Pete Posted October 1, 2006 Posted October 1, 2006 Great little run today on the XT! Temperatures have dropped dramatically down to the mid 20's....so it's warm off the bike and cool on it. Unlike July and August when it was regularly 40 and above, and riding just wasn't an option. I went up the Sierra de Segura mountains on the Santiago road again....where you have 25 miles of hairpin bends on narrow roads, with road surfaces so bad it looks like they've been hit by Allied bombers in places! This is not a road for self-professed internet riding gods! This is real life and you're playing for keeps. :lg: You don't get a smooth racetrack surface with good visibility....in fact on some bends, vision is reduced to just a few feet. In some places there's barely room for one car, so expect anything coming the other way to be right in your face before you even know it. If you run wide on a bend, don't expect a run off....expect a 200 foot drop onto jagged rocks below! On the few bends where there aren't huge drops, you can expect to be launched into dense undergrowth full of various wild animals. The area is remote with no houses for 20 miles....and you can't plan on getting a phone signal if you're injured. But you can plan on being food for everything from vultures to wild deer. So....if you think you're something and you need tales of daring-do to impress people on forums, stick to trackdays, parking lots, muddy fields or fast A roads......Don't come here! Because one small mistake and it's all over. Let's take a look then! Over the 25 mile stretch there's probably about 150-200 bends, many of them very tight indeed. This is an example of what appears to be a gentle left hand bend with limited forward vision. In fact it's one of the better ones in some respects because the surface is good. But in other respects, it's a bit nasty. Because if you overcook it here.....this is where you're going! Straight over the top of a 150ft drop onto rocks! And if you do manage to avoid the rocks you'll probably land on the road below! When you get off the mountain you can relax a bit....the roads are still twisty, but you're not balancing on a ledge any more. However, this is still Spain....and anything can happen! Because you can come howling out of a bend and end up face to face with this nasty bastard! And be prepared for the eventuality that's he brought about 100 of his mates with him! This is not the best place to be when you're riding a RED bike! And you may find yourself (and your bike) completely surrounded by them....front and back. You now have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide! It's important to outwardly remain calm and not to make any sudden movements or loud noises! When you can hear your heart beating, and you feel your bowels about to discharge into your underpants, then you know you've got it right! So if you've survived the 25 miles of lethal roads, and emerged unscathed from the unwanted attentions of 100 bulls.....then you know you're on a roll. So you can sit back and admire the views as far as the eye can see! Until you hear the sound of vultures overhead.....which prompts the fastest getaway outside of a Vin Diesel movie! :lg: Moral of the story? Bullshitting on the Internet is a lot safer than The Spanish Inquisition! You didn't expect it did you?
Admin Alex Posted October 2, 2006 Admin Posted October 2, 2006 Looks like another sweet ride there Pete! Would have kept the bloody helmet on though with them baby cows ;-) REminds me of the great ocean road in australia where you could take some serious drops!
Crucades Posted October 2, 2006 Posted October 2, 2006 Crazy bastard, why you get off the bike???? Shoulda road rashed it and swang a chain over your head and claimed those annoying cows, then start your own legend!
kendo phil Posted October 3, 2006 Posted October 3, 2006 Have you seen the mess that a cows makes of things that hit them? It would be like driving into a wall made of meat. Check out youtube.com there are a few home videos of motorcycles hitting things, its a bit grizzly especailly the motorcycle hits deer video.
Guest Tomg Posted October 6, 2006 Posted October 6, 2006 nice ride pete! when can i come to spain to join in im so jealous!!! Crazy bastard, why you get off the bike???? Shoulda road rashed it and swang a chain over your head and claimed those annoying cows, then start your own legend! haha i like that idea!
Pete Posted October 6, 2006 Author Posted October 6, 2006 nice ride pete! when can i come to spain to join in im so jealous!!! Take a look HERE Tom. It's happening late April!
Guest Tomg Posted October 6, 2006 Posted October 6, 2006 cool i'd have to see about that. if there was a group of riders going over from over here that i could meet with i would probably strongly consider it. however im unsure wether my hornet is appropriate. as a 115 to the tank is not ideal.
Pete Posted October 7, 2006 Author Posted October 7, 2006 however im unsure wether my hornet is appropriate. as a 115 to the tank is not ideal. That's what you get for buying a gayassed POS! If you'd bought a Fazer you'd have had a tank range of over 200 miles!
Guest Tomg Posted October 8, 2006 Posted October 8, 2006 That's what you get for buying a gayassed POS! If you'd bought a Fazer you'd have had a tank range of over 200 miles! Hahaha!
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