| July 15, 2019
We journey through Spain and Portugal with Motorrad Tours
Taking a grand tour of Europe by motorcycle is a dream of most every motorcyclist, and when you’re ready to go, there are lots of ways to do it. You could do it the hard way and plan everything yourself, or you could hire one of the many companies who are capable of turning your vacation into unforgettable memories. But let’s face it, when you’re ready to take a real vacation, the last thing you want to deal with, and worry about, are all the little details. How to get your bike there, where to stay, what roads to ride, where to eat, and on and on.
Story and Photos by Keith Dowdle
Why not take all the worry out? Just pack your gear, go to the airport, and have everything planned and ready when you arrive. Now that’s a vacation—but it’s not cheap, so you want to make sure that the tour company you choose has a solid reputation for delivering on their promises. You want a company whose name you recognize.
Recently, BMW Motorrad UK invited Cycle News to join them for their tour of the Picos and Asturias Mountains, and I was lucky enough to get the call to go. Hosted by Motorrad Tours, the official touring company of BMW Motorrad UK through their World of BMW Experience, this Classic Tour spans the northern border of Spain and Portugal and offers nine days of fantastic riding and five-star accommodations. As you would expect, if BMW puts their name on it, it has to be first-class, and I can promise you, it is.
This tour is promoted as a “riding tour” and averages 200-plus miles per day of some of the best roads Europe has to offer. While the scenery was incredibly beautiful, and the accommodations were over-the-top, those are just a side benefit of this particular tour. Less crowded than the Alps and with endless miles of traffic-free flowing turns, the Picos and Asturias Mountain Tour is the perfect tour for people like me, who just want to ride. But this isn’t the only tour offered through Motorrad Tours; they have trips to match every rider’s desire, located all around the world, including the U.S. (See sidebar for Motorrad Tours details.)
Here are some of the highlights of the tour I was on.
I arrived in London a day early as is recommended to acclimate to the time change and relax before the official tour starts. Arriving at 9:45 a.m. after an overnight flight, I checked into the hotel, took a short nap, and then headed into London for some sightseeing. The Aviator is the first of many super-plush hotels on this tour and is located adjacent to BMW’s UK headquarters in Farnborough, England. Waterloo Station in London is just a short train ride away, and from there you can walk to Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the London Eye and many other cultural and historical attractions in London. Waterloo Station itself is a spectacle of people, trains, restaurants, and shopping. I’m glad I took the opportunity to spend the afternoon in London. It’s a fantastic city.
The first day of the Picos and Asturias Classic Tour starts with a ferry crossing of the English Channel. Our tour leader, Mark Hunt, met me at the hotel at 10 a.m. to deliver my “hire bike,” a brand-new 2019 BMW R 1250 GS. Mark was riding a 2019 BMW S 1000 XR, which I would also ride during this tour. (See sidebar for bike comparison.) As with all Motorrad Tours, I received my route notes ahead of time, so I had time at home to review the routes and Google the places the tour would visit. Mark went over the pre-trip paperwork and showed me how to use the supplied BMW GPS, which was pre-loaded with our routes. After I transferred my clothes and gear to the panniers and top case, we were ready to set off on our journey.
It should be noted that this tour does not offer a chase vehicle, so be prepared to carry everything you’ll need for your trip in your panniers and top case. BMW pannier and top case liners are supplied, which makes hotel check-ins easy and convenient. A tank bag is also provided. If you pack correctly, this shouldn’t be an issue—two couples rode our tour two-up and never complained. One of the ladies packed so well that she wore a different dress every evening of the tour. All of my tour partners on this trip were from the UK, and they all chose to ride their own bikes, although most were returning customers who had done this tour before on hire bikes. After a short ride to the ferry port, we boarded and set sail for Santander, Spain. The ferry is more like a cruise ship and features entertainment, a swimming pool, a movie theater, shuffleboard and, of course, bars everywhere. And since it’s owned and operated by a French company, the food is spectacular. Arriving at 17:30—get used to this time format, as this is standard in Europe—we had a quick 75-mile ride to Cosgaya, Spain, and the second fabulous hotel of our tour.
During this tour, we stayed at several “Paradores.” Spread across Spain, the Paradores are government-owned historical buildings and venues that have been converted into first-class hotels. This arrangement allows the Spanish government to preserve these cultural and artistic treasures while also benefitting the local economy. For travelers, it provides a unique opportunity to stay in Spain’s historic castles, convents, and monasteries. (See www.paradoresofspain.com.) All of the Paradores we visited on this tour was exceptional.
Enough with the hotels, food, and ferries—let’s talk about the riding. It’s true that when you think of riding in Europe, you think of the Alps. At least I do, and someday I’ll do that tour, but as our guide explained, if you really want to ride the very best roads that Europe has to offer, northern Spain and Portugal are where they are. This tour travels through the mountainous Asturias region of north Spain, dips down into Portugal’s famous Douro River Valley, and finishes up with more highlights of the Picos range. Virtually free of traffic and police, this is truly a rider’s paradise. After we left the hotel, the road immediately opened up, and the fun began—twisty, and with perfect tarmac. My riding buddy, Nigel, and I left the rest of the group and cranked the throttles open as we ascended high into our first mountain pass. The beautiful thing about the Motorrad Tours is that you don’t have to stay with the group unless you want to. You have all of the routes in your GPS, and they also provide a foldout map and route notes, so you know where lunch and the many coffee stops will be. I’m not much of a group rider, and I don’t stop much. I prefer to set my own pace, so this tour was perfect for me. I went as fast as I wanted, or dared, almost every day of the trip, and I only stopped when I wanted to. There were, however, a couple of days when I just wanted to follow the leader and relax a bit. You can do whatever you like.
After 215 miles of smiles, we arrived at our hotel in yet another spectacular setting with wonderful food and talk of the day’s ride. Everyone on this tour got along great with each other, and that’s another side benefit of touring with a company like Motorrad—riding mates become true friends whom I’m sure I’ll stay in touch with for years to come. Delicious food and great wine in a beautiful setting led to a comfortable night’s sleep, and then we were on the gas again the next morning heading into Portugal and two nights at the five-star Quinta da Pacheca, “The Wine House Hotel,” located in the famous Douro Valley. Now you know why we needed two nights there!
Portugal might be the real hidden gem in European motorcycle touring. Since we were there for two days, some of the group decided to take local tours of the Douro River Valley or relax on this, the only “rest day” of the tour. They missed out on some of the best riding of the entire trip. I’ve worked in the motorcycle industry over forty years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to ride great roads all across the U.S., but what I experienced in Portugal sets a new standard for what fun and freedom on a motorcycle can be. Our guide led a small group of us on what would be an epic day of high-speed twists and turns, and since I was also there to make a comparison of the R 1250 GS versus the S 1000 XR, on this day I chose to ride the latter of the two and I’m thrilled that I did. When you read the sidebar comparison, you’ll understand why.
After two nights of wine tasting and delicious meals, we left the Douro Valley and headed back into Spain for what would arguably be the most beautiful day of the tour. We entered the Picos Mountains and dropped into a tight, twisty canyon with spectacular views of steep rocky cliffs, mountains, and waterfalls as we made our way to an eleventh-century monastery converted to a luxury hotel. It was another Parador, the Parador de Corias, or Monasterio de Corias, and this one got my attention. I’m not much of a history buff, but when you’re staying inside a building that was built over a thousand years ago, it’s truly amazing. The rooms are the old cells that the monks lived in a thousand years ago. The wood on the staircases is worn into grooves where the monks went up and down millions of times. The walls are four feet thick, and you can sense the monks’ spiritual presences as you walk the massive hallways. This was where we spent our last night in Spain, as the next day we rode that same beautiful twisty canyon again on our way back to meet the ferry and the end of our tour.
In total, this tour covers over 1,500 miles in eight days of riding. If you love to ride and sightseeing is secondary, this tour is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed not only the riding but meeting new people from a faraway place with different perspectives—but who all love riding motorcycles. While I was lucky enough to do this tour as a work project, I wouldn’t hesitate to throw down the cash and go do it on my own dime. My wife loves to ride as well, and we’re already talking about where we’d like to go.
If you’re thinking about taking a European vacation by motorcycle, there’s no better time than now, and I highly recommend that you consider Motorrad Tours for the experience. If you haven’t thought about it, why not? It’s a fantastic way to enjoy what you love with others who also enjoy motorcycle touring and without all the worry. Just pack your gear and go.
Motorrad Tours Info
Motorrad Tours is BMW’s Official Tour Partner for the UK. They offer tours that span a wide range of destinations and skill levels. From the Classic Tours of Europe to their six-week-long Overland Tours, they are sure to have a tour that fills your desires. Visit their website at www.motorrad-tours.com for more information and to book your next adventure.
BMW R 1250 GS and S 1000 XR Comparison
Personally, I’ve always been a big fan of the GS. I’ve owned several, and each has delivered mile after mile of fun and adventure. In 1980, long before the adventure-motorcycle segment became fashionable, I dreamed of owning an R 80 GS. I was still in high school at the time, so they were well out of my reach financially, but the dealership where I worked sold BMWs and every day I would see these bikes and talk to our customers who owned them.
Almost forty years later, the GS still lures me with its unique styling that screams function over form. Cranking out 136 horsepower and 105 foot-pounds of torque, the GS has come a long way since 1980. The new shift-cam engine delivers smooth power all the way from idle to redline, and the word power is not used loosely here. When you’re ready to wick the throttle open, hang on. The front wheel is likely to climb into the air just enough to make you feel like (insert the name of your favorite MotoGP rider here). With a host of rider aids, the GS inspires confidence in every riding situation. Offering rain and road riding modes standard, and dynamic traction control and electronic suspension control in the premium package, along with numerous other available electronic aids, the GS is the most highly sophisticated adventure-touring motorcycle on the market today.
But I think the coolest thing about the new GS is that you don’t need to be riding it on a razor’s edge to enjoy it. It’s the perfect “third-gear bike,” meaning, you can put it in third gear, ride all day and never shift, and have an absolute ball of a time.
By comparison, the S 1000 XR screams “ride me hard,” and it’s happiest when you ride it that way. The first time I ever saw this motorcycle, I was like Pavlov’s dog—my mouth started watering on sight, and riding it only made it worse, or better, depending on your point of view. With its race-bred inline four-cylinder engine and hosting all of the electronic-assist features available on its big brother GS, this motorcycle is an absolute blast to ride fast.
The transmission is the shining star in this package, allowing you to put the 165 horsepower and 11,000 screaming rpm of power straight to the ground without ever squeezing the clutch. Upshifts and downshifts are seamless and effortless, the brakes are also stellar, and the entire package just makes you feel one with the bike as the speeds increase and corners come faster and faster. It’s made for someone who wants to sit upright but yet blast the corners all day long; however, when you stand up, you quickly realize that this is an adventure bike in style only. I’d be reluctant to take this bike down much more than a super hard-packed dirt road. Personally speaking, this wouldn’t be my everyday bike because ride-me-hard relationships usually end in heartbreak for me, but I digress.
Either of these bikes would be perfect for a European tour or touring anywhere you like. They have different highlights while still offering similar features that make touring on an adventure motorcycle enjoyable. I grew up racing motocross, so I naturally gravitate to the GS. If your budget allows, buy one of each—they’re different enough that you could totally justify it—but if you’re like most of us, pick the one that best suits your style of riding. You won’t go wrong with either choice. CN