Spain trip | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Spain trip

Just took a quick spin down A7075 on your google maps and it looks fun.
 
Unsurprisingly, I am in the midst of rebooking everything due to the coronavirus outbreak. Extending the trip a little to make use of hotel rooms that I've already bought and paid for and still going to a WorldSBK round - this time the one at Portimao first weekend in September.

Roughly ... Fly out Monday arrive Malaga Tuesday and pick up the bike Tuesday evening. Ride to Jerez (same hotel as originally planned ... it's already paid for), stay there Wed evening. Ride from Jerez to Portimao Thursday, stay in Portimao Thurs - Fri - Sat - Sun. Ride back to Jerez, stay there Mon - Tue (again, already paid for). Ride to Malaga Wed to return bike and fly home Thurs.
 
@Brian P we spent 12 days in Spain last year and loved it...went to Madrid and Barcelona...wanted to rent bikes in Madrid but they were mostly closed because of August vacations, however we did rent a 300 cc scooter in Barcelona and rode up the coastline...spectacular scenery for sure...our train ride from Madrid to Barcelona showed some pretty impressive landscapes as well...went from dry Arizona like deserts with Utah colours to lush tropical forests...enjoy if you do get the chance to go...the people and culture are amazing...
 
Yep but probably no spectators. Although Spain wants to open up to international tourists in July, the first step will be opening internal borders within the Schengen zone. It remains to be seen how the EU handles international tourists from outside the EU ... it will probably depend on how individual countries handle the virus. Our numbers in Canada have been going down, and the projections I'm seeing suggest that we should be pretty much done with it by mid July. I think that's a little optimistic but August may be possible. It's going to be close. AirFrance still shows my flight as being confirmed, and it also suggests that changes can be made free of charge. We shall see.
 
Hopefully by September this pandemic will be mostly sorted out ... vaccinated ... and I expect that this will become a requirement for international travel. So ...

Let's try this again. I just requested a rental from IMT for the last week of September. This dovetails nicely with another rescheduled trip from 2020 to do Racing School Europe at Aragon for three days, and will let me combine both events into one trip.

The plan now is to pick up the rental in Malaga, go to World Superbike at Jerez, return to Malaga, take a train to Barcelona, spend a couple days there, then hook up with the tour group that eventually ends up at Aragon for three days.

Things I did not know until a couple days ago ... Spain has a pretty extensive high-speed rail network. Malaga to Barcelona (~ 1000 km) in less than 6 hours. Goes up to 300 km/h. Pretty reasonable cost, too. I'd rather do that than fly.
 
Brian P said:
Things I did not know until a couple days ago ... Spain has a pretty extensive high-speed rail network. Malaga to Barcelona (~ 1000 km) in less than 6 hours. Goes up to 300 km/h. Pretty reasonable cost, too. I'd rather do that than fly.
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The highspeed train is a great way to travel around in Spain. I've taken it several times between BCN and MAD, and to Seville. Avoiding baggage delays, and extra transport into the city. Though I didn't realize it went from Malaga to Barcelona, you might want to check on that from what I understood there were only some areas served by the highspeed trains.
 
Yep, the extension into Malaga is evidently fairly new (2007). They're still building out the system. It appears that most of the time, it is a two-segment trip (Malaga to Madrid then Madrid to Barcelona) but there's one non-stop per day that bypasses Madrid, cuts out a couple hours and a transfer in Madrid.
 
Brian P said:
Yep, the extension into Malaga is evidently fairly new (2007). They're still building out the system. It appears that most of the time, it is a two-segment trip (Malaga to Madrid then Madrid to Barcelona) but there's one non-stop per day that bypasses Madrid, cuts out a couple hours and a transfer in Madrid.
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I thought so, well I was in Malaga well after 2007 and couldn't find a suitable train route to Barcelona, so I flew using Vueling, I believe, with a ridiculous fare around $27 euro's. For comparison the train between BCN and MAD with return is about $100 (tourist coach).
 
Can't speak for Spain, but the high speed trains in Italy are incredibly civilised. Best way to travel. Generally bang on time, comfy, stations are usually in the city (minimising cab/transit time), and whizzing through the countryside at 300 km/h is a great way to see things from a different perspective. It's like a road trip in fast-forward.

The trip sounds incredible. I think the biggest issue you'll have will be returning to Ontario's potholes, frost heaves, gravel-strewn intersections, low speed limits, and humourless police. I know there are places in Germany and Italy that'll rent sportbikes, which might be more fun on those impeccable Spanish mountain roads. I've read too many UK bike magazine tests in southern Spain, I think, but I'd really want some clip-ons...
 
:LOL: I think you should take a tour of the Montesa factory and bring me back some parts.
 
Trials said:
:LOL: I think you should take a tour of the Montesa factory and bring me back some parts.
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In september 2021? Maybe you should have bought more bikes so you had your own spares.

Your retirement job can be "Trials' Bike Breaking and Fixing Emporium". Whether you want to crash into trees, rocks or water, we've got you covered.
 
Brian P said:
I've requested a BMW F800GT ... we'll see if it's available.
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Fingers crossed. At least it has normal forks and isn't shaft drive...
 
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