Benidorm, Just like England, but with sun shine.

22/1/13

This morning we finished watching Charlie Boorman's "Race to Dakar" TV series on DVD. It was OK, but what I found very interesting was the different approach people have to a challenging event. Some of the people in the show were stressing and carrying on about the smallest things and acting like they were the only person on earth who needed attention. In the meantime Simon Pavey just got on with the job, did what needed to be done even when it was bloody tough, and rode the bike to the finish. And he did it all with a cheeky smile on his face. Well done Simon.

The sad part of the series was some footage featured South Aussie Andy Caldecott who lost his life during the event.

Andy was a gem of a person. He got the call up to ride with the Repsol KTM team a week or so before the event after one of the team riders was injured and couldn't ride. His dream ride was unfortunately his last. I did shed a tear or two watching this. Our ride to Benidorm was a little more subdued than normal.

A disclaimer regarding today's photos. The wind was incredible again today so Suzanne struggled to even hold the camera still, so some photos are a bit blurry and the shot may not be framed to her usual high standard.

On the way there we noticed there were quite a few "ladies" on the side of the road. They must have been very friendly because truck drivers were stopping and having a chat with them for a little while, then driving off. They must be very poor because one "lady" I noticed had not much on at all under her coat, and it was cold. I hope she was OK. Suzanne managed to sneak a blurry photo of one...

She looks like she needs a friend.

Don't worry, one will be along soon.

I love these guys. They are throughout Spain on the side of the roads. Maybe we could do this with
kangaroos back home.

We approached Benidorm and the first thing that we noticed (it hit us in the face) was the huge number of high rise buildings there. It was unbelievable. Initially there were no planning restrictions so the developers went wild and built huge towers which dominate the whole area. It's visible for miles.

Welcome to Benidorm.

 I don't know if I'd like my office in the centre bit of this.

The graffiti was of a high standard, though these pics don't show the better ones. 

While we were there my bike caught up with it's little brother. You can see the family resemblance.

Baby bro'.

We had a quick coffee and set off up the mountain to have a look at the view. It was another one of those rides along the edge of a road with no railing, and a cliff on the side. I'm actually getting used to these now and they don't worry me...as much...no...really...they don't. OK, yes, I was scared.

 Just one or two high rise buildings.

Yes, it's high up here.

I love the safety barriers. NOT!

English invasion. Each and every apartment

is filled with our English friends.

After a bit of a look around we headed back to Alicante. We made a supermarket stop to buy some supplies for dinner and it took us about two and a half hours. We can't help sightseeing at the supermarket. I keep holding things up and saying "Suzanne, look at this", "Suzanne, look at this". I think she gets a little tired of it. I can't help it, there is so much great stuff you can get here that you just don't see at home, and don't get me started on prices.

When we got to the drinks section I found four more beers on the Facebook beer challenge list, so I had to buy them.

Only fifteen down, eighty five to go.

Yes, there are only three in the photo. Suzanne dropped one on the front step when we got home.

Suzanne cooked up one of her specialities and my favourites for dinner. A potato and sweet potato bake with some other secret ingredients. It's the first time in six months that Suzanne has cooked and it was a real treat. Thanks Suzette.

Tomorrow we'll brave the wind again and make our way to (or towards) Granada. Maybe I could rig up a windsurfer sail and tack my way there?

We clean up in Alicante.

21/1/13

It was a bit of a quiet day today. All of our washing is now done and dry, and that's a really good feeling.

I took the bike down to the service station pressure washer, gave it a good feed of euros, and gave the bike a bit of a bath. It needed it. Another good thing about riding in Europe is your bike doesn't get covered in bug splatter. It's not as clean as I'd like, but it will do for now. The advantage of giving the bike a good clean is that you get to see if there are any problems developing.

Mr BMW, I must say I'm a bit disappointed to find quite a few bolts on the bike that are showing corrosion, as I've seen on many BMs. Maybe it's time to look at the quality of the fasteners used. Also the front engine cover paint is blistering and I'm guessing there is corrosion happening under the paint, another common problem. To be fair, they're the only things I've come across that gives me a reason to complain, so it's not bad.

Suzanne felt like relaxing and watching a movie today. A quick look through Juan Ma's DVD collection turned up Charlie Boorman's "Race to Dakar" TV series. That took care of most of the day. The problem with watching things like this is it makes me want to go dirt bike riding. I need my little WR250.

We then headed out for a late feed in a little cafe overlooking the beach and watched the sun set. It was nice, but I think the owner stung us with the bill. It was about double what we'd normally pay. We'll know better next time.

What a nice quiet beach.

I'll bet it's not like this in summer.

 Then we went looking for a women's clothing shop I saw on the boulevard last night. We found Suzanne a nice top there and added that to the load on the bike.

Benindorm is our target for a day trip tomorrow. Apparently it's a place where a lot of English people go for holidays so it could provide some entertainment. I'll have to practise saying "Innit?"

The blessing of the animals in San Juan (Saint Joan).

20/1/13

Malena and Juan Ma's home has window shutters, like a lot of homes here in Spain, so in the morning no light came into our room. We must have been tired because we both slept in. Also knowing that the bike is safely tucked away in a locked garage downstairs always makes me sleep better.

Today was The blessing of the Animals in town, so of course Suzanne and I wanted to go. Unfortunately because we slept in we missed the ceremony, but the fiesta was still going, and there were plenty of dogs for Suzanne to pat and cuddle.

 Suzanne made another new friend.

All the animals, and there were plenty,

were bought here to be blessed.

In Spain they like their fireworks, so as part of the fiesta there were a heap of fireworks let off in the afternoon. I've NEVER heard fireworks so loud in my life, and the smoke they produced covered a very large area. A few of the dogs were scared, and one slipped his lead and did a runner, but most were fine with all the noise. Maybe they're used to it.

We like Spain, a lot. I might have to check my genealogy and see if I'm part Spanish. The people here are wonderful and the fact that there are a lot of dogs around and they are allowed into most shops and bars, just makes us like it even more.

From the fiesta we made our way to the beach. And guess what we found?

 This guy was my mate. I threw the (very well used) ball for him until he gave up.

Suzanne, Malena, and I

doing the tourist pose on the beach.

This was a very nice beach, easily rivalling some back home. If you had kids it would be perfect due to the lack of rough surf (and sharks). The other thing I liked was that you could easily walk on the sand without sinking into it up to your ankles.

It was three pm and in the Spanish tradition it was time for lunch. Marlena once again performed in the kitchen and presented us with a huge lunch which was delicious.

Then it was out for some more sightseeing. We headed down to the marina area and had a look around before walking back along the promenade. On the promenade we went into a cafe and had Churros and hot chocolate. This is a traditional Spanish treat that Suzanne and I have been meaning to try, but have never gotten around to. Churros are a bit like doughnuts. You take your churro, roll it in some sugar, and dip it into you thick, hot chocolate. Surprisingly they aren't as sweet as you'd think. Yes, they are yummy.

 The coastline here reminds me a little of home.

 Another cloudy sunset.

Here's a vending machine with a difference.

Live bait! Lucky I wasn't hungry.

This scene will look fantastic in a few years time

when these palms have grown.

After we finished our churros it was time to head home. The whole Spanish way of having a big, late lunch and a small meal in the evening works for me. After Malena's wonderful lunch all I could manage for dinner was a bowl of yoghurt with a banana. It has to be better going to bed with that than a belly full of fatty foods.

Tomorrow I think we'll have to spend some time cleaning and reorganising our load on the bike. It's time to post another parcel home.

The wind blew us north to Alicante.

19/1/13

There were very high winds again this morning and they were making lots of howling and whistling noises through the gaps around our windows. Suzanne went downstairs early and when she came back she suggested we might need to rethink today's ride. She had trouble walking it was so windy.

With that in mind we made a relaxed start to the day. We'd see what happened with the wind and make a decision later on. We were going to see the boys at the track, then continue on north for about an hour and a half to Alicante. Our friend Malena wouldn't be home until about five o'clock so there was no rush.

I had received an email from Tom Tom service advising me how to fix the issue of the Tom Tom and the headset not communicating so I sat down and (very nervously) went through the step by step instructions. The result? After testing in the hotel room, it worked! At the moment the sat nav is talking to the intercom again. I reserve judgement on the fix though because it decides all by itself if it wants to work or not.

A quick ride and we were at the track (we found it easily this time). The boys were a little subdued because the wind made riding very difficult, and then it started raining. They were umming and ahhing about calling it a day and going back to the hotel it was that bad. The sky was slowly clearing so Suzanne and I decided to brave the winds and hit the road so we left the Welsh Race team to ponder their options. It was great catching up with Leigh again, and meeting Erin and John just added to the fun. They're a great bunch of guys. I'm sure we'll see them again before we go home.

We wobbled off down the road in the wind and the rain and wondered if the boys got back out on the track after lunch, or were they going to end up in some seedy bar in town watching strippers. I just hope John doesn't drown in a bath.

It's funny what sort of things make you happy after travelling on a bike for six months. Both Suzanne and I were excited about the thought of having access to a washing machine when we got to Alicante. We could give our clothes a good wash. How sad is that? All our gear smells like camp fire smoke from the Pinguinos weekend, except our socks - I can't begin to describe what our socks smell like!!!!!!!!

One of our friends in Perth has hooked us up with her sister in Alicante, who had kindly offered to put us up for a night. We met up with Malena and Juan Manuel. What a wonderful couple of people. You sometimes hear the phrase "They couldn't help us enough" but with Malena and Juan Manuel it was so true. They welcomed us into their home like old friends, then Malena cooked up a storm for dinner. Is it possible to put on weight after only one meal? I felt like I had.

Say hello to our wonderful hosts,
Juan Manuel and Marlena. Thank you guys.

Suzanne was feeling the effects of lots of miles on the bike, and not enough sleep so she headed off to bed. I was about to follow, but then the Dakar report came on TV, so Juan Ma and I stayed up to watch it.

Malena and Juan Ma have kindly offered to be our Alicante tour guides tomorrow. We're looking forward to it.

Cartagena. Moto mates, and a race track.

18/1/13

We went to bed reasonably early last night and set the alarm for seven am as our plan was to have breakfast with the boys, then head out to the track. We both woke up at four am and couldn't go back to sleep. At about six thirty we dozed off, only to be woken again by the alarm at seven. No way! It was back to sleep for a few hours. I stirred a few times, but it was still dark so I knew it was still early. Then I thought "No, this isn't right." and discovered there was a shutter on the window keeping out all the light. It was about ten thirty. D'oh!

After a quick get ready, we were on the bike and on our way to Cartagena race track to meet up with the boys. 

When we arrived we heard the funniest thing. John did the right thing last night and went to his room early, then decided to have a bath. Now the boys had had a very long day so they were pretty tired. John slid into his nice, hot, bath...and fell asleep. He woke up at midnight up to his neck in cold water. Brrrr.

The boys had already had a couple of sessions out on the track and were having a lot of fun. It was a pretty tight track so the speeds weren't that high, but there were plenty of corners making sure the tyres and riders got a good workout. Here are a few pics...

Erin winds up the Aprilia on the main straight.

Leigh was putting in good lap times,

despite being on an old GSXR750.

John was smooth and consistent.

The boys at play. Leigh chases John.

Erin looked very relaxed on his Aprilia.

Half way through the first day,

Leigh's tyres were looking well used.

John - "So I went round the outside of Leigh".

Leigh - "In your dreams".

Erin - "I'm quicker than both of you, and I'm not even trying".

But when it's all said and done, they're good mates,

and very happy.

Some people weren't as happy.

Ready to go again...

Me too.

Don't forget me.

Leigh leads Erin onto the main straight...

...and Erin is closely followed by John.

Oops!

It was a low speed topple,

and the only damage was a bit of pride.

John on the gas.

Erin getting a knee down.

The brains trust...

"I think the key goes in here".

Focus. Or just a bit of bad timing on my behalf?

Aiden is the young guy in the photo above. He's only twelve years old, but is a very capable rider putting in some pretty good laps on a 125. He was there for he weekend with his dad who spins spanners for him. How awesome is that? A father and son away for a weekend in Spain playing motorcycles. Aiden races in the UK and this weekend was a practice weekend for him. His school sent a text to his dad saying "Aiden isn't at school today. Please explain". Dad sent a text back saying "He's in Spain with me, racing motorbikes." Who wouldn't want a dad like that? As dad said, if he was at home he'd be snowed in anyway, or the school would be closed. Aiden also had one of the best stickers I've ever seen on his bikes. It simply reads "Thanks Grandma". Is Aiden a future champion in the making? Who knows? Does it matter? I don't think so. Right now he's having a lot of fun and spending weekends away with his dad. That's priceless.

John contemplates the next session.

Before we knew it the day had finished as far as riding round in circles goes. The boys had worked very hard, and had a ball. It was time to head back to the hotel for a recovery session.

Suzanne spotted this on the way...

Second storey dog lookout post.

This guy was on top of a two storey building and when Suzanne first saw him he was leaning back on one elbow (do dogs have elbows?) watching the world go by.

Once we were back at the hotel we had a few drinks, including the word's largest bourbon and cokes, then headed out to a restaurant a few doors away.

Our crew enjoying a nice quiet meal.

While we were waiting for our entrée the owner came past and threw a big handful of sweet peas on the table for us. They were as sweet as and they went down a treat. Then the entrées came out, 

and they were very nice, but it was the main that I enjoyed most. I was presented with what was probably the best steak I have ever eaten. It was a superb, tasty Sirloin, and was cooked to perfection. I walked out of there a very happy man.

After a stroll back to the hotel the boys called it a night as they had another full day in store tomorrow. Suzanne and I promised we'd call out to the track on our way to Alicante in the morning and say our good byes.

See you at the track tomorrow guys.

Where are we going? Alicante? Cartagena? I don't know...

17/1/13

Today dawned with sunshine. Well, there was a bit of sunshine poking through the menacing grey clouds, and the wind was there again.

We had a relaxed morning with a late breakfast because it's only a two hour ride to Alicante where we will meet our new friend to be, Marlena. She doesn't get home from work until after six so there is no rush to get there before that.

Check out the size of that breakfast.

After breakfast I spent about an hour trying to get the Tom Tom sat nav to talk to my intercom headset - without any success at all. I really am reaching the end of my tether with this dud Tom Tom sat nav. I even considered asking a policeman if I could borrow his gun so I could shoot the thing.

On a positive note Suzanne made a new friend. Meet Yago...

Isn't he gorgeous? 

And he loves a cuddle.

Yago lives next door to the hotel and he was very lucky this morning. He got the leftovers from Suzanne's breakfast, and was VERY thankful although his table manners need a bit of work.

Then we found out that that our Welsh friend Leigh (of Isle of man and Assen TT fame) was going to be in Cartagena for the weekend. Cartatgena is only about a hundred kilometres from Alicante, so we should catch up. He's attending a track weekend with about sixty other poms. They load their bikes on a few trucks and send them to Spain, then they all fly down for a few days of riding fun.

So we changed our plans.

We'll go to Cartgena and catch up with Leigh on Friday, then up to Alicante and see Marlena on the weekend. Easy. So off we went on out two and a half hour ride to Cartagena. The wind was bad again, but but not as bad as yesterday. It was cloudy and we encountered a little rain at the start, but it didn't amount to much.

All the way along the motorway there were warning signs about high winds and there were wind socks on most of the bridges. There were also some HUGE wind farms along the side of the road. There were probably a hundred of these generators in one spot we rode past. They're big, and when there is that many of them, they look pretty impressive, if not intimidating.

The farm lands we had been riding through turned to rocky landscape and it looked pretty barren. The mountains appeared to be huge rocks poking up out of the ground.

Suzanne said she'd rather be riding down this track that the motorway. Me too.

More mountains.

The landscape was fairly severe.

Jagged rocky outcrops.

Are we going through there? Yes we did.
It was a lot easier than I expected.

The cloud formations were  really interesting.

Today was the warmest we've been for months. he thermometer on the bike was reading between seventeen and twenty degrees for most of the afternoon. Dare we take the linings out of our jackets yet? Is this really the end of the cold weather for a while?

This amazing building is on the main drag.

We'll have to find out more about it.

We stopped at a cafe and fired up our computer and phones to try and contact Leight to find out where he was staying. It turned out he was in a hotel about on hundred metres down the road. Off we went and booked into the hotel next door. It was so good to go out wearing a T Shirt and feel comfortable. I do like being warm. Then it was off to the bar for a catch up drink, or two.

 It was really good to catch up with Leigh,

he's a top bloke.

 Leigh was very well behaved because he had a big day at the track the following day. Can you tell?

 Dinner time. Yum!

Leigh was travelling with his bother Erin and a mate John, who were both riding on the weekend as well. We enjoyed catching up and it was a fun night, even if it was an early one. The boys did have to be good because it was going to be a huge weekend of riding.

See you at the track tomorrow guys...