We have some great roads here in NZ, and with less traffic in the last few years (thinking about Turismo ’22!), they have been a real joy to use.
However, there’s a world of amazing roads out there.
Last October, as part of a much-postponed trip to Europe, Angela and Richard left Plymouth, UK for Santander in Spain. On a hired Multistrada V4S we boarded Brittany Ferry with three other bikes belonging to British friends.
There were loads of bikes on the ferry as Spain is a very popular destination for UK bikers and the weather is definitely better! Having toured Spain in 2019 with the same gang, we loved the sweeping empty high-quality roads, great food, wine and amazing scenery. We wanted to explore Portugal too this time.
We hired the red Multi from Silverstone (just off the race circuit) and the cost was around $4000 for 17 days hire, including full luggage, insurance and recovery. Hotels were pre-booked with secure parking - essential for insurance purposes.
The Picos de Europa mountains in the north of Spain did not disappoint with breath-taking views and amazing mountain roads.
Built for these roads, the V4S soon ate up the miles via Lugo in Spain (where there was a 2-day festival), the famous Cockleshell Pilgrims' destination of Santiago de Compostela, then a stop in Chaves over the Portuguese border.
Next we took a 3-night break in Lamego in an AirBnB - the whole house with gardens, grapevines and a swimming pool in the grounds of a medieval castle.
Interesting navigating four fully-packed bikes, two up, through twisty, narrow cobbled lanes built for donkeys! We moved on south west to Aveiro, via the stunning Douro Valley (great roads!), dotted with vineyards producing quality wines and port.
Known as the Venice of Portugal, Aveiro had gondola-type boats which cruised the waterways under beribboned bridges.
Manteigas, in the Serra del Estrella mountains, was our last Portuguese stop for three nights before heading back into Spain. We took a break to do some tramping with an epic 17 kms walk through the mountain tracks above the village.
Salamanca and Burgos are beautiful cities, even in the rain. We managed to keep the bikes dry for just about the whole of this trip.
We caught the brand new gas-powered ferry back from Bilbao to Portsmouth for the last 24 hour cruise homeward. With frequent stops for coffee, loo stops (men of a certain age!), tapas, ice cream and some days off we did around 4,000 kms door to door.
The V4S was awesome – the best handling bike we’ve ever ridden and perfect for long distance blasts. It’s super comfortable with noticeably better suspension and very smooth compared to our 1200S Multi. And very fast! Navigation connectivity is not perfect and the V4 was thirsty compared to the other bikes, but we want one! Angela was almost disappointed that she didn’t need to use the heated seat on this trip.
Not cheap, but a great experience and we can’t recommend the roads enough (particularly in Spain). Spyder motorcycles was great - they hire a range of Ducatis. Time your trip right and the Picos Mountains are home to amazing classic bike rallies such as the Piston or Colombres.
📸 & 📝 by Angela and Richard Espley
