And then reality hits you hard in the face. When you thought everything was under control, an invisible enemy you thought you were save from, proves you you are just another rider on the road. The day before yesterday I was enjoying the road, enjoying the ride in good company, and didn’t want to stop for other reason than to refuel. And that was my mistake, because althought I didn’t feel it, temperatures were close to 40*C most of the day. But I wasn’t conscious until we got to our destination. Then, all the heat of the day stroke me. I was dehydrated and starting to have symptoms of a heat stroke (dizziness, high body temperature, I even puked…), and that is no joke, my friends.

Fortunately it wasn’t serious and I’m fine now, after two days, but it could have been something way more dangerous, that could’ve been avoided had I done what intelligent people do: stop often and drink. As simple as that.

I’m serious with that. The last hours have been horrible. I’ve felt like shit. Powerless, sick, and exhausted. I promise you is a feeling you don’t want to experience yourself. Trust me. So, my dear friends, learn from my stupidity, and don’t repeat my mistake. Stop often and drink. Don’t wait to be thirsty, that will be too late. Don’t think that this is something that only happens to newbies, because is not. It can happen to you too. Be smart. Let me be the only stupid on the road.

Take care out there.

See you on the road!!

And doing more miles is an easy task. There is always a secondary road that take you to your destination…. but taking the long way. And our bikes tend to have a good “nose” for those detours, so we’re quite often having an extra dose of extra miles. No complains so far.

Our tour has a great combination of roads, so we can have some time to ride fast (it may sound weird, because 110kms/h is our fastest register so far, but we call that fast…), and spend some time on solitary roads too, enjoying the magnificent views at really slow speeds. Besides that, since we are following Cid Campeador’s footsteps, we are constantly passing by casttles, old monastirs and walled cities in different state (from total ruins to perfectly conserved ones) so we have plenty of excuses to stop, take pictures, and imagine the battles fougth there centuries ago…

The weather is also respecting us, and today we’ve had a sunny day, with no clouds at sight. It is forecasted to stay like that for the rest of week. We hope the weather man has done his homework right, since we had enough rain on the first day…

Today we are sleeping at Daroca, and tomorrow we plan to get to Albarracin, and sleep at El Rincon De La Talega, a small house I’m really looking forward to visit, since I’ve heard lots of nice things about it (and about Santi, his owner).

We have another five or six hours on the saddle tomorrow, but before that, we’ll have a “Pacharan” on the rocks, to sleep better… )

Take care out there.

See you on the road !!

The first day was an intense one. Not because it was a long day (indeed it wasn’t), but because we had 4 different storms on our way to our destination. Actually, on the first 75 kms, we had to stop three times and look for shelter, since it was raining so hard we could hardly see the road ahead.

Anyhow, we kept going, full rain gear on, and in the end we reached our destination: Vivar del Cid, the starting point of the Camino del Cid, that will take us to Valencia in a week. Once there, we founded the “Legua 0″, and the owner of the “mesón” – now retired – joined us as soon as he heard the sound of our Harleys and our laughs, and even brought with him a replica of “Tizona”, Cid’s sword. We had a beer with him and his wife, to try to compensate the litters of water we’ve been forced to drink while under the rain, and then go to find a place to sleep. We did, at a nice guest house just a few meters from there, and that put a nice ending to our first day on the road.

Today the weather was totally different. Sunny and fresh in the morning, sunny and warm in the afternoon, but not to the point of being too warm. So, we’ve had a fantastic day on the road, even tough we’ve found some road works on our way that made the ride a little uncomfortable and dusty some times.

We are now at Atienza. A small town surveilled by a big casttle, that can’t deny it was the landscape for some epic battles back in the days. The weather forecast for tomorrow is also good, so we’re pretty sure we’ll have fun. Even if the forecast is unaccurate, we’ll have fun, because life’s good when you are on the road, with friends, on your Harleys. We’ll keep the motor rollin’…. and that will keep our smiles growing…

Take care out there.

See you on the road!!

Only one day left to hit the road again !! This time we’re going to follow the Cid Campeador’s footsteps, and will be riding from Burgos to Valencia. It’s going to be a 2.000kms ride, mainly on secondary roads full of spanish history.

Here is the route plan we’ll be following along

I’ll try to update the blog everyday with news and pictures.

Looping forward to feel the air in my face again….

See you on the road !!

Lately – and by lately I mean the last 6 months or more… – I’ve been working way too much, not on Spain On Twins, but on my other company, and hitting the road way too little. This situation is affecting my nerves, my sense of humour, my creativity, my motivation… my everything. I need a brake, and I need it now, and on this break, I need to go for a ride.

So, I’ll stop thinking about it, and start acting. I’ve decided that I’m taking the first week of July off, and I’ll be hitting the road again. I need to feel the black line of tarmac flowing beneath me. I need to feel the air in my face, the music of the pipes in my ears and my heart pumping with the twist of the throttle. I’ll follow the “Camino del Cid” (Cid’s Way), which is the way the El Cid Campeador, the Spanish medieval hero par excellance,  followed when he was thrown out of the kingdom. Basically I’ll cross Spain North-South, from Burgos to Murcia.

I have prepared nothing. I haven’t checked for hotels. I haven’t prepared the route, or divided the whole trip into journeys. Truth is I have no time for that. But I’m sure I’ll have fun. I’ll travel with a map, a guide, a tank full of gas, and some cash for beer. Fair enough to reset my mind and recharge batteries. And I need precisely that.

I’ve told my plans to a couple of friends, and they’ll be joining me. And who knows, maybe some more friends joins the crew and take the same road we’ll take. That would be great !

It’s a pitty that I can’t find the time to invest in this project. I started it a couple years ago because I know Harleys are my passion, and to make a living on them would be a dream come true. But it takes time and money to turn a project like this into a profitable company. And, fortunately I have to admit, my other project – I make my living as a Marketing Consultant on Social Media – is going well, and leaves no time for preparing the best routes for Harleys at Spain. But I prefer to take things positively and not think  on what I’m not doing, but on what I’ll be doing soon. And that’s firing up my Harley and hitting the road with some friends. With a vague idea of the destination, and a lot of time to enjoy the ride. I love that !!

See you on the road !!

Y eso no mola nada y hay que cambiarlo.

Ultimamente – y cuando digo últimamente puedo estar hablando perfectamente de los últimos 6 meses o  más… – he estado currando demasiado, y no en Spain On Twins, sino en mi otra empresa, y saliendo a carretera demasiado poco. Alguna escapada rápida. Ir a alguna reunión a Huesca en moto, pero poco más. Esta situación está ya afectandome demasiado. Estoy más nervisos, más serio, menos creativo, menos motivado…. Necesito salir a rodar con la gorda !!

Y como esto no puede seguir así, he decidido dejar de quejarme y ponerle remedio. Me dejo libre la primera semana de Julio, y me escapo de ruta por ahí. Necesito volver a sentir la carretera deslizándose bajo las botas. Necesito sentir el aire en la cara. La música de los escapes en los oidos y el corazón latiendo fuerte en cada acelerón. Me escapo a hacer el Camino del Cid. A recorrer entera la ruta que siguió El Cid Campeador en su destierro, desde Burgos hasta Murcia.

No he preparado nada. No he buscado hoteles ni he dividido la ruta en jornadas. Ni siquiera he preparado la ruta en el GPS. La verdad es que no he tenido tiempo ni para eso. Pero da igual. Estoy seguro que lo voy a pasar bien. Viajaré con un mapa, una guía de la ruta que me he comprado, el depósito lleno de gasolina, y algo de pasta para cerveza. Suficiente para vaciar la cabeza y recargar las pilas. Y eso es precisamente lo que necesito.

Le he contado mis planes a un par de amigos, que ya se vinieron una vez a hacer una de las rutas de Spain On Twins, y se unen al viajecillo. Y quien sabe, igual algún otro colega se anima a unirse a pasar una semanita de carretera. Estaría genial !

La verdad es que es una pena no tener tiempo para meterme a fondo a desarrollar este proyecto. Lo monté hace un par de años porque tengo claro que mi pasión son las Harleys, y que ganarme la vida rulando en Harley sería casi un sueño hecho realidad. Pero convertir un proyecto como éste en una empresa rentable lleva tiempo y pasta, y – afortunadamente, debería reconocer… – mi otro proyecto (me gano la vida como Consultor de Marketing y Redes Sociales en Zaragoza) va bastante bien, y no me deja tiempo para preparar rutas para Harleys en España. Pero prefiero ser positivo y no pensar en lo que no estoy haciendo, sino pensar en lo que voy a hacer en breve. Arrancar la Harley y salir de nuevo a carretera con amigos. Con una vaga idea del destino, y tiempo para disfrutar de la ruta. Y me encanta la idea !!

Nos vemos en la carretera !!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-bl0gCnbg

Nos vemos en la carretera !!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-bl0gCnbg

See you on the road !!