Category: general

I left on a beautiful morning, sunny and clear but rather warm, well for January anyway. Georgina was waiting at the ferry terminal, just to see me off, what a wounderful surprise. How remarkable the WIMA friendship is, I was very touched by this indeed.

The ferry ride was rather rough, I got sea sick and had to lie down and I spent my entire journey listening to Terry Prachett’s Thief of Time, which, all in all, was a good way to spend the time – if I had not been so worried that the bike would fall over. On this ferry, unlike most other ferries I’ve taken, they tied the bike down for me. They used a cushion over the saddle and a strap. I would rather have secured it by tying it down from four points on the frame. However, it proved that my worries were unjustified and the bike was still erect when I descended the next morning. Entering Spain felt amazing, the air was moist and felt warm. I was very excited and it did feel like coming home! The temperature would drop drastically over the next 24 hours or so, quite disappointingly – but after hearing the weather reports from England (snow storm and flood warnings) I was indeed happy to be on the south side of the Bay of Biscay.

As I was in no hurry to reach my destination – Christopher was travelling by plane a few days after me – I had booked a couple of nights in Zaragoza. I was intrigued by this city which I had failed to visit on every other journey through the country, for one reason or another, and thought that now was the time. I thoroughly enjoyed parking the bike on the pavement outside the hostal, no need to look for special parking – one of the glories of being in Spain. I enjoyed tortilla de patatas for dinner and a morning run in Parque Grande José Antonio Labordeta, followed by a walk along the River Ebro. Pretty amazing and it would get better. Barcelona welcomed me with shining sun and I managed a stroll along the beach to soak up the atmosphere. Ah yes, after parking the bike just outside the hostel, on the pavement. Love it!

We’ve been here a week now, looking for rooms to rent and searching for jobs. It often feels like two steps forward and one step back. Many people have asked us if we are returning to Madrid. I can understand that it might have been expected, since we have many good friends there. But the thing is, for us it just felt too depressing to go back and start all over again, finding jobs and a flat – we had the most amazing flat when we left, and I at least had a job with an indefinite contract. Well, if we have to start all over again we’ll do it properly and this time by the sea; that is why we chose Barcelona. If we had something to go back to, we would be happy to return to Madrid, we loved it there.

One of the things I appreciate with Barcelona is the abundance of vegetarian food and the Cat Bar especially. Every time I’ve been to Barcelona I’ve gone back to this bar. They serve the most amazing veggie food, the menu has changed over the years and now it is vegan burgers accompanied with a selection of vegan beers. The bar dosn’t actually have any cats, which could be a slight disappointment, I get that. But it does have a duCATi parked in the bar, my initial love for the place was sparked by this several years back. In addition, I once had a haircut in the bar and another time they had a guest piano player – it is so much more than a mainstream bar.

Cheers to all things CAT: the duCATi in the CAT bar in CATalunya!

If you think that the beach is for sunbathing only, think again! Last Sunday’s motocross competitions on the Weymouth beach attracted people of all ages for an action-filled afternoon.

The sand on Weymouth beach is so fine that it barely qualifies as sand and is therefore perfect for sculpting sandcastles, or so I read on the information board. Apperently, it is suitable for racing as well, it certainly seemed so watching the motocross bikes ride through the sculpted obstacles and lap after lap grind them down by twisting and tossing their bikes around the courners and up the hills.

On the other side of Weymouth, you can find Chesil beach, whose stony shore gives that relaxing rumbling sound – at least on a moderately windy day. We were a small group of WIMAs who came together to enjoy the action of the beach motocross as well as the scenery and culture in Portland and the Tout Quarry sculpture park. We stopped for a drink at the local pub and learned that this place is flooded in rough weather, the waves literally wash over the pub and flood the houses in the area. It amazes me how people choose to live in such exposed places, even with this moderate wind it was noticeable when riding across to the peninsula. Well, I never was one for windy days – although it keeps the mosquitos away 🙂

Photo courtesy: Sue Barnes

Last weekend, I took advantage and did something that has been on my To-Do-list for my stay in England, namely the Bike Safe workshop. I found the course very useful, both theoretically and practically – not at least regarding the first aid component. Living and riding in different countries has its advantages but following different rules and regulations can also be confusing. My long term followers might remember a post a wrote some years back on the topic “The helmet – remove it or  not?!” where I contemplated what to do in case of an accident, since I had been taught conflicting things in Sweden and in Spain. So, now in addition, I know how things are taught in the UK as well – luckily this very much resembles what I was taught in Sweden a long time ago, although with some updates. Now it is believed that chest compressions are enough and that compressions alone will make the air circulate. Therefore, there is no need to remove the helmet, at least not if the air way is unobstructed. I think, however, that there must be a legal difference between Spain, on one hand, and Sweden and the UK on the other hand, since I was taught, both in Sweden and the UK, to act and do whatever seems appropriate to help save a life. While in Spain I was told that I could be held liable if, for example, a person lost a leg due to me making a torniquete to stop the person from bleeding to death. Well, enough about that – off you go and take your own first aid course!

The main part of the Bike Safe workshop was focused on how to prevent getting into the kind of situation where first aid is needed – in other words – how to “bike safe”. A lot of focus was put on how to read the road and the environment for signs of danger, how to interpret other road users’ behaviour and how to ride sensibly. This was followed by practical riding advice where we were riding a stretch of road while being observed by a police officer who then gave us advice on how to improve. I was told to adjust my positioning on the road to improve safety both in cornering and while passing potential dangers. Sounds easy but it is harder to implement than one might think – old habits die hard and all that. Having said that, I found the workshop hugely motivating albeit a bit scary. I’ve never been observed by a police officer before. I was also told to practise slow riding since he thought I put my feet down too much, I didn’t tell him that I hang my legs down as much as I can to prevent my legs going numb. Maybe I should have – but I learned in Spain never to argue with the police and I didn’t feel like investigating whether or not the same goes for the UK.

Despite this misunderstanding, I hugely enjoyed the workshop and I wish I could continue and do the Advanced Riders Training. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can be around long enough to complete it – I did check the possibilities to rent a room around here to stay a couple of months longer but it seemed difficult. Ah well, I can always start reading “Motorcycle Roadcraft – The Police Rider’s Handbook”, and of course, the Highway Code. I have both on my tablet.