la canalla ::: the process ::: taking shape

paint job done.  round oil tank to be mounted and now looking for a EFI sportster tank and speedo.

to lower the handle bars or not to... that is the question.

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all actual work is done by  iron cycles

struts from rocket bobs

struts from rocket bobs

madrid - getaria 4 - 6.09.2009

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back to the north, and more specificaly, back to the basque country. i will probably have repeated entries on this region for several reasons. the first being i have family ties to san sebastian and also, i believe it is a beautiful place, with beautiful people, not to mention the food and the great surf (specially during september and february).

there are changes since last entry on the same trip last year. the most obvious one would be the new section of the AP-1 express way that goes from vitoria to eibar, and if you are on a schedule and need to get to san sebastian, it will save you anything from 20 to 45 minutes for just under 6€. it can be a little tricky though to get on the right path. once the first section of the AP-1 is over around miranda de ebro, make sure you follow directions to vitoria/san sebastian on the E-5 (which you´ll see in a little green rectangle in the big blue road signs indicating the different directions). after you drive past vitoria (do not go into the city if you dont need/want to visit vitoria) pay attention to the indications to get on to the AP-1 to san sebastian.

the tricky part

again, when i got to my final destination i did the same route to san sebastian through igueldo as i did last year. there are changes on this road to since they built a new access to the A-8 from the N-634 around orio. you will see a big roundabout past orio on the way to san sebastian, with all the necessary indications. make sure you follow the directions towards igueldo.

thanks eugenia for taking the pic :)
you will see this building at the roundabout on the way to san sebastian from orio on the N-634 take a left here

earlier this summer, i met austin and sara. they are traveling around the world and ended in san sebastian almost by chance. after an unfortunate series of events which brought them from rome to santander and then san sebastian. it all ended up being not unfortunate at all and gave me and my younguest brother the chance to meet two of the most amazing persons ive come across ever. sara is a great photographer and austin is a great surfer and a talented video artist. they were nice enough to make an incredible video of me and my ride on a road that has a special meaning to me since i was a kid.



thanks so much guys :)

we spent the morning on the road, took some time in san sebastian to do things that needed to be done and spent the afternoon in zarautz at the san miguel pro surf world championship.



i had not been to this event in years. it used to happen early in september and used to be sponsored by o.p. instead. then they stopped organising it and now its back. it brought back great memories from the past, and i have to recommend zarautz during this time of the year, there are a lot less people and the weather is usually great. not too hot but still being able to swim in the ocean.

last time i wrote about guetaria i dont think i mentioned my favourite restaurant. if you like fish, you cant leave town without having dinner at "astillero", a familly owned restaurant with the friendliest service and of course, the best food. it will set you back between 30 to 50€ per person, but it is worth every cent. if you are lucky you might get one of the tables overlooking the port of getaria, which is small but absolutely beautiful.

there is another great place for lunch in the san prudencio hostel. a small hostel sorrounded by vineyards and from which you can see the hills falling into the sea. this one is a cheaper option and a great place if you visit the little village of azkizu.


i must insist, this is a great weekend trip from madrid, and i cant wait to do it again, maybe before the cold arrives. i really want to ride arround jaizkibel to fuenterrabia and see the bidasoa river (separates spain from france) from the top of the hill. so ill leave that on my "to do" list for now.

pastrana

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today i talk about a short route worth exploring.

the reason behind this route is a good friend´s wedding, which took place in an old convent in pastrana. i have to say, the place was fantastic and provided the guests with a great way to spend a summers night under a sky full of stars and far from madrid´s heat.

pastrana is known for being the place where Philip II of Spain imprisoned the Princess of Éboli during the late 1500´s.

the town has great places to eat and are easy to find. the town ain´t too big. its also very nice to walk around and apreciate the different buildings left behind by the middle ages.

i originally planned to take a ride around the area, but was not able to due to the busy schedule and the need to help the groom with last details before the ceremony. however, there are 2 reservoirs in the area and 2 nuclear powerplants which provide with pretty interesting sights.

most of the area is sorounded by fields dedicated to hunting and small villages. loads of turns and plenty of ingredients for an enjoyable ride.



i will post the route i originally planned in case it is of any use and i will add it to my to do list... i would love to take a dip in any of the 2 manmade lakes.


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to do : madrid - burgos - fuente dé

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this route ive done over the last weekend by car.

i started in madrid, but since the way till burgos is all highway i should emphasize the road between burgos and fuente dé.



this road has beautiful landscapes. roads runing between huge mountains, cliffs and rocks... along valleys, small canyons and rivers carrying water from the ice melting in the mountains... its packed with history, full of oportunities to appreciate some of the most important romanic architecture you can see and of course, great food.

i will not say i unfortunately came by car because of the meaning and the reasons behind driving this weekend, but i will definitely have to do this on the queen during this summer.



places you must stop at...

potes, you can have dinner at casa cayo and walk around this beautiful town.

santo toribio de liébana, where you can see the monastery, and take pictures at the top, there is really a great view and a small chappel worth visiting.



mogrovejo, a beautiful little town with more breathtaking views, this time from the bottom.



fuente dé... this is the final destination. we stayed at the parador which was spectacular! the area is fantastic if you like nature, or if you just want to ride around... it is even better if you love your good food ;)



one thing you should do is take the cable car (next to the parador) to the top and take the 14km hike back down. come prepared, with a camera, water and some food. remember the mountain is no joke, but it is an experience you wont forget. there is a restaurant and a hotel along the path, but you never know when you will burn all the sugar you have and bringing a little something is always helpful, specially if you just wanna sit down and appreciate the peace and calm of the mountains.

this trip becomes so much better with good company :)

mallorca

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easter holidays seem to be a perfecrt post cold weather long weekend trip. sun has been out for a month, then hiding for the last 2 weeks but teasing... the day before leaving madrid on the way to the islands, the weather was still unclear. some people said rain while others placed their bets on the sunny option maybe out of optimism rather than realism. however, after all, weather was pretty ok. no rain, sunny but cold. some times a few clouds threatened but never executed.

the way there was simple. again (i have done this quite a few times now) i headed east on the A-3 towards valencia... you can take the AP-36 for which youll have to pay, so i preffer the low budjet tour (note this is a weekend trip, otherwise highways would be AVOIDED). just before hitting valencia, i headed south on the AP-7 towards denia where i boarded the ferry to palma de mallorca. the ferry is 5 hours in total including a 1 or 1.5 hours stopover in ibiza. this is the fast ferry and if you smoke, you can only go out on deck to smoke while arriving at the port and while the boat has stopped. the long one allows you to go out on deck but takes 11 hours. You can board a ferry to palma de mallorca from denia, valencia or barcelona, denia being the shortest ride.

the strech from valencia to denia has great landscapes and well... i just love it when you start seeing and smelling the sea after a long road trip.

if i have any advise for the ferry, earphones or earplugs woud be it. unless you get yourself a first class ticket you are going to be sorrounded by people from the rural and not so rural areas of spain that think that there is absolutely no one else on the boat apart from them.

once you are through with the ferry, the real story starts.

mallorca is the biggest of the balearic islands and this time, i went to meet up with a bunch of friends from the spanish sportster portal.

as soon as i got to palma, 2 very nice friends picked me up from the port to bring me to have dinner at lo de seba. this was followed by leaving the luggage in the hotel and drinks at the flinstones which was near the hotel and allowed us to get our fair share of drinks without having to think of "how much can i drink before im unable to ride back?"

i was the last one to arrive to the island so friday was my first real riding day in the island.

friday 10.04.2009


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our starting point was the hotel. we were picked up by a motorcycle group called "angeles guardianes" formed by police and military bikers who would serve as our tour guides for the next 2 days. the route went roughly from portals towards inca and alcudia before heading to cabo formentor.

photo by "lemon"

narrow roads with old stone walls on the sides separating the road from the farmers´ fields made it quite a unique landscape. the backdrop slowly changed as we went north, cloudy rocky mountains gradualy turned into a beautiful coastal postcard with breathtaking views from the island´s cliffs.

cabo formentor

the problem of being such a big group is that i would have loved to stop over in more places, but having everything organised and being a group of about 50 bikes made this extremely dificult. we did stop somewhere around inca at a bar called la guarida, where more bikers from the area joined us.

lunch was in alcudia where i would have liked to spend some more time to walk around the port and explore the area, but i could only add it to my to do list. I need to come back to the island on my own or with a much smaller group of people.

after lunch we all headed to the "arenal" where we wraped up the day at a bar right by the beach. this area looks like the perfect place to have an early dinner, not far from palma. if you like to walk by the beach, this is one place you will enjoy for sure.

s'arenal

dinner on friday was something i should recommend. "las terrazas beach club" is not too far from palma in the town of illetas. it is a little pricey, but worth every single penny and the service is effective and friendly. we were there just for dinner, but i bet its a perfect place to have a few drinks and maybe chill by the sea at their lounge.

we chose to head down to palma for drinks after dinner and ended at motown at the "paseo marítimo". if you like 50´s, 60´s and 70´s rock... this is your place. we were lucky enough to be there for a great concert by a local band playing hits by elvis and artists alike. great atmosphere at a small sized venue with a friendly staff. i must mention the very good looking waitresses that ended up dancing on the bar, "coyote ugly style"!

saturday 11.04.2009


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saturday is by far, the day that made me want to go back to mallorca for more. the road around the south of the island and "costa de los pinos" was something i need to do with more time. one morning is definitely not enough. one day does not seem like it would be enough.

the landscapes are much more arid looking, lacking in mountains but rich in tranquility. we did stop somewhere on the way to port colom just by the road and looked over a massive cliff on the coast. not like cabo formentor, but still, breathtaking.

photo by "salva"

porto colom was our next stop. this is a beautiful small town. very quiet and a very nice little port. we had only a few minutes to grab a drink before we continued our way to lunch, which in my opinion was our biggest mistake this weekend. i wanted to stay here, for lunch, dinner and overnight had i known!

portocolom

lunch was in a town called petra just next to manacor (birthplace of worlds number 1 tennis player, rafael nadal). i´m not sure if it was out of frustration that i was not impressed at all. i kept thinking of how much of the island we had toured and how little we had seen. so i expressed myself, told a bunch of guys i wanted to go somewhere and take my time to take some pics and maybe walk around. some wanted to join, in fact, i was surprised because the group ended up being bigger than i thought. the initial idea was 2, maybe 4 bikes, and a total of 9 bikes ended up joining.

we headed towards soller, another small port with great views and sorrounded by mountains. there we were threatened by a dark cloud but we ended not seeing the rain. we chilled by the sea for some time before heading back to the hotel before dinner, and that really helped my mood (note to self, travel in small groups when possible).

soller

saturday evening was looked at with caution. we had scheduled dinner at Es3 in palma, and i had to board my ferry back to denia at 7:00am. i knew that i would risk missing the ferry if i went to bed late, and spanish dinners finish late almost always. so i went for dinner, then drinks near the hotel again and decided to go straight to the ferry with no sleep so i could sleep through the whole trip all the way to denia and be rested for the hardest part back to madrid.

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the way back from denia to madrid i did with 2 good friends. we decided to avoid the A3 to stay away from heavy traffic caused by people returning from their holy week holidays.

we rode to xátiva which was nice enough and then to albacete and la roda. if you have a chance you should try the typical cakes in la roda (miguelitos). here we got on the AP36 which i avoided on the way to denia which for just over 13€ took us all the way to ocaña. then we were in madrid in a heartbeat.

overall, i loved this trip. i would have loved more time to myself and less organization. however i need to say thank you to olga, salva, pepe and edgar for organising and the rest of the guys and girls that joined the trip, we did have a blast and are all looking forward to repeat next year.

25th aniversary, big twin club - spain

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It has been my first time in castellon´s big twin club gathering. i have always heard of it but for one reason or another i was never able to make it.

the trip, once again, was simple and pretty fast, considering we could only count with the luxury of a weekend for the trip (i need a holiday). on this occasion, we were 4 bikes for most of the trip. of course it is always a lot more fun when there is good company, but other than that, the journey was pretty much the same as the one to alicante. however, i would like to mention... there is a servired a.t.m. at "el rebollar". you can refuel, eat, buy cigarettes and withdraw some cash should you need it. i thought this would be a useful piece of information since i have seen myself in situations where im on the road and i only have a credit card but no actual cash. so there.

around sagunto, we met up with other friends who had started the ride slightly before us. the group grew in number of riders from 4 bikes to 10. most of us went to a hotel in the city centre, and a couple decided to camp.

dropped our stuff in the hotel and headed for the show. you probably know the drill... beer, concerts, bikes, parts, clothes... first night we took it fairly easy.



saturday we were back in the show by 1pm. had a little ride to "parque del meridiano" where the organisers had arranged some beer and paella for everyone. thumbs up for them, that was one tasty paella with rabbit they served.

later me and my friends rode to the port area, sat down at a "terraza" opposite a bar called la pacheca. la pacheca was closed and unfortunately our only option was that bar on the corner with crap drinks and a horrible service. avoid the horchateria in the corner.



back to the show to see the actual contest. there were bikes from all over the world, including the u.s. of a., italy, germany, france and of course, plenty of local bikes. i loved the one presented by 1903 biker store.



a vary tastefully constructed bobber, originally a softail springer with an indian larry gas tank and a great paint job.



txus is also the guy who has done most of the work on my ride, except for the handle bar.

the winner was this very cool but uncomfortable looking build by t-sable from mejorada del campo in madrid.

note the space between the spokes is covered with stingray skin or galuchat. it also had other details covered in this beautiful material such as grips and some screws. gas goes in the frame itself although i tend to wonder how much gas goes into this anyway considering how hard it must be to ride this.

after all the bikes were displayed i wondered around the venue looking at all sorts of rides and people in the search of that one great shot, looking for t-shirts and other things and accessories i probably didnt need. luckily for my wallet, i ended up limiting my activities to people watching and admiring a couple of rides which were not showcased in the contest.



before the prizes were awarded for the bikes, i bumped into my friends again and we headed back to "la pacheca". we met up with a couple more friends who came late on saturday, one of which i had not seen in a long time. enjoyed some nice and cold beers dressed with a very pleasant conversation... which is what makes thes meets so wonderful after all.

well... one thing i was convinced this blog was lacking... places to eat. let me just say, i would have never imagined i would find such place so near la pacheca or in castellon.

this is important. if you find yourself in this city, make it a point to find a restaurant called "mesón el paso" in alvaro de bazan 3. i had a great "guisado de toro" (bull stew) and a beer. not only it was one of the best stews i have ever tried in a restaurant, but it was also very cheap. i paid for my drink the stew and some bread that came with the stew the crazy amount of €5.30!!!!!

this price today, in spain... is unheard of. at least in a city. really worth a try if you ask me.

the rest of the night went as smooth as the previous one, with the difference that we managed to see deep purple play a pretty ok concert, considering how old they are already!



back home by 2.30am and rest for the way back.

it was 9 bikes riding back to madrid with the occasional tag along that joined for a couple of miles before taking a detour to their final destination.

all in all... again i cant talk much about the riding itself since it was pretty much the same as the alicante one. but still, a great weekend trip with great people.

madrid on 2 wheels

as an exception to the norm... i would like to dedicate an entry to madrid, the city where i was born. it is also a city i absolutely love and i consider many people from madrid do not know as well as they could. it is a city with character and a lot of secrets... i know, plenty of cities have character and secrets, but i like the ones in madrid very much. it is after all a personal opinion, may be biased and maybe not. i could also mention things i don't like about this city, and i may point them out a little later as things to avoid, just bear in mind, you might end up liking the things i don't, but i will be as objective as possible.

for some time now, me and a couple of good friends dedicate thursday nights to good food, good cañas, and good music (there goes my objectivity). for those not familiar with spanish culture, a caña, is a fairly small glass of beer (compared to the size of glasses and jugs our neighbours in the north of europe are used to), and we do take a lot of pride in our cañas... like a pint of guiness, you don´t just pour it... it has to be served the right way. so let me start with a couple of places you might want to try a well poured caña in madrid.


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a good place to start would be "el doble" (A) which is in c/ponzano 58. its a small neighbourhood traditional bar and they are probably the best at serving cañas. on the downside... dont expect the traditional free tapa to go with it, if you eat something you will probably have to pay for it.

el cantabrico, in c/padilla 39 (B) is another place where you will have the chance to try one of the best cañas in the city. this neighbourhood bar is specialised in seafood and for a reasonable price you will have access to some of the best seafood you can get away from the coast.

my favourite place in this part of the city however, has to be "cazorla". note there are 4 "branches" of this bar/restaurant. i have only tried 3 of them and they are walking distance from each other. i will recomend the one next to "cantábrico". it´s just down the road on the corner of c/padilla and c/general pardiñas (B).

here you will be able to have some very impressive cañas and probably the best typical southern spanish food to be found in madrid. i would have to recommend that you never leave without trying the "cazon en adobo".

my next stop would have to be la latina. this neighbourhood has been gaining popularity over the last couple of years and it has become the epicentre of the bohemian and artistic characters of the city who always seem to bring with them a series of more irrelevant spectators who are there to see and be seen without really providing any originality to the area.

you will find a generally young and trendy crowd here, although variety would be a more appropiate term to describe the many bars, pubs, cafes and clubs that populate one of the oldest parts of the spanish capital.

park your bikes where c/del almendro intersects with c/costanilla de san pedro (C) and enjoy. once you hit this area you will find it difficult to stop and go home.

a good place to start would be "la mulata", just down c/del almendro where you will be able to enjoy good drinks, including wine, and some pretty good bites... if you have not had dinner and you think it might be too late to find a place... try la mulata.

on the way back to where you left your bikes... still on c/del almendro, you have "la turuleta", one of the few places you can still have a nice cappuccino at a very strange time of the night.

opposite la turuleta you have el mentidero and well... pretty much any place on that street will allow you to indulge in some of the best food you might try in madrid.

a classic is el almendro 13, but during lunch and dinner hours it is virtually impossible to find a table and you might have to wait for a long long time. go early, its worth it for the "huevos rotos" and its "roscas".

the best mojitos you can try in the country might just be a stone throws away... in this little but always packed deli/bar called "delic" (plaza de la paja). also famous for their cakes and great atmosphere, if you are lucky you might be able to sit outside for a more comfortable experience, but i think its more fun inside ;)

also on plaza de la paja, you have the bar "timon" although this might be more suitable for when you are not so sure if you should be getting back on the bike. a good point to visit before heading to "marula cafe" in c/ caños viejos 3 (D). this is probably my favourite club in the neighbourhood (i still have to visit the very famous berlin cabaret). its not big, it has a terrace to sit outside in the summer months and they serve great drinks. if you like gin & tonics try it with hendrick´s gin and a slice of cucumber instead of lemon. music will probably be some great rn´b (the real one, not the one you hear in mtv), funk and some good house at times. you will definitely have plenty of reasons to dance ;)

you can pretty much end the night in marula or leave when its packed at 2 or 3am. then i would head to "el junco" which is in plaza de santa barbara (E). similar to marula, but slightly bigger. if you are there earlier you might catch a live band and they are regularly pretty good.

if you still have energy or you feel that you need to refuel... have a meal... hey!!! its somewhere in the range of 5 to 7 am!!!! where can you have a meal in this city????

thats when you head to lady pepa (F).

this would be worthy of a post by itself. i cant think of anywhere else where you can enjoy a nice plate of spaghetti, callos (if you like them) or lentils at 5, 6 or 7am...

you might read/hear things like "the best spaghetti in madrid...", "it is not a restaurant, it is a treasure..."

it might seem like they are the best spaghetti in the world considering your likely state by the time you hit this legend. one thing is for sure, you will never forget this experience.

go to c/ de san lorenzo and look for the "cafe teatro lady pepa", knock on the door and when it opens, tell him/her/it you are going for dinner, yes, tell them what i said regardless of the time... you will be shown the way downstairs towards a narrow long room with tables on the sides where, if there is enough space, you will be seated. its not cheap, but at those weeeeeee hours... who cares?

if you are lucky you might see someone who spontaneously decides to start playing the piano located at the end of the room, or someone playing guitar... most times everyone ends up joining and singing and clapping... until it gets too loud and isaac, the owner exercises his authority to keep noise levels down. he will confiscate the guitars if he has to, so have fun but don't get carried away. its part of the game.

by the time you are done... you will be done, literally... go home, go back to your hotel and be happy you survived.

more on madrid in a near future.

madrid - alicante

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i am not sure if i should name this post "highway to hell", it was a 5 hour ride for a not very pretty part of the country. the downside in travelling relatively long distances over the weekend has to be the lack of time to take a more interesting road, however, there are a few highways that run through the iberian peninsula which are surrounded by impressive landscapes. on the way to alicante from madrid, one can enjoy the vast plains of the provinces of toledo and albacete in castilla la mancha. i like the scenery along this route for its colours, varied and suddenly changing as you ride through some of the most arid parts of the country. you can go from a vast piece of land where fiery red and ocres dominate the landscape to a combination of greens on the farms´fields and pastel tones in the sky during sunset. riding in the evening towards the south east of spain can be compared to walking in a museum admiring a series of paintings. of course, the experience would have been 10,000 times better on smaller roads going through the small towns and villages of the region... oh well, next time.

once in alicante its a tough choice. it is far from being my favourite part of the country. the east of spain, or rather what is known as "levante"(1), is famous for its rice. note it is important that you know, paella, not payella like some people insist in pronouncing, is typical from valencia, while in alicante, they are very proud of their rice, and if you see something that looks like a paella, it might just be a rice dish.

having said that, i have to say, the big problem with this area is tourism. cheap and absolutely massified tourism, both international and domestic. there are plenty of very popular destinations for english/german/scandinavian retired people combined with some of the most uneducated domestic crowd (this might sound horrible and elitist, but if you do go, and are a little knowledgeable in spanish culture, you will understand. the shoreline in some cities and towns have been developed and bombarded with huge skyscrapers, which makes a pretty crowded and horrible looking coast, but there are little oasis where you can escape this and immerse yourself in a beautiful enclave of tranquillity and natural beauty.


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i decided to go to cabo de palos on saturday. i took the n-332 south from alicante to cartagena. my biggest mistake was to do this during the month of august. if you really want to enjoy this area, its advisable to come during the second week of september, after everybody has returned to their cities of origin or during may, before everybody in spain decides to go on holiday at the same time. weather is a little colder, but still good enough to go for a dip in the sea, not to mention prices are almost half all over the place.



other than the ridiculous traffic i encountered on this road, the only highlight i could possibly mention are the salt mines you encounter in and around torrevieja. some say flamingos frequent the area, but i did not see any.

tired of traffic and roundabouts, as i passed san pedro del pinatar, i took the expressway to reach my final destination.

cabo de palos aint big, its a small village which is, in a way, the beginning of "la manga del mar menor" another over exploited and over developed tourist destination. if you are looking for a little privacy and lonely contemplation, you can ride along the marina in cabo de palos, towards the light house, make a right and you will find a place to park. from there you can walk and find a nice cove to swim in the mediterranean. you can go scuba diving in this area, if you are not, careful with the sea urchins... if you are, don expect the corals and marine life of the philippines, but its probably the best place to dive in spain.



i enjoyed my lunch at a relative´s so i wont be able to recommend any place, but i remember seeing small bars/restaurants at the marina, and the fish in the area is fantastic, so do give that a try.

the way back to alicante was done throught the expressway. i almost made it on time for dinner. had arranged a dinner with friends around playa de san juan before hitting the local bars.

we went to a place called italia & asia... being in alicante i reckon you should avoid this place. the starters were ridiculously small, i ordered a mushroom risotto as a main and it was ALSO so small it was not even big enough to be a side dish... the dessert was tasty, but again... small... i was so hungry by the end of dinner i wish i could have found one more place to have something else, but we headed to this bar called frontera where my hunger was killed by a couple of beers...

the bar was decorated with a biker theme, the band was pretty good as well... and the dj who played after the band was great as well. good, friendly atmosphere... great ingredients for a good night that made up for the horrible dinner.

the way back to madrid was done through the same route except for the last half, where i decided to take the toll way. much less traffic for not a very high price.

i also stopped for some food in a little town 14 km before reaching albacete. the place is chinchilla. very friendly people, great food and they seem to know their bikes. regardless of it being a really small town there is an apparently important motorcycling group. so don't be surprised to see plenty of bikes and bikers in town meeting up at the bar for a little gathering among friends.

again, travelling in spain can be a delicate thing during the last weekend of august, there are loads of people returning home from their summer holidays causing loads of congestion on the road, also watch out for careless drivers who don't respect bikes... this time i did not see as much traffic as i expected, the economical situation and fuel prices must have something to do, still... september is so much better for long trips.

on a last note... this is the first trip with the new 12" Z-bar... much more comfortable than the stock, i love the riding position although it feels a little more unstable when turns in speeds of 140 - 160 km/h. it is still fairly easy to handle, and hands are at shoulder height. also, removing the hand controls and using smaller buttons for lights and horn has proved to be very comfortable to and not only better looking. it might take a while to get used to the new situation of the buttons but it is definitely worth it. i´m seeing the bike turn into what i had in mind slowly :)

madrid - getaria

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I should start this post not talking about the ride itself, but about the badlander seat for sportsters.
Had a passenger for the first part of the trip. my friend tagged along last minute and she said she would love to ride with me. i was a little sceptical knowing how thin and lacking in cushioning the seat is. but well... we went ahead and tried. i did the first stop for fuel 75 km from madrid, just to check how she was doing back there. the comment was quite straight forward: "i cant feel my ass!" that put a little smile on my face, but she said it was all good, a little rest and off we went. 100 km later we made another stop hearing more of the same. also it was quite funny to see that after 75 km she started moving to change to a more comfortable position, quite unsuccessfully, but after a little rest we rode again. i offered the possibility of her joining our other friend who we were meeting after we passed burgos. he was driving a car and he could take her, but she insisted, she wanted to finish the whole trip.

we met carlos (the guy in the car) on the AP1 about 25 km from the starting point where the second gas station is. that´s where kelly decided she would switch and ride the car. the badlander proved to be an unsuitable seat for long trips.



regardless of comfort levels for the passenger, the trip went smooth. highway all the way to the final destination with some fast but tight turns between vitoria and san sebastian, a very enjoyable highway. the icing on the cake was the road that goes from zarautz to getaria (N-634) which carefully draws the contour of the basque coast providing a very nice view of the hills dropping into the sea. too bad it was night time, but i was going to ride it the next day anyway.


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saturday was a dream come true to me. i´ve been riding the N-634 on a moped since i was 14 years old and for one reason or another i have not been able to bring my bike there till last weekend. i remember being a kid seeing all the bikes ride along the coast to and from san sebastian and i made it a point, that one day it would be me on a harley doing the same. there was later an upgrade to the dream. there are 3 different ways (that i know off) to go to san sebastian from getaria.

the fast efficient but most boring. take the N-634 to zarautz and the A-8 to san sebastian from there.

the tour of the neighbouring villages and N-634. basically the old way, the old road, nice enough sights, trees, turns... just watch out for ass holes in tuned cars driving at ridiculous speeds thinking they are in the WRC... if they drove that well... wouldn't they be competing???

the third, less known and most beautiful way... take the N-634 east to zarautz, orio and after orio pay attention to a T junction where you should turn left towards igueldo. you will find yourself climbing the hills achieving a height that will allow you to overlook the A-8 highway and the green fields with its scattered "caserios" and the eventual herd of cattle. beautiful sight, perfect appetiser for the following view of the basque coast from some of the highest points along the coast. if you have the cash, do not miss a nice dinner at akelarre. i´m pretty sure it has 3 michelin stars, and it does for a good reason.

also, if you ride along this road you might witness some impressive sunsets, but watch out for the road. its not in its best condition, its bumpy and it has some really, and i mean REALLY tight turns which you might have to take at speeds of 10kmh... but, the beauty of the views is worth every little bump.


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sunday, before we headed back to madrid, we went for a quick visit at kelly´s parents´place in mouguerre in the south of the french basque country (one more country crossed off the list). the trip was nothing out of the ordinary, not forgetting the area is really beautiful. but kelly decided to give it another go. it was about 70 or 75 km and she seemed to be getting used to the seat already, or at least be fine for a short ride.


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At about 16:45 we started the return to madrid. this time we took the A-8 towards bilbao, then the AP-68 and on to the AP-1 to burgos. slightly longer, but faster and not too boring. in burgos i should mention the hotel landa palace. you wont have to even leave the A-1. its on the km 233 or 235... its located in an old castle, but no matter how much you might like the place, or find it a little pretentious... the food is simply amazing. i would recommend the morcilla, chorizo, the pepito de ternera and the canutillos de crema for dessert. you cant go wrong with that. don´t sit outside if you are counting the hours to get to your final destination. you might be there for a couple of hours. service outside is slow, but they are good and friendly, and inside they are pretty fast too. if you are near burgos DO GIVE THIS PLACE A GO.

after the stop at hotel landa it was already dark. we found ourselves riding towards a lightning storm and my gear shift pedals started loosening up. i stopped to get in my water proof gear, tighten the screws and continued the ride safely. funnily enough, the rain stopped shortly after i wore the waterproof pants... shit happens.

got home at around 1:35 in the a.m. almost 9 hours later.

it seems like this trips that are not supposed to be that long end up stretching themselves quite a bit!

madrid - nigran

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it all started at 8.30 am in madrid, fairly near the centre, where i met up with jose before we headed to tres cantos, where we were supposed to meet up with javi. the trip was supposed to last for about 7 to 10 hours... little did we know...

the whole trip to nigran was avoiding highways. our first of many anecgdotes to come was riding through through guadarrama in the mountains in madrid, where we were sort of stuck in a traffic jam. the news said they had predicted 6 million people travelling around spain during this weekend as part of the summer campaign. so driving through the center of the town, we saw there was "guardia civil" car, which made jose and javi wait with plenty of patience in the qeue of cars, while i laughed, looked at them and decide to skip the jam by riding on the right shoulder, thinking my buddies only concern was the cops´possible reaction to loud pipes and an "unusually small" number plate. my surprise was the cops blocked my way and told me i was not supposed to ride on the shoulder... they could have written a love letter (fine) but they were nice enough to let me go with a warning :)



stopped for fuel at a little town called cantalapiedra, where i had the chance to take a few shots. a horse and a couple of old locals hanging out at the petrol station who were impressed to see the bikes. an unusual sight for them.

after a beer stop in zamora, we continued into portugal, riding through some of the most beautiful landscapes i have seen, specially between bragança, vinhais and chaves. great curves, virtually no traffic and incredible weather accompained us for most of the trip which made it such an enjoyable experience. just before arriving in chaves, a guy told us while refueling, that there was a motorcycle rally in chaves, filled with bikers who had made their way up from the famous rally in faro the week before. we joined the rally for a couple of drinks, and even though i have to say, we saw nothin special regarding bikes, it was a lot of fun, and the fact that it was improvised added to the excitement.



we were leaving javi in verin, and jose and me had another 200km left to reach nigran. we had stopped plenty of times and took a couple of wrong turns, so it was getting late. once we reached verin, we took the expressway, we encountered the first signs that showed us we were in the north of spain (rain) and it started getting dark. from then on, we only stopped for refueling and smoke.

we arrived in nigran half past midnight, 16 hours after we left madrid, having seen beautiful sights and having had one of the smoothest rides. the only real problem i feel i should mention... after 2pm having lunch in portugal is really difficult, so we ended up having pretty shitty food in mid afternoon. luckyly we had some nice friends waiting for us in nigran with a big plate of pasta!!!

the return to madrid was done on sunday, this time we had to rush to make it on time to be presentable for work on monday.

we did not meet javi, he had a problem with his drive-belt sprocket and had to send his bike to madrid on a tow truck. me and jose woke up late after a mad night and started our journey at around 15:30, so we took the highway back.


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a little rain at first, but after we passed vigo it all started to look much better. all went smooth and we stopped only every 150 or 160 km since thats how much i can do before my tank goes in reserve.

once riding by zamora, some old fart in a 7 series bmw and no driving skills whatsoever decided instead of waiting for me to finnish overtaking, it was better to just get as close to my ass as possible so i would just move out of the way. i saw the guardia civil on the side of the road and while driving by them i lifted my hand (was tempted to show him my finger too) telling the old man what i thought of his mother. it all went alright considering the dangerous driving exercised by this lunatic, and it was soon forgotten.

around 15 minutes later we saw the same cops driving past us like they were racing for 100 million euros, all very funky with the lights on, and we soon lost them in the horizon. miuntes after, we saw them on the shoulder one more time. i started to get really confused, i was trying to figure out what the hell these guys were up to, but this was only the begining since a couple of km later... there they went again, this time changing lanes like rich kids with daddys sports car doing as they please in a road they took as their own.

after a while of wondering and looking at jose almost scratchin our heads... if it wasnt for the helmets... we saw the cops one last time. they were back on the shoulder, although this time they signaled us to stop and they guided us right behind this very familiar bmw with a now humble looking old man, almost worried about what could happen to his license in a very near future.

the officers asked us if this was the right guy, to which we confirmed with plenty of confidence. fuck him if you ask me, i am a little tired of assholes of this sort who dont seem to realise i have 2 wheels and no metal around me to protect myself from their ultimate stupidity.

the rest of the trip was full of laughing, i saw this poor little bird which smashed into joses side bag and rolled on the floor after that, i do not know about the outcome of the crash, but it did look funny in a twisted way.



we thought coming back to madrid would take us much less than the going to nigran, but all expectations failed when joses rear tyre went flat right after we crossed into madrid (we were 60km from the city). waited for the tow truck, took joses bike to the garage and then took jose home. arrived at arround 2.30 or 3. 11 hours on the bike to come back. tiring but if i could go back in time i would definitely do it all over again.

madrid - segovia

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so last sunday i went on a ride with javi. left madrid for a few beers and some tapas in segovia. nothing too long in terms of both time and distance, but one very exciting ride, far from conventional, full of sharp turns going up and down the mountains in the puerto de navacerrada and breathtaking views of the valleys.

the main purpose for this ride was simple, have a few beers and "torreznos" in segovia and be back in madrid to catch the last part of the F1 race. and thats exactly what we did.

the way back i would have to mention the amazing sight of an eagle (huge one by the way) which took of just as we were riding next to it and flew over us.

to conclude this very short post, i have to say, if you are not sure what to do and you are in madrid, specially during the summer... try riding to segovia, avoid express ways and you wont regret it.

next... galicia.

madrid - barcelona - madrid (barcelona harley days 2008)

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i have been the owner of a 2007 harley davidson sportster 883 low for over a year now. shortly after i received it on the 23rd february 2007 i was destined for work in asia, so i have been away from it for some time. i use it dayly when im home in madrid, spain. and it has become an addiction, almost an obsession, something it used to be a dream.

until the 15th of july 2007 (date i took off to asia) i had been riding it for several routes in and around madrid, the longest one having been to a little town in the province of cuenca called valverde del jucar. this was for a gathering with other sportster owners, mainly from madrid and valencia.

also i have dedicated a considerable ammount of time to modifying the bike to my liking. i doubt many harley davidson bikes stay stock for long, no matter how small the change is. but mine has undergone, and still is undergoing, quite a lot of changes, limited by money and availability of certain parts, which at times have to be custom made (this always provides with a much greater level of satisfaction due to the uniqueness of the final outcome).

last friday (11.07.2008) i took on my first "long" trip on the bike. the purpose was to spend the weekend in barcelona during harley davidson´s 105th aniversary (barcelona harley days 2008).

the preparation was already a reason to get hyped up. i was riding solo and meeting some friends in barcelona, some locals some that did the same trip from other parts of the country for the same reason.

one detail i should mention, i had never loaded any "luggage" on the bike before, since all previous routes were day trips. this task presented itself as some small challenge, but was fairly easy to beat and accomplish. small backpack with clothes for the 3 days (komando noche t-shirt for friday night, handlebar manila t-shirt for saturday and another one for sunday), a hoodie just in case and a camera. one extra empty bagpack just in case... either to bring the camera for the day or to bring back new parts (there was a series of stalls selling parts in barcelona) and an extra helmet (i always carry one, just in case).

all strapped up securely and off i went. approximate time of departure was 14:30. normal friday traffic for the first 100 km out of madrid and an accident around guadalajara. on the barcelona to madrid direction a semi truck had crashed and had the semi across the road... behind it one more semi had a totalled cabin. it looked pretty bad, the road was completely blocked and by the time i got there there was a 1km qeue of cars waiting for the cops and ambulances to get to the site. i was not affected by it, other than the idea of what might have happened to each of the drivers, scary thought. so i continued my way, learning later that they had to open a lane on the madrid to barcelona direction to let all the southbound traffic continue towards madrid.

the rest of the trip was fairly average. very nice scenery, specially arround monegros desert, with the eolic energy fields and the red soil and cliffs decorating the sides of the road. so beautiful but lacking in incidents... i stopped around 4 times for a fag, a drink and fuel. also a couple of phonecalls to let family know i was doing ok hahahaha.

i arrived in barcelona at around 20:45pm. checked in hotel arc la rambla and dropped my bags before joining a whole bunch of guys from www.sportster.cc at duplex bar along marina rd.

we went for dinner at the paseo marítimo, nothing special, in fact it was a pretty bad pizza, but it did not really matter since the point was to say hi and get to the harley village a.s.a.p. talked to ferran and edgar (2 friends from barcelona and mallorca) and met loren and silvia, a very nice couple from cadiz and malaga but based in barcelona.

after the shitty pizza, we rode to the complex where all the bikes were. we walked arround some of the open stalls and listened to a concert of some "tribute to the rolling stones" band. in the stalls area i would have to highlight a bike called cashmere by bonneville from madrid and anotherone called scarface (this one i cant remember the builder´s name). another impressive build was one by pura vida with a ridiculous 360mm rear tyre... WOW! how the fuck do you ride that???

O.C.C. had 3 bikes on display and i must say, they look like marrygorounds... i simply dont like them. too bad, because they could do some very nice stuff.

went to bed at arround 1.30 since the next day there was a route planned before lunch in villanova i la gertrud with the sportster.cc guys.

made it to the end of marina where it meets the mapfre towers at around 10am and after a long wait (this was the route planned for those who went out the previous night) we proceeded towards tibidabo at 12.30 ish... from there i am not sure about the exact roads we took, we were following a guy with a honda cbr 600 (hahahaaha) who was leading the group.

getting out of barcelona was a nightmare... 20 bikes and countless traffic lights made the task a challenge, but once we reached tibidabo, it all went fine... beautiful scenery, great view of the city from the hill... the whole route went along with "almost" no problems. but following a cbr proved to be a fast one, and he was one of the few who knew where the hell we were heading exactly. we were riding along a very long straight through a very nice field, and we were riding fast when the leader took a very unexpected detour to the right. this caused the bikes in front of me to break suddenly and caused me to do exactly the same, which in turn made me look through my rear view mirror. what i saw was somehow disturbing. a dyna ridden by a couple which was heading straight at me, smoke coming out of its rear tyre which at the same time was swinging from side to side, only alowing me to hope that it would not crash into me.


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it did not crash, the pillon on the dyna changed colour into pale, like a ghost and the driver apologised for having been enjoying the landscape. thankfuly it all ended in a little anecdote, but it could have been a mess.

lunch was exciting at first. we got to the restaurant where another 60 bikes waited for our arrival. food came we all chatted, and chatted for a few hours before disolving ourselves in smaller groups who headed in all sorts of directions as desserts and last coffees were being consumed.

i rode with ivan, silvia and loren, and one more couple whose name i dont remember.

ivan and me headed back to harley village while the rest headed to their hotels to rest before joining ivan and me.

it would have been an amazing ride if it wasn´t for the fact that it started pouring rain like the world was going to end. but once we were safe at the harley village it all got worse. the place started flooding, a lot of the stalls started closing... we found shelter in one of the official harley dealers´stalls, right next to a beautiful waltz hardcore bike.

for that night i cant say much more other than, it kept raining and it stopped for a bit and then rain again... nice hot dog for dinner and back to the hotel for a rest...

sunday was memorable. met up with silvia, loren and leticia for the parade. information on the local papers varied. some said there were 13000 bikes others said up to 20000 bikes had gathered for the ocasion. one thing was for sure, there was a lot of bikes. the parade started in montjuic, and we passed by diagonal, marina, plaza de colon, and eventualy back to the starting point. leticia rode with me, i try to carry an extra helmet all the time, just in case and it came in useful this time. leticia took a lot of pictures during the parade.

after the parade i went for lunch with the guys to the harley village before my return to madrid.

this time, the return was through the old N-II. through a different part off the monegros desert, where i bumped into the remaining punters atending the monegros desert festival (quite a sight if you ask me). on km 224 of the A2 i took a huge bump which almost caused me a bad fall. luckyly the only hit i took is that i lost the extra helmet which i had strapped to the back of the bike.

one more thing i think is worth mentioning about my return is my unpleasant encounter with some group of assholes riding harleys back to lisbon through madrid. met them during a fuel/smoke/water break at a filling station. they seemed nice enough, most of them were riding roadkings or electras... but what i did not expect was the lack of courtesy they showed on the road. i left the petrol station seconds before they did, and minutes later the whole group started overtaking me. all good till now, when i was left the last of about 9 or 10 bikes. a support van decided i was not good enough and the driver overtook me making himself some room between the last portugese bike and me, almost throwing me off the road.

its situations like these that piss me off... but what can you do?

aside from these bunch of idiots... i got home safe with 4 other riders i found 100 km away from my final destination, friendly, courteous and nice to ride with.

i am sure i will try to join more of these gatherings from now on, and they will most surely be written about on this blog.

next episode... day trip to segovia.