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Solo Tour #2 Nailed

Discussion in 'Touring' started by riskypicker, Sep 30, 2021.

  1. Last year i did 2 weeks on the Monster, this year 2 weeks on the new to me Multi. Bloody marvellous.

    The fens to Plymouth and back aside, the journey was fantastic.
    Out of Santander toards Torrelavega then through the Picos to Riano.
    Riano to Chaves in Portugal. 3 days of awesome routes around that area.
    Quick stop of in Lixa to see an old mate and an eving in Porto.
    Then down to Covilha and the stunning Serra da Estrela National Park and 2 days round that area.
    Bit of a trek back up to Leon for a day off then a short hop back through the Picos and back to Santander.

    2247 miles all in. Getting back into the UK and the tests etc was the only slight b@ll ache but was totally worth it.

    Totally recommend it.

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  2. Brilliant, very envious. I am looking at riding the entire Douro river next year, Spain to Portugal. I shall investigate your route as mine does not look as good as yours for the first two days. Basecamp is telling me 5 hours a day is this too much?
     
  3. Serra da Estrela and Picos, in fact all of it is wonderful. Sounds like you had a great time.
     
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  4. I absolutely did. Restaurants not opening until 8pm took some getting used to though.
     
  5. A lot of my routes i stole straight from the Ride website as you can download the GPX file or open in Google maps. I would open in google maps, change the bits i wanted to and then convert the google map to a GPX, upload to basecamp and away you go.

    I found basecamp over egged the time it takes to do a route but i was doing 5 or 6 hours a day. After a couple of days your backside toughens up and the seat is no longer an issue which is another bonus.

    I 'think' i can share the gpx files from Basecamp if you wanted them as a starter for 10.
     
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  6. Very nice.
     
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  7. Yes please. I have yet to find a way to plan a route in Maps/Google earth
     
    #7 johnny, Sep 30, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2021
  8. I like that. Did you book places to stay ahead or just find somewhere to stay overnight when you had had enough riding for the day?
     
  9. I planned the days and the hotels. The daily routes were planned but for example one morning was a bit damp so i cut that day short a bit. All hotels were picked as they had reviews from bikers or had underground/secure parking.
     
  10. Exporting was easy but seems that this site wont allow .gpx files to be uploaded.

    Happy to email them over if you let me have an email address.

    With google maps you can put in your start, some destinations/stops and end point then drag and change the route. You then need the URL and something like https://mapstogpx.com/ to convert that route to a gpx file for your satnav or basecamp.
     
  11. Lovely
     
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  12. Or use the free version of MyRouteApp. The subscription version is worth the price of admission IMHO, especially at the €99 for a lifetime sub that they sometimes have on offer. Though I accept that many resent paying for something when they can get the knobbled version for nowt.

    I've written a little route sharing doohicky, here are my Portugal Garmin route files from my 2019 trip to Covilhã. These are from an earlier version of MRA where you could just add shaping points between end and start. Using the current version you can add intermediate waypoints, fundamentally a far better and more user friendly version of Garmin Basecamp with additional features such as Google and Michelin Mapping, Google Street View, HERE routing (same as Garmin use) etc, etc. Only in the paid version though.
     
    #12 Bumpkin, Sep 30, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2021
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  13. Oh heck, another journey I need to do. That looks fabulous. Thanks.
     
  14. Also, if I may ask: Rough costs for the ferry and typical hotel room.
    Many thanks.
     
  15. The hotels i stayed in ranged from £39 a night to £52 a night and were all fine. All clean and tidy but to be honest the bike parking was higher priority than a fancy room. Not that at any point i thought my bike might get lifted. I was pretty remote and had nothing that might worry you.

    The ferry was £462 there and £407 back. But i booked late and ended up with a 4 birth outward facing cabin. Which is exactly the same as a 2 birth which some people were complaining about. If youre more organised and dont want to look out the window i think they can be had a lot cheaper.

    I went from Plymouth as would rather the 3hrs extra on a bike getting there than the 12hrs extra on a ferry from Portsmouth. Theres a new flagship boat from Portsmouth but takes 32hrs? Not for me.
     
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  16. Many thanks. Room rates look great. Maybe I should just go Newhaven (5 miles away) Dieppe and add some continental miles.
     
  17. Great report. Looks like a good trip.
     
  18. Yeah ive thought about hopping the channel to France and high tailing it down to Spain. But it looks to take the same time (ish) as the ferry and would make more or a dent in the rear tyre.

    I put this new Metzeler 01 SE on 3 days before my trip and its got 2500 miles on it. Personally id rather not waste it getting where im going if that makes sense. Unless youre going blat round France of course.

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  19. Makes me want to get another large bike and do another big tour with Mrs Freak. It takes some time plotting routes, finding accomodation, but that is part of the fun I guess.
     
  20. I did it on a Monster last year, but no room for a passenger. Looking at bikes on the ferry, not everyone was on a big bike. Though they were on their own to be fair.

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