I'd seen the MSL tours brochure which included the Spanish Picos Classic tour. It's a self-guided tour, which suits us, and the hotel is in Suances right on the coast, only 30km from Santander ferry port. We had stayed in Las Arenas is 2017 and this time the cost with MSL was almost half what we had paid by organising it ourselves, and included breakfast and a buffet evening meal with wine.
I've been riding for 38 years and my current bike, a manual Honda NC750X, is my 20th. I've toured Britain and Europe on bikes ranging from a Yamaha 80 with panniers made from Tesco carrier bags to a BMW F800ST with throw-over luggage. Wellsy's bike of choice was a KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, Martin's a BMW 1250GS. I was outgunned in the horsepower stakes by about 80, as my NC makes 54bhp. But the low-down torque, 200-mile tank range and the incredible 80-90mpg suit my somewhat aged laidback-and-tight-with-money nature these days. It was also a bargain as I paid £5400 for it in a very wet and cold October 2017 - always buy a new bike at the end of the year!
I bit the bullet and spent a small fortune on a pair of Givi hard panniers; better than Tesco's carrier bags and just as waterproof which, together with the NC's 22-litre dummy tank/storage trunk, gave me more than enough space for packing light, which I still haven't managed, so I took my top box as well.
In July we had an email from MSL Tours saying Brittany Ferries had changed the port of departure from Portsmouth to Plymouth. A 250-mile trip instead of 95 for us. A bit of a pain but not MSL's fault.
Rick Joyce from MSL Tours sent out an email with suggested routes which could be downloaded using an app called 'MyRoute. This worked really well with my TomTom. If you've ever used TomTom's 'MyDrive' planning software you'll know what a pain it is to use. I found using MyRoute an awful lot easier.
この記事は Motorcycle Sport & Leisure の September 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Motorcycle Sport & Leisure の September 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
