miloVanMultistrada
Webmonkey
Just back yesterday from the 4th European Multistrada Meeting in the Pyrenees. An amazing week of riding, with everything from UK motorway to bumpy Spanish back roads. There were about 40 bikes, mostly Multistradas but a few Hypermotards, a 1098 and a new Monster.
Met up with some old friends from last year and made some new ones, it's not easy drinking until 2:30am and then negotiating wet mountain roads at 9:30am
The route was motorway to Silverstone, then on to Portsmouth for the 24hr ferry to Santander. Once in Spain it was squiggly roads up and down the mountains for 5 days and back across on the ferry.
Total mileage was about 2,400 on the road, with another 1,500 on the waves (possibly more as the ship was going up and down quite a bit on the way back).
4 men, one cabin and some nasty smells.
Unloading the ferry. It was very popular with bikes - about 70 odd in the section we were in and more elsewhere.
Getting off the motorway and on to the interesting roads
Climbing into the mountains to make the first meeting point (before it gets dark because I had a stick-in visor insert).
Mich (the co-organiser) and his wife descending from the mountain
'Faberman' going in deep
Peter and Jan (site admin of multistrada.net) chatting outside Museu de Moto
Ducati exhibit
Stopping after a challenging ride along a wet, bumpy mountain pass covered in cow @@@@ and more than a few cows and bulls! I'm not a smoker but I might need to take it up if I ride more roads like that!
Slumming it (hotel in the background)
Goodbye Spain, hello UK storms and rain :rain:
I lost a rear indicator lens on the bumps (wasn't the only one), but the Multstrada handled it all well, right up until the Meta immobiliser immobilsied the bike and refused to respond to my commands when I was 30 miles from the return ferry!
After a suggestion from a local old boy, I turned the alarm/immob unit into the sun and after 25 mins of drying it started working. Had the 'ride of my life' down the N623 into Santander which was fortunately a dry, perfect surface and clear of traffic.
If anyone every tries to tell you the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane, tell them that's bollocks - most of it falls on the Pyrenees!
Met up with some old friends from last year and made some new ones, it's not easy drinking until 2:30am and then negotiating wet mountain roads at 9:30am
The route was motorway to Silverstone, then on to Portsmouth for the 24hr ferry to Santander. Once in Spain it was squiggly roads up and down the mountains for 5 days and back across on the ferry.
Total mileage was about 2,400 on the road, with another 1,500 on the waves (possibly more as the ship was going up and down quite a bit on the way back).
4 men, one cabin and some nasty smells.
Unloading the ferry. It was very popular with bikes - about 70 odd in the section we were in and more elsewhere.
Getting off the motorway and on to the interesting roads
Climbing into the mountains to make the first meeting point (before it gets dark because I had a stick-in visor insert).
Mich (the co-organiser) and his wife descending from the mountain
'Faberman' going in deep
Peter and Jan (site admin of multistrada.net) chatting outside Museu de Moto
Ducati exhibit
Stopping after a challenging ride along a wet, bumpy mountain pass covered in cow @@@@ and more than a few cows and bulls! I'm not a smoker but I might need to take it up if I ride more roads like that!
Slumming it (hotel in the background)
Goodbye Spain, hello UK storms and rain :rain:
I lost a rear indicator lens on the bumps (wasn't the only one), but the Multstrada handled it all well, right up until the Meta immobiliser immobilsied the bike and refused to respond to my commands when I was 30 miles from the return ferry!
After a suggestion from a local old boy, I turned the alarm/immob unit into the sun and after 25 mins of drying it started working. Had the 'ride of my life' down the N623 into Santander which was fortunately a dry, perfect surface and clear of traffic.If anyone every tries to tell you the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane, tell them that's bollocks - most of it falls on the Pyrenees!
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