Ricardo's Motorbike Blog: Ride to Faro Bike Rally July 2014 Sat June 28th to Friday July 11th

Ride to Faro Bike Rally July 2014 Sat June 28th to Friday July 11th

This ride is something new for me, I am meeting two friends in Santander on July 9 th 2014 and leading a ride to Sagres in Portugal. We are then visiting the Faro Bike Rally before returning by ferry to the UK on 22nd July 2014 . I hope to update the blog on a daily basis , giving information of route and accommodation. My journey starts in Sagres arriving in Santander by the 8th July to meet the ferry the following day .

Saturday 28th June :

Only 3 days before I fly to Faro now . I just need to buy some earplugs and some new cleaning solution for my visor .

Tuesday 1st July :

"SURVIVING A FERRY SEAT "

This is not me !Lets call him Dave .

Having a seat/chair instead of a cabin can save you £80.00 , seats are not available on all crossings but if they are I go for it . The simplest way to board the ferry is to do as you are told . At the Ferry Port you will be told to attach a label to your bike and join the bike queue. You will be told when to board and where to go and park . I put my bike on the side stand in gear and make sure I haven't left the parking light on. Alarm and lock's are not a good idea, and certainly not necessary . An employee will strap it down, some people do it themselves but I wait for the experts.( On embarking its usual to take your own straps off , someone will help if you struggle).I leave as much as possible on the bike , I fasten my helmet to the bike with gloves inside . I have a pre-packed small rucksack with everything I need . Towel , toothbrush etc , trainers and shorts and a tee shirt . A book, sunglasses , sun cream and of course passport and money , which I keep with me at all times . In full bike gear I take note of the deck and go to find my seat which is allocated . Its like a small cinema . Outside the door is a toilet with shower and washing facilities . There is storage where you can hang up your bike gear . Having rode down from the north of England I am usually pretty tired but I wander round the boat have something to eat and a pint or two and go to sleep as late as possible . I usually sleep ok , but some may say different .( Lets call them Dave )With the night over I spend the following day relaxing , looking at maps etc .


I know its on the centre stand , but I have since been told the side stand is best !

Wednesday 2nd July :

I have arrived safely in Sagres . The apartment is fine , my ZZR started first time and the weather is perfect . However I have to confess to feeling a little nervous . I have to ride to Santander and I really don't know where I am going or where I am going to stay . We can not go the same way back , firstly it could be boring but most importantly we need to get back quicker to make the ferry . I am allowing 3 days and two nights camping to get back to the ferry . For the last night we have booked an Ibis hotel near the ferry port in Bilbao . The ferry leaves early in the morning . Anyway the plan is to leave this Saturday morning , so I will have to see how it goes .

Friday 4th July :

I set off tomorrow morning . I am heading for a camp-site at Merida in Spain . I had a couple of routes in mind but I think I will get on the Motorway at Evora . This will allow me to check out a camp-site near Beja which we may use on the journey back down. Had a trip to the race track at Portimao today , the WSBK's is this weekend and it was practice day . It is a 65 mile round trip from the apartment .

This is the entrance to the apartment . I have lost the key fob . When I can't climb over in full bike gear I am going to declare myself "past it"

The "PAST IT TEST"

Saturday 5 Th July :

Change of plan !! I had a late night but that's not the only reason . I just wasn't ready . Shouldn't have gone to the WSBK'S really. I could have left 11 ish , but decided to leave early tomorrow . I am now packed and organized . I am heading to a camp-site 250 miles from Santander, further on than my original plan . If it works out I think we can do the journey back in two days without too many problems . This is a bonus as we will have an extra day here to relax .

Sunday 6th July :

On my way ! At first coffee stop in Beja . Done 120 miles and its warm but cloudy so good for riding . I will be joining the motorway soon and heading into Spain . Its now 11.30 am .Last night I booked the Hotel in Trancoso for the 12th July , so we have a comfy bed to look forward too after 6 nights camping .

Arrived at camping Las Canadas . Its just 2 minutes off the motorway and about 100km from Salamanca nr Hervas. Its a top site www.lascanadas.es and ideal for our journey back . Done 376 miles but it was fairly easy . A full day but good roads and easy riding . I will detail the route later .

Its been cloudy all day and even tried to rain !!

Monday 7th July:

Packed up and ready to go . Slept ok as well.Should make Santander today . The clouds have gone and the sun is shining.

BEFORE!

AFTER!!

Ok the story behind this is I arrived at Camping el Molino de Cabuerniga and it was amazing, I chose a quiet spot in a huge field, with plenty of room for Paul and Brian nearby. I went to the shops and returned to find 2 Spanish families camped within 10 ft of me . I can hear them now ! Its BED TIME!!. They had a whole field to choose from ! I DON'T GET IT !
The camp site is 40 minutes from the Ferry Port in Santander. The ferry arrives at 6 pm on Wednesday so we will be back here in plenty of time to set the tents up before dark. We will be eating late , and chatting late into the night no doubt !!
The journey here was all motorway, the first 200 miles pretty boring , but the ride through the mountains is pretty spectacular for the final 100 miles or so and I am looking forward to doing it again on the way back.

Tuesday 8th July:(day off)

Despite my moaning about my space being invaded , this is the best camp-site I have ever stayed on .It even has a robot to cut the grass.

Route up date ; Sagres to Santander

Day 1 376 miles
Day 2 316 miles
Total Mileage 692 miles

Fuel bill 22.97 Euros
23.34 Euros
21.20 Euros
20.00 Euros

Total Fuel 87.51 Euros

Toll charge 4.90 Euros.

Accommodation

Day 1 14.40 Euros
Day 2 18.50 Euros

I took the IP2 to Evora in Portugal then the A6/IP7 (toll) to Badajoz on the Spanish border, then the EX100 (relief to get off motorway) to Caceres, where I joined the A66 motorway to Salamanca, leaving at junction 436 for the campsite. (96 km from Salamanca). Day 2 Took the A66 to Salamanca, then the A62 to Valladolid and Palencia, then the A67 to Santander.

Easily manageable in 2 days , some of the motorway was a bit tedious , but not a bad route to get to Santander quickly .

EEEE AWWWWW.

Wednesday 9th July:(ferry arrives 6pm)

The arrival. Then there were 3 !

Thursday 10 th July:

Yesterday was exciting , we had a late night catching up with tales from the Ferry . We retreated to the

bar at 10.30pm( after our fist gourmet meal) to watch the football and penalties meant extra drinks !!The only plan we had made was to discuss things in the morning . We had already decided to spend another night here rather than get straight under way. We were still having breakfast at 11.00am so we planned a short ride . We took the CA 280 to Espinilla , which was a great warm to get used to the roads. From here we took the A67 motorway back to complete a circular route of about 100 miles .

Tomorrow the journey proper starts , we need to be ready a bit earlier than today , and its going to get hotter !!

Friday 11th July: Cabuerniga to Palacios de Sanabria.

Today has been rather eventful. We gained a new group member Peter , and became 4 , unfortunately after the lunchtime stop , Peter parted company with us and we became 3 again . Also my bike started leaking oil AHHHHHHHHH!!!!. After input from Brian and Paul we narrowed it down to the rear shock , not the end of the world but it needs attention . Hints of mutiny also surfaced with rumbling complaints about the distance being excessive ,and the route to obscure . I managed to talk them down and after food and beer the mood was diffused .