Motorbike Tours Newsletter 8

Motorbike-Tours.co.uk Newsletter April 2010

Spring has sprung Hello again everyone, and thanks to those of you who have emailed to say nice things about the newsletter; your cheques are in the post.

Springtime is well and truly here in Spain and conditions are perfect for two wheels. As I write this, I can hear the bikes on the road that runs up the side of Lake Viñuela, so let‟s get on with it, then I can get out on my bike with the rest of „em. The road is always popular with bikers, but now the weather has improved, everyone and their granny are out. I took the

Issue 8

A Message From Alan Page 1 Focus On….

Page 2 Featured Tourer Page 3 ABATE Freeze your Donkey Poker Run Page 5 And Finally Page 7 from a faceless journalist, so keep them coming in. Surprisingly, we‟re still waiting for something from a Harley owner (where are you?).

Also in this issue, we have a welcome and really interesting article from „Grumpales‟ of breakfastriders.org in California. You can read all about his day on the „ABATE Freeze Your Ass Off Poker Run‟ on page 5.

Can I point out here to all the British readers that no donkeys were injured during the ride. It‟s not that kind of Ass.

picture below during the winter when the skies were a little angrier than they are now.

In this issue of the newsletter Jo & Neale have sent in a great review of their BMW K1200LT (page 3). It‟s nice to read personal experiences from real people about their own bikes, rather than an unenthusiastic report

Anyway, let‟s move on. Thanks once again for reading this newsletter and don‟t forget to keep the piccies and stories coming in.

If you have anything to say that you think may be of interest to us, email me and we‟ll include it in the newsletter. Thanks,

Alan

See the tours here

Focus On El Torcal

The limestone has been subject to freeze-thaw splitting action, which has resulted in the strange shapes we see today, many resembling (and named after) everyday objects like the Screw, the Jug the Camel and the Sphinx.

The access road to El Torcal affords truly spectacular views over the Andalucian countryside and the coastline. On a clear day it is possible to see the north coast of Africa from the viewing points.

The road ends at El Torcal, where youâ€&#x;ll find a large car park, information centre and a small observatory.

Just 35 kilometres north of Malaga and the hustle & bustle of the Costa del Sol is a place of rare beauty, and I choose the words carefully. A place where improbable limestone formations have been thrust from the ground amidst flowered valleys, to create 17 square kilometres of what is one of the most impressive landscapes in Europe.

This area, which now has an altitude of over 1300 metres, once formed the sea bed. Over millions of years, the Earthâ€&#x;s crust has heaved and thrust this area into the sky. The limestone is what remains of sea creatures that died long ago in the ocean, forming layers which can still be seen today. Add to this the chiselling affect of the weather and we are left with incredible shapes.

El Torcal is one of the destinations featured in the Andalucia Tour

See the Andalucia Tour Here

Featured Tourer 2005 BMW K1200LT

By Jo & Neale

The biggest advantage of the bike is that it‟s a spacious comfortable ride for two. The faring provides ample protection from wind and weather and the adjustable screen allows you to ride all day comfortably at 100mph.

Completing distances of four to five hundred miles is easily achievable due to the position of the foot pegs and the deeply padded seats. The sure footed solid feeling of this bike is due to the BMW‟s unique duolever suspension which eliminates all pitch and dive under either acceleration or braking.

The abs system brings the bike to a complete stop without any shaking or juddering. Cruising at 80mph it returns a good 55mpg meaning a range of 300 hundred miles resulting in stopping only once a day for fuel.

After much deliberation and research

by Neale who is an advanced Police motorcyclist and as such has had the privilege of riding many bikes over the years – we finally opted for this over all the other well known tourers. Jo (although an advanced Police driver herself) was new to biking and with a bit of a back injury comfort was a must.

It is hard to fault the BMW K1200LT when it comes to the business of transporting two people, plus all their kit, for three weeks touring on a motorcycle, with every mod con you can think of including adjustable windscreen, abs, heated grips, heated front and rear seats, electric centre stand, reverse gear, ground lighting, trip computer, radio, cd player, ipod & phone, speaker system, cruise control, 3 external power sockets, adjustable seat height, remote alarm and immobiliser, These are not gimmicks but essential with a bike of this size and serious touring to be done!

The “in-bike” entertainment centre of cds, radio or ipod can be controlled by passenger or rider and when integrated with an autocom system (the best £300 we spent) allows music to be played via speakers or into helmets.

The bikes shear size can also be its Achilles heel, at over 500kg when fully loaded the bike is truly huge in comparison to many tourers.. It is arguably on the sporty side for a motorcycle that weighs nearly as much as a light van. But two-up and loaded with luggage care is needed in the twisty stuff, the suspension is set on

the soft side, which coupled with the motorcycle's relative lack of ground clearance, limits any cornering action(especially at 2000feet negotiating the hair pins on the Stelvio pass). Once moving the weight is quickly shed however during slow control manoeuvrability can be difficult and will catch riders out when first riding this bike. The weight goes from nothing to everything the minute you want to stop.....Neale had many trips around Morrison‟s car park to get used to it!

The width of the bike makes filtering difficult in town traffic and ultimately this makes the bike a niche purchase for the touring market. Parking can be an issue as the bike needs flat solid ground. From a passenger point of view (at a very tall 5ft 4”) it can be difficult to get on and off without scraping a boot across the width of the seat as “cocking” a leg over the back is impossible. It‟s not (for us) a multi functional motorcycle.

Overall the build quality and thought that has gone into this bike leaves it miles ahead of its rivals!! Everywhere we go there is always an interested party who wants to know more and it certainly attracts attention.

Thanks Jo & Neale for sharing you’re thoughts and photos with us.

If you‟d like to tell us about your bike, Email your comments and/or photos please.

ABATE Freeze Your Ass Off Poker Run

By Grumpales

Well the weather gods were nice and did not bother us with rain. They even kept the temperatures well above freezing. So another year and this ride remains misnamed. It has been wet some years, really wet for a few, but dry most years, and never freezing.

Some years were even downright spring like warm. But I have not frozen my ass off yet. It‟s still there, working as usual. Today was a great day to ride.

The event is ABATE 17‟s main fund raiser and it gets better each year. The bad news: The route did not include many twisties at all -- almost all straights and 90 degree turns. And the route instructions were a bit weaker than normal. Now the good stuff. It is just plain cool to do a group ride where the only group is those bikes that are around you for „this‟ stretch. They change on the next stretch. And with so many Harleys around, the sonics are nicely covered. My quiet Magna just hums along, unheard.

I got to Miss Darla‟s in Vacaville around 9:20, signed up and paid for the ride, and re-upped my ABATE

enlistment. Then I walked in and found the breakfast. Nice scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits, gravy, and hot sauce. I ate and talked with folks around me, traded a few lies and jokes.

After disposing of my plate, I got suited up to ride. I timed it perfect and tagged onto the back of a large group forming up. I let them lead…I followed and relaxed. Well this first group I rode out with got lost and „joined‟ another lost group. Fun to see twenty to thirty bikes making u-turns,

reading maps, and proclaiming “This is the right way”. But with only one more stop to check maps and street signs, and a tiny last minute u-turn, we got to the Buckhorn in Dixon and pulled our second card. The big group was out and rolling before I was ready. Me and another bike got ready at the same time shortly after that. He saw my tank bag with the instructions and allowed me to lead. So I led out from the Buckhorn and correctly followed the route to Stratford Ave (too many stop signs) to Pit School Rd. As we got to Pit School Rd, we passed a lot of our first group at a gas station -- reading maps I guess.

We continued on and soon caught up to another bike on the route. It was a couple riding two-up. This rider was slowing for the correct turns, and had

his turn signal on, well before any street signs could be read. My guess was he had gps and his passenger was reading the route to him. This proved to be true. I was reading the route from my tank bag and confirming his choices, but soon just let him lead as he was dead on. Once on Hwy 16, it was just a matter of following the straights and nineties to Capay and the Capay Junction Saloon. I was glad our „leader‟ was riding at the speed limit as we came upon a sheriff parked and waiting on the side. The third stop was just a block further up Hwy 16. As suggested by the instructions, I walked the huge distance to the Road Trip Bar and Grill. Good news for me, they had candy bars. I made it back to the Junction eating my chocolate and checked the route for the next leg.

Hey! I knew how to do that stretch without assistance. I looked and saw no one was ready to roll, so I ran back Hwy 16 to Road 89 (such an inventive street name) as a solo, feet up on the front pegs, leaning back a bit, just cruisin‟. This put me right in downtown Winters and right to the doorstep of the community center. I easily found a parking space in the lot and walked on in to find the hall was almost empty.

I was one of the early riders to complete the route. I picked my last

card and I had a much better hand than usual -- I had a pair of twos. Not bad enough for low hand and way too cruddy for high hand. Since I was going to be there awhile, I availed myself of the bar and got a beer.

Hmmm, nice. I watched the band set up, watched the food getting cooked (huge 6 foot flames wildly lapping at the tri-tips), talked with other folks milling about, and waited for lunch call. My beer got empty so I just had to refill it. While out back talking with friends, I saw a rider with a plate of food. Time to get into the food line.

The salad had the dressings on the side for a change and that allowed me to pick which kind I wanted -- a big plus.

The beans were just straight out of the cans and needed some „customizing‟ to spark „em up. The tri-tip was glorious.

And the bread roll was very tasty. The band (didn‟t catch their name) was cranking out a wide variety of blues and rock from many decades. Drums, bass, guitar, and a singer. They filled the air nicely with the tunes. The raffle ticket process was greatly improved over previous years. They just pulled ticket after ticket and wrote the 120 winning numbers on a huge board -and the 121st on a second, equally large board. I didn‟t win -- sigh. There were some great prizes as usual. I waited for the 50-50 and hi/lo hands only miss out again. Nuthin‟ unusual for my poker ride luck.

After that, the group broke up and scattered to the winds. I went out the back side of town on Putah Creek Rd and followed it to Pleasants Valley Rd. -- finally got some twisties. Then the short run on the freeway to home. No frozen ass, but no wet gloves. A nice tradeoff.

And Finally A mate of mine, Kevin the Human Cannonball, has had enough of his job.

He didn‟t really want it in the first place. The job centre people told him it was a long shot, so he thought he‟d apply. Unfortunately, he was the successful (and only) applicant.

Anyway, he stuck a few weeks of being blasted into a net, but now he wants out. The problem is that his boss won‟t let him go. „You can‟t leave,‟ he says. „Where else am I going to find a man of your calibre?‟ Thanks to Jo & Neale and Grumpales for their tremendous contributions. I hope their example will inspire others to do the same.

Alan

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