Riding in Spain
It's been a few years since I visited eastern Europe and much has changed since then particularly in the world of politics. It was during my teens in the late 80's that I visited Russia, Romania, Checkoslovakia and Hungary. Lenin was still in the mausoleum looking like nothing more than a figure of wax propped up. We filed past him two by two, the taller of us standing to the right so the smaller could get a clear view. With armed soldiers standing guard, God forbid if anybody spoke or stopped as we slowly filed past.
More than twenty years later, as Spain is abandoned in favour of the more trendy parts of eastern Europe, I find myself living here with my family. Not I might add on the Costas with the rest of the fish and chip munching expats, but inland in a small Spanish village where the English language is spoken only between ourselves. I had never visited Spain until I was in my mid-30's and my first experience of Spanish culture was the Balearics in 2002. I loved the place so in 2003 we left Blightly in search of a better life and moved over here.
Having passed our bike tests at 17 and 18 respectively, both Andy and I had bikes before we knew each other. Interestingly, when we met, neither of us owned a bike mainly due to the fact that our previous respective partners did not approve. So our first bike together was a shared Moto Guzzi California.
The Cali was great for the flat Lincolnshire plains, but not a bike suitable for the Spanish terrain, and was sold before our move out here. It was replaced with a very nifty Yamaha Tricker - a BMX with a 250cc 4-stroke engine. A great little toy for zipping around the dirt tracks, but not so great on the motorway. In the past, there was always a discussion over who was driving, so it was inevitible that eventaully we would each have a bike. Enter Doris and Boris, our beloved XT600's.
The XT's opened up a whole new world of biking to us and even more so living in Spain. We'd never before seriously done any off-road riding and these bikes are perfect for the tracks and trails we ride. Not having the same restrictions for using green lanes as you do in the UK, we discovered some fantastic tracks in Andalucia, some of which are fairly remote. Admittedly, Spain is not the most well-mapped of countries, but through the use of Google Earth and other mapping websites, with a little effort you can search out some of the most incredibly diverse scenery.
Here's some photos of our local rides.
Photo Gallery :: Riding in Spain
