Chasing the sun and the perfect road for cycling

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Cervelo

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So on Wenesday I filled up the boot of my car and threw my 2 bikes into the back of the car, kissed my wife goodbye and got the ferry to Holyhead. Then drove through Wales and England to Folkestone and spent the night there, The next morning I hopped on the Channel Tunnel to Calais and drove to Nimes in southren France and spent a night in a lovely 3* hotel (Pre Galoffre). Then yesterday I made the the relatively short drive to Barcelona for 2 nights in the B Hotel, which is a hotel I've wanted to stay in since I saw Glenda Gilison review it many years ago. Then on Sunday morning I'll make the final drive down to Lubrin in Almeria, where I'll be spending the next 3 months cycling.

A few observeations along the way,
According to the AA, Ireland is the only country that it is not compulsory to adjust your headlamps and one of the very few that don't require you to carry a warning triangle and hi-viz vest in your car.
Motorists in France and Spain know how to use their Motorways properly.
I have never seen as many trucks in my life, I dont think there has been more then a couple of minutes when I haven't been overtaking a truck.
First traffic light I saw in France was when I left the motorway in Nimes to get to the hotel over a thousand Km from Calais.
Petrol on the motorway is expensive, anywhere between €1.50 to €1.55 P/Ltr.
Toll Charges are going to be expensive but worth it.
Cruise control is a must on journey like this.
The speedo on my car is out by up to 10K according to the sat Nav, to do 120 Kph I have to do 127 and 130 Kph is 140.
Led Zeppelin really did make some great music.
The weather in Barcelona is colder then Dublin at the moment.

Now time for breakfast and day of sight seeing.
 
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Bet there is no trolley crisis over there, enjoy.

Are you renting a place or getting accommodation on the go? Are rents reasonable throughout winter?
 
Well first off you got a good wife. I was thinking of doing the same someday but on a hardly or something similar. I drove a car through France and spain but you don't appreciate the beauty in a car.
 
Cervelo said:
According to the AA, Ireland is the only country that it is not compulsory to adjust your headlamps and one of the very few that don't require you to carry a warning triangle and hi-viz vest in your car.
Toll Charges are going to be expensive but worth it.
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Thank you for you informative post. The point you have raised on hi-vis jackets it important. The jacket must be in the car and in reach. If you are stopped and get out to retrieve the jacket from the boot you will be fined (for being on the hard shoulder without wearing a hi vis jacket). The jacket must also have the CE mark, to show it is to the correct standard. When I read your post I immediately checked my jacket, bought from IKEA, and yes it is to the CE standard.

One question, concerning motorway tolls, did you pay by cash or obtain a toll badge?
 
To answer Nordcapp's question above:- Winter/Spring Rentals for a good 2 bedroom apartment in a decent coastal location would cost around €650 per month plus your electricity use (probably €100.00 pm).

Cervelo is on his way to Almeríá province for some R&R and some cycling. Costa Almeríá has the driest and warmest temps of anywhere on the Mediterranean. He won't find himself alone as several international cycling teams use Costa Almeríá for off season training. We had the Dutch cycling team for breakfast two years ago on a Sunday. One of them got a puncture and local enquiries sent them to Mrs Lep who is known to have a pump on her heavy non-wind resistant two wheel tank like bike. Nice guys and girls, I add, and of course Mrs Lep holds herself partly responsible for their Olympic success later.
 
Nordkapp said:
Are you renting a place or getting accommodation on the go? Are rents reasonable throughout winter?
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I'm staying in a cycling orientated B&B on a half board basis (Brezocycling.co.uk), because I'm staying for the best part of 3 months I was able to organise a favorable rate that wouldn't be far off Leper's costings.

galwaypat said:
Well first off you got a good wife. I was thinking of doing the same someday but on a hardly or something similar. I drove a car through France and spain but you don't appreciate the beauty in a car.
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Thanks Galwaypat, I spent a long time searching for the perfect wife and I know for sure that she is, with regards to the driving, I enjoy the motorway trips just as much as the touring/sightseeing trips, yes you dont get to see all the small towns and villages etc, etc but on the motorways you generaly get to see more of the country side with the added bonus of getting from A to B as quickly as possible.

cremeegg said:
The perfect road for cycling is from Ennistymon to Ballyvaughn via Fanore
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I hope to God you are wrong :D but after getting here I can see I'm going to be leaving a lot of "Blood, sweat and tears" on these roads.

PMU said:
The jacket must be in the car and in reach.
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You are quite right, have mine in the glove box but as far as I know you have to put it on before you get out of the car otherwise as you say, you may be fined.

PMU said:
One question, concerning motorway tolls, did you pay by cash or obtain a toll badge?
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I could have got a toll tag for France through Eurotunnel but not Spain, so I was just going to pay cash at the toll booth but as it turns out nearly all toll booths are automated.
So I just pulled up close to the ticket machine and either reached over the passenger seat and took the ticket or inserted the ticket, then my credit card (Payment was taken without pin) and on you go.

When I get time tomorrow or the next day I'll do a summay and a costing :eek: of the trip to here.
 
Cervelo, you probably have learned by now that the Spaniards take to tolled roads like we look forward to root canal treatment. Therefore, it is likely that you won't find open petrol stations on such roads. Therefore, fill up before entering the toll. If you are taking the "coastal" route the free dual carriageway is as good as the tolled road heading south from Alicante.

One other thing. Be careful driving in Andalucia. There are many hidden speed cameras. If you turn up at the Policía Estación to pay your fine, the car will be checked from small-toe to breakfast-time, your insurance will be studied along with your driving licence. Don't show up and they will look for you. These guys look for something wrong rather than something that is right and some are as crooked as a cork-screw. Don't even think of drinking alcohol and driving. I know you think you see Spanish drivers drinking red wine before taking to the roads. Be aware that this usually is tinto verano (splash of red wine with white lemonade and of course added orange, lemon slices).
 
Thanks Leper, That probably explaines why the motorway south of Barcelona was so empty up to Valencia and those of you who give out about the speed limit been set at 100Kph on the M50, the motorway that bypasses Valencia (A-7) goes from 120 down to 100 and then back up to 120 Kph in less then 1Km and it did this at least 4 times. I presume the reason for this is to generate revenue from speed tickets as I could see no other reason for doing this on a straight road.
 
Okay, left Barcelona on Sunday morning @9am to make the 700Km+ journey to my new home for the next 3 months in Lubrín. Joined the AP-7 motorway and traveled it all the way to just south of Alicante where I continued on the A-7/E-15 to Huércal-Overa and then took the countryside roads and arrived in Lubrín @5pm. Like Leper said the Motorway to Valencia was nearly empty of traffic, I thought it might have been down to then last day of the Christmas holidays and been Sunday morning rather then an adversion to paying tolls.

A few observations along the way 2
Leaving Barcelona I was delighted to see hunderds of cyclists leaving the city for their sunday spin, but even on what seemed to me a glorious sunny day they were all wearing full winter kit including face masks
As Leper said the motorways are empty but south of Valencia when the motorway turns into the E-15 the traffic started build up.
Where French drivers keep to the inner lane and use the 2 outer lanes for overtaking, the Spanish drivers seem to sit in the middle lane and expect you to overtake in the outer and presumably think the inner lane is for trucks only.
Fuel is the same price on the motorway as France
After just over 28 hours of driving I had exceeded my total mileage for last year 2550Km
The Red Hot Chili Peppers also have made some great music and their new album "The Gataway" has to be up there as been one of their best!

So some figures and costs
Total trip 2875Km, Trip time 32:05 Hrs, Average speed 89Km
Total petrol 310Ltrs Total fuel cost €393.04
French Tolls €106.70, Spanish Tolls €56.98
Irish Ferries to Holyhead €138.75
Eurotunnel €109.95
Hotels (3) €357.68
Food & Entertainment €178.16
Total trip cost €1341.26

As for the cycling
I've only done 3 spins of 45k with nearly 800m of climbing on each spin, the first thing C have noticied apart from the weather is the road surface it is so smooth compare to the "Chip & Seal" that Wicklow CC insist on using on my normal Wicklow spins.
The scenery is simply quite stunning
I've been advised to carry an "Idenity Card"with me at all times, not in case I have an accident and they need to indentify my body but that all people in Spain, locals and tourists have to carry one by law.
Also when cycling "intercity" you have to wear a helmet by law, as I have never worn one before this is a new experience for me :eek:
The roads around here are nearly empty of traffic I'd go as far as to say it seems like they have closed all the roads so as I can cycle in peace :D
One thing I forgot to mention was when a car does come up from behind and overtakes me, they all move over to the other side of the road if traffic is comming from the other direction they wait. I'm not sure if its a law but they all seem to observe the 1.5 meter rule :p

Anyway time for lunch and to get ready for the afternoon spin.
 
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Hi Cervelo. I know you just experienced the first snow in over seventy years in Costa Almería. Weather should be warming up by now. Any update on your travels?
 
Hi Leper, its been a mad 5 weeks since I've arrived. The weather was good for the first 10 days not great but good, the sun was out but the temperature was only reaching the mid teens at most.
The majority of the days I would have to wear arm and leg warmers but a couple of the days I didn't which was when I noticed some of the locals stop what they were doing and stare at me ??
I asked Sarah & Gary what this is about and was told anything below 20° is considered cold and you should have according to the local cyclists your winter gear on.
Anyhow that all ended on the 18th as the first snow in decades arrived to Lubrín, I would guess close to 5in fell that night and I believe there was snow on the beaches of Mojacar which hasen't been seen for over a hundred years, since then the weather has gotton much better with a good few days getting into the low 20s but I'm also told Febuary is also the windy month and sofar had 2 days of 80/90kmh gusts and today its in the 40 to 50 range but still a bright sunny day.
I have done a bit of sightseeing Murcia, Lorca, Almería been the big cities/towns and also drove up along the cost from Agua Amarga, through Caboneras, Mojacar, Garrucha and Playas de Vera and back around to Lubrín.
At the moment the almound trees are in bloom with their white and pink blossom which added to the orange and lemon trees full of fruit make for quite a sight when driving or cycling through the countryside
The lubrín Bread Festival was held on Sunday the 22nd, a mad but very enjoyable day.
https://www.facebook.com/indalo.almeria.33/videos/931460496988217/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE
I'm in the video twice @ 3 and @ 24/27min
I haven't eaten out much but the couple of times that I have I found it to be very resanoble, 6 tapas 4 cokes and 2 coffees €14, 2 meals with desert and coffee including a good few drinks €25 and eight of us went out for the Bread festival, beer wine and tapas for the day just over €100 and none of us were sober.
Supermarket prices are a bit cheaper then home sometimes a good bit cheaper, 4 2Ltr bottles of coke €5, a very drinkable wine "Caperucita Tinta" €1.65 are a couple that come to mind.
With regards to the cycling and finding the perfect road, it would be easier to say that I haven't found a bad road yet!!
One thing I wasn't prepared for is the climbing, a rough guide would be every 10k you can expect 200m of climbing but still very enjoyable especially when you consider there is little or no other traffic on these roads
Sofar according to Strava I've cycled 1448km and climbed just over 24000mtrs in 22 rides
 
Just a quick update and to finish the thread, I arrived back home on the 31st of March from Lubrín in Almería.
This time I drove up the the middle of Spain through the Pyrenees, across the Millau bridge and onto LeMans, Mont St-Michel and St-Malo before heading to Calais and onto Holyhead
It was a very pleasant drive untill I got near Oxford when traffic slowed down to a crawl because of a traffic accident near Birmingham and ultimately made me miss my boat to Ireland
The trip home was 3517 Km and took 42 hours with 4 overnite stops, Vielha Spain, LeMans & St-Malo France and Ashford England and a days sightseeing in France

Some costs and figures

Cost of trip down €1341
B&B half board for 11 weeks €2240
Cost of trip back up €1130
Lunches, petrol and other while there €1500

Total cost of trip €6211

While there, according to Strava, I Cycled 3500Km in 149 Hours and climbed just under 65000 Mtrs
In the car I drove 2875Km down, 4577Km while there and 3517 on the way back giving a total of 10969Km and used 1165 Ltrs of petrol in 146 hours
 
Great reports Cervelo. I did the same thing on some occasions some years ago. It is nice to get some sunshine January/February/March when we humble Irishers are battening down the hatches against everything the weather throws at us. I note you paid €3740 for B&B and for food. Renting a 2 bedroom apartment (incl electricity + food) would have been cheaper).

Good that you made it back. Well done!
 
Leper, you can't take an apartment on your travels. I'd imagine an apartment would not suit the areas Cervelo was cycling and would have meant a longer commute at the beginning and end of day.
 
Thanks Leper, and you probably are right about getting the B&B and food for cheaper but in reality I could have done the whole trip for a lot cheaper
If I had flown instead of driving I could have knocked at least €2500 off, renting an apt might have saved another €300 to €400
I'd reckon with a little fine tunning and sharping of the pencil I could have done a similar trip for around the €3000 mark
but to me even the €6K that I spent on this trip is great value when I compare it to the fly/drive trip of America we're doing in a couple of weeks (Flights, car-hire and hotels for 23 days €4718)
 
Heading back to Spain in January and was wondering if anybody knows of any discount codes or suchlike for Irish Ferries and Euro Tunnel ??
 
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