in Portsmouth on the south coast of England, we saw a passenger-carrying hovercraft and we passed a huge aircraft carrier, moored in the navy dockyard....



































Paul and I had enjoyed an excellent motorbike tour of Spain. We had seen a great deal of the country, mainly from back-roads. It is a huge and fascinating place, full of history and character. We had travelled 2,659 miles / 4,279 kms and learned much of the way of life in many parts of Spain that the tourists rarely see. We had seen glorious weather and had only been rained on for about 30 seconds, just before leaving England.

As ever, Paul is a tremendous riding partner and we cheerfully waved each other farewell as we headed back to our own homes and our wives late on a Sunday night.

A few pointers about motorcycle touring in Spain....
  1. The roads are of a very good quality
  2. Beware of people walking on the roads, where very often there are no pavements / sidewalks
  3. Away from the motorways and the main roads, there is almost no traffic
  4. Away from the motorways, there are very few places to stay the night. Hotels and campsites are few and far between, so book ahead.
  5. Away from motorways and especially on the back-roads, take every opportunity to fill up with fuel, especially on Sundays. Fuel filling is nearly always done by an attendant.
  6. Beware of the lunchtime drinking culture, even by drivers. While we didn’t experience any problems at all, we did see many drivers (including truck rivers) drinking alcohol in the cafes and bars we stopped in for lunch
  7. It can get very hot in July and August. Drink a lot and wear sun screen
  8. Few restaurants serve dinner at night before 2030. Many don’t open until then.
  9. Plan your motorbike ride to pass through mountain areas. The roads there are fantastic!
  10. Away from the coast, very few people speak anything but Spanish, but this is okay. Learn 10 Spanish words and everyone will try to help you!

Saturday 6 August 2011

This Blew Me Away....

Just occasionally you find something that completely blows you away.

Depending on what you are like, that might be a painting, a beautiful woman or man, a sunset, a landscape or just about anything that is stunning.

In the final few days of our motorcycle trip across Spain, Paul and I found a city called Ávila that was truly amazing because of the medieval wall built around it.

At the top of a nearby hill, we climbed off our bikes and just stood and looked at the amazing sight of the city before us. It blew me away....

(if you have never double-clicked on a blog photo before, now is the time)......














A short un-edited video overlooking the city....




The medieval wall surrounds the whole city and is about 40 feet or 12 metres high. There are 88 of the semi-circular towers built into the wall....





















Ávila dates back to the 5th century BC, when it was inhabited by The Vettones who were one of the pre-Roman Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula. The main wall surrounding the city was started in 1090.







































The city also contains a high number of Roman and Gothic churches, one of which is extraordinary. The main Cathedral took 300 years to build between the 12th and 15th centuries. It contains a mixture of designs, reflecting the change in styles over the period of it's construction. This is the main entrance facade....



























Just inside the entrance is a wooden model of the Cathedral, which was helpful to get an overview of the complex shape and sizes of its various parts....






















The symmetry of the stone ceilings cannot fail to impress....
























The scale of the interior is very impressive....






























There is a stone screen that divides one part of the Cathedral from the main altar. The carving on the screen is exquisite and took 12 stonemasons five years to complete....
























A book of songs, from the 5th century....





















Ávila is a truly amazing place and we walked around the myriad of small narrow streets just looking at the incredible buildings and places to see. What a place this is....

































Even though we returned from Spain a few weeks ago, I wanted to include a couple of final posts of that trip. I am so behind in my blogging!