I am having breakfast on the Pont Avon, only few hours from Santander. When I get off, all the booked parts are done and dusted. From now on I will just look on my old map... Choose a likely looking place, choose 'no motorways,' and press the GO button on the zumo 550... It sure finds some weird places ;-)
My route is to trace (very loosely) the sea going route of HMS Usurper, a RN submarine, which was lost with all hands around the 3rd Oct 1943 somewhere around the bay of Genoa.
My grandfather, Leonard Jackson was lost too. Obviously I never knew him but apparently he might have been a bit of a bugger, so he sounds OK to me



This is mainly for family to keep tabs but feel free to join in, especially if you have knowledge of submarine ops in the Med in WW2.

I am aiming to camp mainly, so WiFi will be patchy, and 3's europass doesn't include tethering (the swine). But then again Leonard couldn't contact home on his last trip either.

Potes has been recommended so I'm headed to Potes. Shortish ride to get me zeroed in.




Pete

I like your intention to follow the sub but you have posted this 3 times in total - maybe I will follow your ride report if you can settle down to one or other of your postings!

Bon voyage!!

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Dave

Tks Dave- fixed

My apologies.... The WiFi on the Pont When, and fat fingers on a nexus 7 are to blame.

Hopefully better this time.

Yesterday was my first days riding in Spain, and as intended camped just outside Potes. Fair to say I packed too much as usual, probably half a pannier of 'wotiifs' that you can never do without but never use. I blaming it on the need to cope with the Alps on the return leg, which could be a bit chilly. (It better be, or the electric jacket I'm carrying will be a waste of space, as will the log burning stove... And I'm just kidding about the stove)

What to say about the Picos mountain area? If you've been, you'll know... If you haven't, then do go. I cut through them with all motorways banned on the zumo.
Hardly saw any other bikes, and only a few cars.

I'll try to get some pics up... But it might be an edit when I get home and have a PC to fool with, as my inability to function here on the tablet has been mentioned already :-P

Tonight residing in a hotel, 25 euros..... If the bike is still there tomorrow I will continue....

After Potes, I stopped in Salamanca. Th was the 25 euro hotel mentioned before. It wasn't my choice, the zumo was taking me in ever decreasing circles trying to find a campsite and I chanced up the hotel. Once I had wrestled the young lady from her card game, and demonstrated my total stupidity at speaking Spanish, an air conditioning unit came along with a room.
The 'restaurant', which the young lady was at pains to point out was a 'separate business.
Asked for a menu.... Got blank looks in return.. There was no choice. But, a salad to start and omelette with cheese and peppers.. 11 euros.... Including 2 s.... Mustn't grumble, as the boss tells me.
Anyway, the Strom was there, so after lugging all the stuff back from the room to the bike and working up a right old sweat, I couldn't find the sumo. Mucho panico (see the Spanish is improving already ;-) ) Unpack top box....Unpack both panniers... Repack both...look under bed.. In cupboards... Start thinking how you report theft to the Spanish police.. Then find it under my bike jacket... I wonder what the Spanish is for dork...

Hit the road, and did some miles. Have seen some beautiful scenery, brilliant roads, from smooth curvy, sinewy roads, to little more than tracks. Like I say, Garmin... Four those out of the way places.

Spain is such a great country to ride in, great roads, and the people generally have friendly vibe so far, even if we can't understand each other :-)

Tonight I'm in Portugal, although never noticed a border. Zumo took me to a campsite that is having some kind of exposition going on,, so no camping again. This hotel is 13euros... I have asked a few times if that's right.. But I'm told it is. Hopefully no nasty surprises tomorrow.

My helmet is causing me some grief.... That's my BMW flip up helmet. Something is pressing against my cranium, which it appears is not as soft as some people say! Quite localized pain, about an inch above my ears. I'm pressing the polystyrene in,,trying to stop the pressure. Time will tell.

I have seen places today that I would have liked to linger, but couldn't. The route today was partly 'the route of castles' and there were some, although lots were derelict. I can see me going back to explore these places another time,... Time to learn some oif the lingo.

Should reach Gibraltar tomorrow, but with no camping, and little in the way of hotels on the web, it might just get bypassed...

So, 13 euros see sounded too good to be true, and it was! It wasn't a massive surprise to see 30 euros. Still a good nigh rest is worth the money. Apart from a fellow guest seeming to be tapping out Morse code on the pipe system for half the night, and what sounded like two drunk women going to bed.. The loudest one being the one that was telling the other one to shhhhhh!

Departed under grey skies and a spit of rain in Portugal. Good roads back to Spain, still avoiding the motorways, and as usual they were pretty much empty. I am loving it here :-)

Took an off road excursion (deliberately).. All went OK. If the Strom can cope in my incompetent hands its doing OK..

Great roads, great weather, but I screwed up by letting the satnav take me too far into Seville before I realized motorways would have been better. An hour or so wasted there, and almost as long wasted on garmin 'fictitious' hotels meant a late hotel find somewhere in.... umm .. Spain. It will tell me where I am on the receipt in their morning :-)

Had to buy a USB charging look lease today to charge the drift camera. Chinese supermarket where the seemed to sell everything, and talk any language, excerpt English.. Getting used to this now though :-)

Would write more but knackered, as and the 3 s are not helping me

Really want to camp tomorrow for a couple of nights. There's a rawness in my draws, needs a rest ;-)

Pete

I'm not clear why you have struggled, a bit, to find campsites - maybe the time of year, with some of them being closed after the end of the season?

Anyway, you might find this website useful for your trusty Zumo:-
ARCHIESCAMPINGS

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Dave

Thanks for that. Its saved for future use. I guess the routes I'm taking are off the beaten track. Garmins standard offerings were few and far between. But, I'm not fussed. I like camping but will take whatever. The next 2 nights I'm in a bungalow (Shed) on a campsite on the southern most tip of Spain. From the campsite beach I can see Gibraltar, the straits, and Africa. I'm told you can see the lights from Africa at night, and I'll go and look later. Might even be a sunset soon.
I stood earlier, and looked out to sea and found myself thinking about my Grandad and ALL his comrades who could not have known what a beautiful country they sailed around to get here. The saying of what they gave so we could live better lives hits home now. We are so lucky to be able to travel on a whim like this, without let or hindrance.
There's a pill box built into the foreshore here. I have no idea what the Spaniards response to belligerent shipping spotted during the war as it headed for the straits. Takes a pot shot? Look the other way?

The roads today have been awesome. Off the beaten track (re-enabled blocking motoreways and toll roads..)
I have gone through national parks, and whole expanses of rural idyll. The bike has hardly been upright all day, The roads vary from racetrack standard to 'a bit feckin' bumpy, to say the least. In the park area, some had given up clinging with tarmac fingertips to the side of the hills and slid away to oblivion (or just 10 feet sometimes, but it's hard not to get poetic).
No attempt is made to rebuild usually, they just cut into the hillside and add another curve. :-)

I was thinking, you wouldn't want to ride a sports bike on the bumpier bits, as you'd end up with an internal seat..
but then I went past 3 of them... Just like that :-)
They had stopped for refreshment actually, and secretly I hoped they weren't going my way to ruin my riding god ego, which was taking on ridiculous proportions.

While stopped for lunch, I made user of Google earth, to suss out tonights stop. Also peeked at tomorrows weather. Possible thunderstorms. Gadzooks!! This has no affect on my choosing a she'd over the tent. The bloody great big ants wandering about didn't either :-)

Bits of me need a rest anyway, so I'll chill here for tomorrow, and head northeast on Sunday

I thought today, that I should include some facts about HMS Usurper ( P56) too.. So, Ill add one a day.
She was built in Barrow, which is not unusual (or wasn't then). So far, she is the only vessel to have the name Usurper.

By the way.. It's a nice shed.. All mod cons.

Pete

It rained last night, absolutely threw it down. I had cause to venture out to get some silence at 3 am from the drunks in the camping field and had to walk through puddles and puddles. Of course.... You then think, 'did I put the side stand puck down...' The ground was rock hard when I parked but may not be when waterlogged. And did I put the little rubber shield over the garmin cradle electrics? As it was, all was well. Me worrying about nothing as usual ..

With no alarms set, I slept till 11am. Just lazed about on the beach, watching the kitesurfers....looks like fun, but also a bit like flyfishing for sharks...


With time to think, I realise I have some miles to do in the next few days... Might need some motorway to keep on schedule, not that its mega critical...

Today's Usurper fact. She was adopted by Stroud during the war, during 'warship week'.

Woke up nice and early, tidied the shed, and started sweating as soon as the bike gear went on. Was unbelievably muggy, and just as soon as I was ready it started to rain. Just little spots n spits. Decided to head off anyway, without the lining in the jacket, or the leggings on. Wrong move! Before I knew it I was headed up the curves with nowhere to stop, and it hoofed it down. Roads felt a bit slippery, guess no heavy rain recently, but finally found somewhere to pull OK her where 2 Spanish police, 2 cats, and 2 tourists, watched me curse as I unpacked the aforementioned waterproof items, and headed onwards. Original route was to close to all the coastal areas and realise I really was making no real progress.
Decided to hit the motorways, both free and toll ones. Even their motorways have plenty of curves.
It appears that drunk drivers are obviously BAD, drunk road designers are good :-)

Pressing on again, I pushed to make one more town. I'm trying to recall the name of the place where I saw a modern hotel, but elected to carry on as it shared the plot with shops such as toysRus. Within a few clicks I was to regret it. On one of the few very long straight road, I discovered why the are is teeming with wind turbines. As the biked bucked about in the gusting cross wind I did consider maybe toysRus are not so bad after all.
I have been in worse crosswinds before, but on a K100RS, which seemed to handle it better.
Or maybe I was younger and braver.....
Then, just ayer the road turned, so I was getting a tailwind, the hue black storm clouds appeared. For a while it seemed I could reach the garmin hotel just as it started to rain. The first drips hit me as the garmin reported 1km to the hotel. The place was a ghost Town, with no sign off the hotel. I sat in the rain for a second before heading back to the round about I'd left the main road from.the garmin was inciting on a different route now, no doubt through all sorts of backstreets etc. This is why she is sometimes called 'the bitch in the box'..
Any way... Found another one, although it appears to be some kind of health farm. Hundreds of fat old Spaniards wandering about. Did have a laugh with the young lass at check in, as i caused a huge queue while we unsuccessfully tried to understand one another. But eventually got a room for 39 euros, including dinner, breakfast and a bottle of wine. In fact 2 bottle of wine, but can't drink both and ride tomorrow, and nowhere to carry it ..

Looked at weather forecasts for where I expect to be on each day, and wished I hadn't :-(

Usurper fact... During early workup trials she had a pop at a German sub off Norway, but missed. She only managed to sink one ship before she was lost, and that was a French one. The Vichy French, that is.....

Enjoyed reading your posts. Some pics would be nice.

Yeah, come on Pete, more pics.... Oh hang on, not more... Any?

You're doing well with the Nexus 7.
Damned if I could be bothered to type so much on such a keying system!!

__________________
Dave

Was doing well

Can someone tell me why it won't load up

I get a message says 'token expired, use back button and reload window' I do that and lose everything I spent ages tapping in. Going to bed grumpy lol

Damn, I should have kept my mouth shut!
I've no idea what that message means but maybe your internet connection at that time was weak??

I know you can't save data to a stick, or similar, but can you save to the "cloud" (my knowledge ends at this point )

__________________
Dave