I'll start in Spain, as we all do mostly the same thing to get here - for me a long, tedious ride in the rain to get the 27-hour ferry, so I'll not bore you with this ...
My wife flew into Madrid, and I was meeting her at our friend's house in San Lorenzo de El Escorial. It's a truly majestic town with a huge monastery built in the 1500s so lots of history; it's a UNESCO site and as such, is one of the most visited sites in Spain. The surrounding streets play host to a lovely array of bars and restaurants, all of which are modestly priced and very friendly. It may not be on many touring plans of people like us, but it certainly should be!
A few days later I left their house at the same time as my wife left to fly home, and my plan was to meander my way back to Bilbao for the ferry six days later.
My first stop was Segovia, which hosts a very large aqueduct dating back to the Roman times, and also the equally impressive Alcazar de Segovia, a medieval castle which is perched up high and has magnificent views of the surrounding areas. It is amazing to see the aqueduct and the fact that it is still standing strong after so many years. The streets around the base host a plethora of bars and restaurants all basking in the shade of the structure itself.
Onwards now to a quick stop close to Santo Domingo de Silos. Here we have Sad Hill Cemetery, which was used for the final scenes of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It is in a fairly remote area, but I just couldn't resist when I knew I would be passing reasonably close by. It is hard to believe that this was filmed in 1966, long before I even showed up on this planet, and it is still a classic!
My overnight stop was Burgos, again a host to a magnificent cathedral and a lovely city to explore. For the eaters amongst us, it also has Morcilla de Burgos, a version of black pudding made in the province, and it is a very tasty item!
Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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.
