End Of the Line

We got on the road early today with a view to keeping going as long as our arses would allow. We settled on 200 mile stints between breaks which was about the time taken for the numbness to pass and the ache to set in again. The National roads in Spain are littered with speed change signs and Richard fell foul of one and was stopped for doing 100 in a 70 limit. Riding second in line and a little way back, I escaped. 100 euro later we were off and being quite paranoid about the speed signs....at least for the next hour or two anyhow.


870 Km later we stopped at a roadside hostal and rested bums and ears. No kidding, my ears are killing me after wearing plugs and a helmet for a month. Riding with sore ears is a compromise. Pain or hearing damage, take your pick. I chose pain.






Next day, rather than go the direct route, we headed into the Picos Europa mountains on the little windy roads for a last gasp of freedom. There must have been snow recently as there was a good dusting above 1500m and some lying down top 1200m in sheltered spots. This beautiful lake was near mirror like.




The road picked its way at the bottom of steep rocky cliffs and I was getting a little tense about the amount of time we had left. At the start of the day we were 150km by road from Santander. After 130km of riding, we were still 110km from Santander and time was starting to be an issue and the roads were not getting any straighter. With 10 mins to spare on the official checkin in time, we arrived at the dock and jumped on the boat, into the shower and then straight into the restaurant for some salad and a glass of vino.


All done. This is the route we took. From northern Spain to Morocco and back it is 6650km of fun. And I have some Dhirams left to explore the gaps....in case I get the urge to go back. Next trip, I think I might fly out, buy a 50cc scooter as used by the locals and have a go.





And if you superimpose the route from the last trip (green), you can see there are plenty of scope for another.

To Be Continued....