Sam1199's Story - "just Popping Out On My Bike" - Something We'd All Love To Do!

I’ll be heading south on it next Monday with six other reprobates. Wave if you see us!

 

Yes. Fond memories.
I tend to check out the roads both for size and surface condition using Google street view. The reprobates are very fussy; some expensive wheels to protect etc. Don’t know what they are going to make of the A447 NE of Alanis in the national park north of Seville... (Tiny, rutted, very tight in places.)

 

Great poppy pics.
Poppy pics are not easy...
Ps Loving the high heeled boots - the girl has style...

 

The Bonza dog doo-dah.

This is Jake. Every village in Spain seems to have happy little dogs running around but you couldn’t wish to find a happier little fella than this one. Even though he is not just short but short of one leg, he gets around perfectly well as a triped.

We were watching him dash around Ubeda as we were having a glass of red wine and some tapas. He came up, said hello, sniffed around and took off to the little hedge opposite.

We were speculating that his life was made easier not having to cock his leg, providing he was facing the right direction but what happens if he wasn’t?

When, I kid you not this dog did a perfect handstand, relieved himself and carried on about his business thinking nothing of his acrobatics.

It was hilarious, the timing was perfect, the handstand was perfect. Why wouldn’t he just stand on three legs like a normal dog, nope, he had to make an exhibition of himself.




We’re staying in a really lovely hotel in Ubeda for the sum of £47 per night for the two of us including breakfast! Ubeda is certainly worth a visit if you’re over this way and the Alvaro de Torres Boutique Hotel is a really nice little hotel with ample sized rooms, why pay more?

Even the road over here was much more enjoyable than I’d feared.













The hotel








Yesterday morning I ordered a new Michelin 5 for the Multi. To be delivered to my brothers post box in Spain, while I’m on tour. Pick it up, get the local fella to stick it on, job done, but no. My plan is shot to bits.

Oponeo can’t get one for at least a week, maybe longer. This is Spain, that means maybe a month. I didn’t see that coming. Plan dead.

Now what do I get? Metzeler, I like Metzelers, in fact I hated the last Michelin with a vengeance but thought I’d give the 5 a go. Which Metzeler? An 01, that’s a touring tyre but should I get the HWB? Or should I say sod it I only really ride in the dry and get an M7?

Thanks to PilotPaul of the forum I think I’m going to order a Metzeler 01 HWB.

Let’s hope they can supply what they claim to be selling.

 

Great blogging Sam, keep the posts coming

 

Gosh, they really are long...

 

They do seem to be getting long, perhaps too long. Great to know people are enjoying it though.

I always find it interesting when other people post up about their trips. It makes me want to go to more places.

I must catch up with Chiz’s reports. I hope he’s resurfaced.

 

Nah, they're not too long. Even if some think they are least you're adhering the rules by interspersing them with pictures

 

The legs, not the posts...

 

Ha, funny. Nice one.

 

Depeche Mode or Lou Reed?

The breakfast at the Alvaro de Torres Boutique Hotel in Ubeda was unbelievable. It was a tasting menu for breakfast. Course after course.

I can’t recommend the place highly enough.

Go to Ubeda, stay in that hotel. A really nice family run small hotel where they take pride in giving clients really high quality food and accommodation. I’ll make a point of going back and I told them so.



I had a great day. Dulcinea del Toboso was not so enthusiastic. At some point this morning I hit sport mode. It helped rounding the many tight bends and stopped that slight wallowing in touring mode. At one stage ascending, the road was so rough I hit Enduro, again.

Before leaving The Uk I upped the settings. Sport and touring are on maximum preload, 24. I also firmed up the touring mode by one notch on each. I think it said firm but whatever, it’s one notch up from standard. This was an attempt to stop the slightly bouncy wallowing feel in standard touring mode.

Well, as I said I hit sport mode sometime this morning and it went round corners much better and there were lots of them. Lots and lots and lots. Fab.

Cut to 4pm this afternoon and Dulci said her whole body ached. She’d felt every bump and it was painful. Have I changed anything? She’d also been trying to move forward almost getting onto my seat as hers had been so uncomfortabley rock hard.

I fessed up. “Oh, well yes I put it into sport mode sometime this morning and forgot about it”. (As it was going round bends so nicely).

There’s obviously a huge difference in feel between rider and pillion, I was quite happy. I changed it back, Dulci said it was chalk and cheese.

A happy pillion is a good pillion. Lessen learned. In fact I realised today that she’s a better pillion than passenger in a car. How does that work? I can only surmise the height above ground makes her less aware of speed.

If you’re going to do one road before you die, make it the A348 which runs along the south side of the Sierra Nevada. Empty, smooth and you just waft from side to side. Miles of it, just miles and miles.

I had a heavenly day, gently accelerating through bends time after time. Left right, left right. The rear tyre is squaring off but not as much as I thought it would. Basically because I’ve been on the side of it.

We went over the pass south of Guadix, the A-337 to Laroles. Had a really nice lunch in the sun. Menu del Dia, 3 courses, a sin alcohol beer, followed by a cafe solo, all for £10.60 per head.

Do you folks ever wonder why I keep coming back here? I won’t eat anything else today and the road after that was just a singsong.

Then rather than do the motorway we ran along the super smooth tarmac beside the Mediterranean from Almunicar to Nerja.

‘Perfect day’. Lou Reed.

 

Chain of Fools.

Couple of days taking it easy before the next leg.

Cleaned the bike. Checked the chain tension, oil and tyre pressures. Lubed the gear change and WD40’d the pannier locking mechanisms.

After the mess up of ordering the Michelin 5 that they couldn’t supply I ordered a Metzeler 01. I knew what was going to happen and it has. Or it hasn’t.

The tyre hasn’t arrived and I’ve departed. The Scorpion still has life in it so I’m not too worried. Bro2 will have to pick it up for me from his post box. Along with the screen spacers from Jamie Clare.

I knew the chain needed tightening as it kept hitting me in the back of the neck, so to speak, when going on and off the throttle. I hate that with a slack chain. Combined with the Ducati slack in the twist grip its a pain in the neck. It spoils the smooth ride.

Out with the various sets of hex keys. Crud catcher off, go to loosen the pinch bolts. 8mm hex key out, no, too small. 9mm hex key, still too small. 10mm hex key...too big? What?

Check again, 9 and 10mm? The pinch bolts take a 9.5mm hex key? = 3/8ths?

What?

What? Expletives. More expletives. Can you believe it?


Where the hell am I going to get a 9.5mm hex key from at 6pm on a Saturday?

I thought I’d done well bringing not just 8mm and 10mm hex keys but a 9mm as well. Most sets just jump between 8 and 10mm. As I’m sure you know. I’d also got the special hookey C spanner for adjusting the chain and...and the the 55mm socket for the rear wheel, should I need it. I was all set. Mofo!

Shops stay open until 8pm in Spain, so twenty five minutes down to the mega Chinese shop in Torre del Mar. All the colours in all the sizes but a 9.5mm hex key, no chance. I knew I was grasping at straws. Getting one of those anywhere in Spain or Portugal is going to be a problem. This one’s going to run and run. I’m going to need a plan B.

So, pizza, salad, anchovies and a bottle of red wine from the nearby supermarket, into the top box and back to base. Eat drink swear and forget about it because there’s nothing I can do.

It goes against the grain to have to ask a motorcycle shop to adjust the chain but I think I’m going to have to do it. I didn’t have this size problem with the Panigale. Who designs something with a 9.5mm hex key? Check on YouTube, yup, 3/8ths which equals 9.5mm. Regular Multistrada riders will know this but this is my wife’s bike, as I keep telling her. And no there isn’t one in the tool kit because that’s one of the pitfalls of buying 2nd hand...no toolkit.


Sunday, extra lube on the chain and we were off again. A lovely ride along twisties to El Burgo. Refreshments in the busy noisy cafe on the roundabout. Pictures sent to Bro6 and Bazzer just to piss them off. I’m here, they’re not. Hahaa, it’s got to be done. They’d do it to me. It’s a time honoured tradition.

As we went by on the mountain road I also pointed out to Dulcinea del Toboso the scene of Bro6’s off road experience last year. Which I’m sure filled her with warmth and confidence. Not.





We carried on to the white hilltop village of Zahara de la Sierra, which overlooks a lake. I’ve written this place up before but it’s so pleasant it’s impossible to pass. There’s a little one way street in the middle with bars and cafe’s, full of locals creating a spectacular amount of noise just by talking and waving at each other while reprimanding their kids.

Photo bomber.

On Sundays the entirety of Spain goes out to lunch. To talk loudly and be with friends. Why not?

After sitting there for ten minutes I said why don’t we stay here? So we booked a hotel and here we are in Zahara de la Sierra en route to Cádiz.

When I was 17 or 18 I was on my 250 Suzuki taking my girlfriend of the time to Blackpool. We stopped off somewhere in the Peak District to thaw out.

On hearing my accent a local struck up a conversation. Where am I from, where am I going? Nice fella.
Then after knowing me for all of two minutes, in his really thick local accent which made his statement all the more effective and memorable, he declared;

“You’re a roamer you. You’re a right roamer”!

He was right. I’ve never forgotten it.

 

Doubled up photos driving me crackers trying to sort it. Maybe El T can take them out.

 

I can confirm your observation regarding Sunday lunch. Was in Medina de Rioseco yesterday for lunch and the place was heaving. Great lunch, though. Found an excellend wine bar in the walls at Avila last night. A proper wine bar with bottles everywhere. And there were about 30 Gins to choose from. The Spanish dont use a poofy measuring cup...

 

Sounds great Razz, if I go back that way I’ll be asking for more details.

And it’s all day on the N502 for you guys. You can only enjoy it, so long as nobody tries too hard over the mountain section.

 

No, there’s still a couple of doubles. The last picture for sure and there’s a second of the bike outside the cafe.

 

Scanning this report,must be inspiring folks to go travelling with great photographs,and two up as well....very cosylooking forward to the next episode.