Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Tapas bars

Just browsed down one of the streets and had a beer with ham and mushroom on toast, walked a bit further and wandered in and out of a couple mor bars then found one with a charcoal grill cooking very large steaks!

Evening in Pamplona



Still very hot at 8pm but I have to go out to find something to eat and drink!
Sat in the Plaza del Castillio drinking beer and eating tapas
I can hear thunder in the distance, no wonder with the temperature so high...
The clouds are starting to build...
Now we have a heavy downpour...
It certainly needs it to cool down.
The square is now clear of people and the rain is bouncing on steaming stone flags!
I never thought I would be so pleased to see the rain!
It was a five minute storm in a teacup but the air feels much fresher for it.
The waiter is nowhere to be seen, where's my second beer?

Steak bar

On walking around the streets of Pamplona this evening I found a bar that cooked steaks on a charcoal grill to order.
The butcher/cook cut the steaks off as required and the local wine goes well.

40 degrees in the shade!

I rode from Bilbao to San Sebastián and then on to Pamplona
Several stops for drinks and a shady place to cool down a while.
Very hot when stood in traffic though
Bike is holding up well 
A welcome cool shower and rest before I explore around here. 

Morning in Bilbao

Quite a busy place and lots going on 
Narrow streets in the old quarter are similar to those in Barcelona.
The river and hills surrounding the city add a different dimension though



Monday, 29 June 2015

Dinner in Bilbao

Went for fish as we are on the northern coast
Grilled king prawns to start and Bilbao style Turbot as the main course 

Washed down with a bottle of local wine 
Sat out in the square the air is much cooler than today thankfully. 

Bilbao

After the relief of getting the puncture sorted I had quite a good ride to Bilbao through a few nice villages. 
I used the sat nav to find the Pension I was staying and it took me through several pedestrianised narrow streets. 
I expected that around the next corner a policeman would appear and I would be taken to task. Thankfully none showed up!
The place I'm staying is in the middle of the picture , second floor. 

Puncture !

I rolled into a small village square at about 2.30 pm and the steering went very stiff and hard to handle
The front tyre had a puncture.
Small village place everywhere closed for siesta except a bar where nobody speaks English 
After several trials with my phrase book 
( nobody understood a word )
I resorted to sign language and eventually  discovered a little garage that repairs tractors, but does puncture repairs on 200 yards down the road from the square 
It was a storage dark oily place and his wife was sat in the thick of it all knitting!
Eventually he worked out what I needed and he had a machine to take tyres on and off easily so that was a relief
Standing around in 32degrees of heat was a toil though 
It took about an hour in between him servicing the odd tractor!
Managed to get set off again with some trepidation as I've never had the front wheel of this bike before.
Torque settings and wheel balancing were not on the agenda!
If it shakes a bit at higher speeds I'll have to get it balanced again.
At least I'm on my way ! 

Arrival at Santander


Managed to get off the ferry as planned quite easily but it is very hot. The clothing I have is quite ventilated so it's ok when moving but it gets hot vry quickly on standing still for too long
Traffic lights in Spain have speed detectors on them and if you approach over the speed limit they stop you !
Instant justice !
Some great roads and scenery even before I get to the Pyrenees.


Sunday, 28 June 2015

Arrival to ferry at Plymouth

An hour further on from Teignmouth and loaded onto ferry with no waiting 
Lots of motorbikes on this deck all going to Northern Spain via Santander.

Stockport to Teignmouth

Set off at 6am for the southwest 
Light rain all the way
Traffic light though thanks to the early departure 
Called in for coffee and cake with Steve one of my old school friends who now lives in Teignmouth 
It was good to see him his wife Sarah and Steves mum and dad were there too visiting. We calculated 15 years since we had seen each other! 

Saturday, 27 June 2015

Final preparations

Lubed the chain 
Checked oil level , tyre pressures
Fitted sat nav 
Worked out timings and route
Off to visit Steve one of my old school friends who now lives near Torbay at lunchtime and then on to the ferry for 2.30 

Friday, 26 June 2015

Preparing for Spain and France 2015

1600 miles testing the new Ducati scrambler and getting ready for the ferry 2 days from now