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!