not an ex pat but...
 

I have a question regarding Spanish roads :)

I'm taking the ferry to Santander around Easter and I intend to travel down to Garrucha, Almeria on my motorbike. I am hoping to stay away from the main motorways and toll roads if possible sticking mainly to "country" roads.

I'm hoping to get some advice on what roads in particular to stear clear from because they are deemed unsafe... I'm not an experienced rider, yet, and I'm worried about some of the smaller roads through the mountain passes and such. Loads of twisty bits with shear drops and such. I'm not a complete wimp but I'm just not sure what to expect :blink:

Here's a rough itinery although I'm not booking accomodation in advance so it can change:-

Santander
Burgos
Soria
Medinaceli
Molina de Aragon
through Alto Tajo via CM-210
Cuenca
Motilla del Palancar
Albacete (can't avoid motorway methinks)
Murcia
Lorca
Garrucha


any help would be greatly received


regards


andy

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

I can't help you but a word of warning - they drive like crazies over here so be vigilant and don't expect any road curtesy. Being a wimp or not has nothing to do with avoiding winding mountain roads - they are horrid and a very scary experience particularly the sheer drops. Traffic travelling in the opposite direction won't slow down for you either - I am sure they would rather send you carreering over the edge. They just don't care! Be carful :eek:

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

blimey :eek: might have to have a rethink then... what you say scares me half to death :o

is this a general comment or just certain parts of Spain?

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

There are quite a few bikers on here who will be able to give you the benefit of their experience of riding on the roads in Spain. I think that you are possibly better off as a biker than a car driver on some of the narrower roads.

Do a search on the forum for posts by Xtreme and you will gain a bit of an insight even if it is not about the roads that you are specifically asking about. Some of the roads that you may use could be relatively traffic free which would be an added bonus.

Good Luck and happy biking

Rosemary

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Thanks Rosemary... I'll do that

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Oh yes - Xtreme is your man. :thumbsup: If you ask nicely he may even supply you with a full guide with pictures :rofl: (you may still get the pictures even if you don't ask :p)

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Nah its not that bad.
Originally people feel that the spanish will fly around and try and kill you. This isnt the case. They just drive with a different style to that of the UK.

Take a situation where youre on a 2 lane motorway and youre on the outside lane. You notice a car on the inside lane is hearing up to a truck. So will want to pull out. In the UK you would ease off and that car will pull out. In Spain, the car would see you in the fast lane and hit his breaks so he doesnt hit the truck. You go past both, he then pulls out.

Meaning... if you were that car, dont just pull out if you see cars coming because they do not give way to you. There is no real ettiquete for voluntarily giving way. If you dont have the right of way, you arent getting it. its a simple as that. Infact British drivers are among the most courtious in Europe. When you flash a car out, they have no idea what youre doing. They get very hesitent. So its a good idea not to.

The other thing is, is that Spanish have a lower standard of driving than the British. They will fly around motorways, tailgating in wet weather. But then once in town they will drive at 20kph. Because either they dont know where they are, or are looking for parking. They are rather ignorant too. They dont care they are holding traffic up. Like today, on a slip road to a motorway, two people were sat at the side of each other blocking the whole road having an argument with each other. Amusing really, as they are the first to hit their horns if you so much as slow down their journey.

So basically they arent a bunch of agressive drivers that want to run you off the road. They just generally have a poorer driving standard.

So just be vigilant. Dont rely on other drivers to do anything. If someone is near you driving dangerously, then slow down let them pass.

Its not bad though. Certain countries dont even have a nationally established side of the road to be on. Imaging that eh? Have a great trip! Just be a bit on guard!

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Very well put Andrew - you've got it spot on :thumbsup:

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

thanks for your responses so far :thumbsup:


I guess I just have to treat it as "one big adventure" and hope I steer clear of teh odd nutter :D

s'pose another question would be... what's the weather like "over the tops" around middle of March? Do I need my spikes on?

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

We are in the mountains and although we haven't had any snow we have had frost. But then again we have also has some lovely hot days. Been cold and damp these past few days though with low clouds. So be prepared for damp and low visibility in the mountain areas.

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

The roads around Easter will be very very busy. As Easter is early this year you can still expect some snow in the higher parts of Spain until you get to south of Madrid.
Yes you have to be doubly vigilant here in Spain, they do not think once; think twice; think bike, at all.
There are quite a few Youtube videos about biking in Spain.
There several web pages we like about biking in Spain.
http://www.rocinantestravels.com/spain/index.htm
http://www.btinternet.com/~ultrablade/
Both have not been updated for some time and both have links to further information. We wrote to the second web site and he responded with some further information so he might be of help to you too.
As Easter is high season then you may not find accommodation easily if you have not pre-booked.

These guys got caught out!

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Hi Andy,

Sounds like a great trip on a bike.

There is some good advice by other posters but also beware that the roads can generally be quite good... or appear to be, then suddenly a hole in the road will appear, they can be very slow at repairing these here, OK this can happen anywhere but you do have to be extra aware of other drivers here so it just means something else to think about with a couple of others to follow...

In many areas of Spain the earth is quite loose, rocky like... so on mountain roads you will very likely come across small rock slides, this could be only a couple of small rocks but lethal if on a bike, be extra aware of this if it has just rained.

Most mountain roads have crash barriers but there are meany that still have white blocks with gaps, there are even many mountain roads that don't even has these blocks. Sometimes the gravel if any on the side of the road can have been pushed onto the road by someone who may have pulled off there, if there is no crash protection then dropping the bike down will likely send you over the edge, I have not seen this situation a lot but I have seen it so just be alert.
There are still a lot of crash barrier supports in Spain without protection, so again don't take any chances.

Be aware of frost, mostly on high mountain roads, even if the sun has been out for a couple of hours you may still find frost on those bends or other areas that are covered from the sun.

Watch the edge on mountain roads 'mostly inside edge', these sometimes have deep troughs to take rain water away, some have a concrete block where there is a drain to take water to the other side of the road. They have been putting bright blue posts on these of late but there are still many that have nothing and can be a little dangerous even though they are painted white as they are generally right at the edge of the tarmac. Note that also if they have not been cleaned out they can fill with leaves and loose earth but ride over it and the wheel will drop in... just stay on the road and when you go off it be alert that the surface is what it seems.

Keep your speed down, they are getting hot on speeding in Spain and the Guardia some times put road check in places you just don't expect them.... like just round a bend. If you have a Tom Tom then it might be worth signing up to TomTom plus so you can get Speed camera updates and other up to date diversions etc. I say this not so you can speed but rather to keep you alert to where the cameras are, I got an eye opener when I got my TomTom, I never realised there where so many cameras in that many places... like where you go round a bend and the speed is dropped to 60 from 120 or 100 and you think 80 is fine because others are going round it at 80.

If you do get stopped by the Guardia 'Bottle green uniforms, green and white cars/bikes' then be polite with them, these will generally be traffic police if on public roads, even if you disagree with the reason on being stopped. The first thing a Guardia Civil officer will say to you is 'Good morning' (or good afternoon etc.) and he will salute you, say back to him the same good morning or afternoon etc. in Spanish if you can. I have found the Guardia can be very reasonable if you treat them with respect, if you don't then they will throw the book at you and that might mean impounding your bike.

Don't let any of what I have said worry you, haven't meant to as I am sure you realise, just trying to mark your cards which is what you want.

Have a good trip, I am sure you will really enjoy it. :)

Hope this helps

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Thanks again peeps :) I am eternaly greatful :thumbup:

what I've so far read both worries and inspires me... my instinct tells me to stay in Santander until my return ferry... but I think I shall throw caution to the wind and just see what happens...

Seems I just need to be even more cautious than when riding over here... and if it gets too much, either road conditions, local drivers, weather or lack of accomodation, I'll consider my options... I'm not really all that bothered if I don't make the final destination although sleeping in the rough is probably the biggest worry...

I might do some more research on accomodation before I leave.



thanks again,

andy

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Don't let anything that has been said by me or others put you off, these comments are just to help, many of them are relative to other European countries and not only Spain and are not what you will find every klick of the way... but it is what you asked for.

With accommodation, things are busier at the time of the year you are coming over but there are less people going on holiday here lately and occupancy in Hotels has been dropping in some areas (rising costs in Spain), there are a lot of apartment rentals 'in most coastal areas' that are on the market and these have taken a lot of demand off hotels. This is not to say you won't have a problem but I really think you should be OK in general, there are generally plenty of hotels, hostals and pensiones along the roads and in the towns, just don't leave it too late in the evening to try and find one.

Go for it and enjoy it. :D

Re: not an ex pat but...
 

Yes all the things stated here is to help you, not to put you off. We ride a Motorbike too so we are speaking from Experience. We also run a Casa Rural and we know what accommodation is like during Easter. The popular places are fully booked. It is not that you will never find some where just it will be difficult.
If you take a National roads then maybe the following web site might be of help.
http://www.toprural.com
For hotels and hostals you should look at the towns and cities you are aiming for the relevant tourist information web site will list them.

Good luck