I organise an annual bikepacking trip across Spain, during the first running one of the group left his phone charging in a cafe and only discovered his loss an hour or so later after a rare muddy section. He retraced his steps while the rest carried on to a campsite about 40km further. When he got back to the cafe it was closed with no sign of life so he resigned himself to having lost it and set off for the third time through the mud. The rest of us arrived at the campsite and were enjoying a well earned beer when a chap arrived and presented us with Mike’s phone. No-one had mentioned our destination when we had visited the cafe, having found the phone, he had simply taken it upon himself to drive the 50km on the off chance we would be there. He was long gone by the time Mike appeared but we thanked the chap on his behalf.

Good job the Binky pair didn’t build it, or the son would have been old enough to drive it legally.

but the wife requires an expat community of some kind…

Careful what she wishes for, some ex-pat communities are truly awful, gammon central. Most places along the coast will have a smattering of British residents and our policy has been not to just associate with people because we share a common language. I’d say it’s worth spending time visiting possible areas before taking the plunge. Personally I’d discount Barcelona, it has quite poor air quality and is very expensive both to live and get around. We run a small casa rural if you fancy exploring our area around the Rio Ebro.
Casa Tomillo, Costa Daurada

We live in Southern Cataluña so well to the NE of Alicante so I can’t really comment on the riding apart from it can get very hot this time of year and water supply is at a premium. A lot depends on the level of integration into Spanish life you want.If you want the ex pat lifestyle in an urbanaçion with other brits then almost anywhere from Valencia along the Costa Blanca to the Costa del Sol will do but we wanted to immerse ourselves in a community where very few spoke English and we really had to learn the language to survive. The climate here is also much better for cycling year-round, mild winter and normally late 20’s summers, notwithstanding this year which has been early 30’s for 3 months now. We immediately joined the local cycling club and this has helped immensely with finding local routes and improving our Catalan. Before moving, I did a lot of research on Wikiloc to get a picture of the types of riding available and we haven’t been disappointed, still scratching the surface after 7 years. It goes without saying that the requirements for relocating here are now much higher than pre Brexit, if you meet the criteria, go for it, we’re not planning to return anytime soon.

A mate was DJing an 80’s and 90’s night at a local beach last week, I dug out my genuine “I Ran The World” t shirt which I wore in 1986. Proper Little Britain Lou & Andy version. A friend that we run with was celebrating her birthday on the same night and found that my t shirt was 6 years older than her hilarious.

+1 for the Priorat suggestion, I live in Southern Cataluña about 20km from the Priorat. Since getting it’s DOQ certification, prices have increased dramatically. The next door region of Montsant is equally good but a fraction of the price as is my favourite Terra Alta. Up towards Barcelona there is the Penedes which does good white and of course Cataluña is the home of some very good Cavas. We are friendly with a local small bodega that produces award winning organic wine and cava. If you’re planning a road trip, let me know and I’ll give you more detailed info.

Just worth checking if it’s a joint account, that both parties’ details match. You’d think that if you did an address change that it would apply to all the account, apparently it doesn’t.

I discovered they, TSB,had spelt my address wrongly, not by much but sufficiently for my private pension provider to reject as they wanted an accurate current statement to make payments into the account. It took 7 attempts to get this done correctly.

A number of things may be behind the EBC quote. Firstly £50 an hour is nowhere near the amount that will actually be paid to the mechanic, when I worked there pay rates were minimum wage or just above if you took on extra responsibility. The quote will also reflect the opportunity cost of the mechanic’s time from probably doing 4 or 5 services or fitting mudguards child seats, scraping grease off the commuter bikes which account for 80% of the workshop business.This is far more lucrative and predictable than fiddling with a component swap which even from a relatively new donor, could involve different standards or specs for BB,headset, hose and cable length etc. I recall a customer presenting us with a knackered Sturmey Archer hub that he wanted fixing rather than replacing, we stupidly agreed and quoted an eye-watering price. It took hours and the cost was never recovered, most of the work was done after hours in the mechanic’s own time.

2 apps that we use all over Europe, Furgoperfecto, Park4night. Lots of results around Munich.

France has been very expensive for fuel for a long time,in Spain we’re being subsidised to the tune of €0.20 per litre, we paid €1.48 or £1.25 last Wednesday when we went to Barcelona’s branch of hell on earth IKEA. As from 1st of September, train journeys of up to 300km are free as well.

Don’t forget Sitges is south west of Barcelona on the other side of a hilly area called the Garraf, Girona is about 80km North East so you can double travel time if you base yourself there. There are some really nice places just south of Sitges such as Tamarit and even Tarragona itself.

Have you tried flights to Reus, it’s 40 mins from Sitges and usually cheaper to get to. You could do worse than book a package to somewhere like Salou or if you can find anything in Cambrils that’s a much nicer resort. Both have on a frequent train connection to Sitges, about 30 minutes, and if there’s kids involved, Port Aventura is right there. I live just south of there and flying from Reus is a much happier experience.
I’ve also driven back and forth many times, the record being 24 hours door to door but with the chaos in Dover and fuel prices in France, I wouldn’t do it these days.

Agreed, now they’ve finally after 7 years of their existance, changed the charging port from the fragile micro USB to USB C. However for those who already own a Garmin Charge power pack, having to pay £100 more to get the 5 pin Explore which includes a mount you don’t need and then another £50 for a USB cable to make it work is really extracting the urine.

Typically it’s not that straightforward. The standard Explore 2 doesn’t have the 5 pin connector on the back that enables the Charge battery pack to be used, you have to buy the Power bundle which costs another £100 for the mount but to add insult to injury, they then screw you for another £50 for the special lead that connects this to a USB output from your dynamo. This brings the price to the same as a discounted Edge 1030plus with its bigger screen and more functions. Daylight robbery. The latest DC Rainmaker review makes this clear.

Coffee break Spanish is really good, I used it a lot before moving here 6 years ago.

As you’re not time limited, you could turn it into a nice road trip and call by to see us in Southern Cataluña. From Bilbao the AP68 or N232 meanders through La Rioja to Zaragoza then through the mountains to Alcaniz and to us at the coast. We can put you up for a day or 2 if you want to go fishing on the Ebro or biking. The AP7 coast motorway has recently been de-tolled all the way to Alicante then on to Murcia and Malaga it’s about 8-9 hours. This is us
Casa Tomillo, Costa Daurada

€75 for a 1979 Peugeot Record Du Monde which was hardly used. Original sprockets, wheels etc, just replaced tyres and bar tape and entered L’Heroica Hispania.

This is ours, pump uses up excess solar power, chemicals cost about €20 a year, sun heats it but in Southern Cataluña, that’s a given.

One of our neighbours who runs an off-grid yoga retreat is very careful to inform visitors about not using high wattage electrical appliances such as hair dryers etc. One French family smuggled a full size air conditioning unit into their accommodation and ran it all night thus frying €3,000 worth of batteries. All whilst denying it.

Should have booked our place, we’ve got an oven!
Casa Tomillo, Costa Daurada

About 10 years ago, I rode a 12 hour time trial registering 232 miles, the winner did 302 which was then a British record. I think this has been considerably extended since then. I now live in Cataluña and on Good Friday this year did a 450km gravel race from Barcelona to Valencia, my riding time was 22 hours but had a little kip en route. The winning time was 18 hours non stop. Not bad for a 62 year old.

Coincidentally I was looking for someone else over the weekend. Mid Sept with Ryanair from Manchester to Reus. Early Wednesday morning return late Sunday night would mean 5 full days riding. Fares are just over £100 plus bike. From memory, flights from Stansted and Gatwick are cheaper still.

For those watching this with a bit more time on their hands, I organise a bikepacking trip that runs across Spain from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast, mainly off road and using some incredible trails. This year’s trip runs from the 20th to 29th of May.
Spanish Divide

@mark
Temperatures in early July would be again mid to late 20°s, this is a remarkably temperate area, close to the Mediterranean but high enough to be a bit cooler. It’s really unspoilt in fact there’s a Bikepacking event called the Cataluña Trail that takes place in July,
Cataluna Trail

Here’s one you won’t have come across.
Fly to Reus which is the airport serving Tarragona and the Costa Daurada but instead of turning left out of the airport to the beach, turn right and up into the Priorat wine region and ride the Volta de Montsant which is a 120km predominantly off road single-track Loop through vineyards, canyons and stunning scenery. 1,000 to 1,500m altitude September is very manageable weather wise as this is Northern Spain so mid to late 20°s. It also happens to be where I live so I can help with logistics, local knowledge etc. PM me if you want more info.
Rute del Tigre
Slightly further South, on my doorstep is the El Port range which also has a 3 day loop.

https://youtu.be/31AuM7R1tBsAC12 Interview
Sorry if this has been done but I’ve just seen it. Absolutely brilliant work

20 odd years ago I was one of the team that put the trails around Machynlleth together. To publicise the routes some journos were invited to ride Mach3 which was my baby. A certain Guy Kesteven turned up with a brand new, still in the box Cannondale full susser and proceeded to assemble it in the carpark. One of the trickiest sections of Mach3 was the Chute, a steep downhill on loose wet slate. I warned the group and advised them on the best line then set off. Next minute Guy passed me on foot doing that windmill arms and legs running you only see in cartoons. He’d accelerated then pulled what he thought was the back brake, gone straight over the bars landed on his feet and kept going, oh how we laughed

I used the train to get myself and bike from home near Tarragona to Central Barcelona (Sants) for a bikepacking race last Friday so yes I know how it works. From the airport you’ll need to get the train which runs from terminal 2 to the aforementioned Sants station then change to Montblanc which is a 2 hour trip that I’ll send you the details for if you can tell me when you arriving, date and time. PM me if you prefer. I agree the Renfe website is very complicated, you’ll probably have to buy tickets at the station which is fine and the Renfe Media Distancia trains usually take bikes FOC and built up. Just for interest, why are you coming to Montblanc?

Drinking in the morning sun
Blinking in the morning sun
Shaking off a heavy one
Heavy like a loaded gun
What made me behave that way?
Using words I never say
I can only think it must be love
Oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day
Someone tell me how I feel
In silly wrong, but vivid right
Oh, kiss me like a final meal
Yeah, kiss me like we die tonight
‘Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light
Yeah, lying with you half awake
Oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day
When my face is chamois creased
If you think I wink, I did
Laugh politely at repeats
Yeah, kiss me when my lips are thin
‘Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light
Yeah, lying with you half awake
Stumbling over what to say
Well, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day
So, throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right
Throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right
Throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right, for life
Throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right for life

Slightly off topic but have you got a visa for a 6 month visit? If you’re not resident in an EU country, 90 days is the max continuous stay without one.

I run an annual bikepacking trip from where I live in Cataluna to Bilbao and have done a lot of research on the best cycle routes around Bilbao. There is a good cycle network but it has to compete with the roads and rail links that run along the steep sided valleys that the city’s built on. Are you flying or sailing into Santurzi? I can send you links to the routes I’ve used which are downloadable from Wikiloc, as is a route which will get you much of the way to Benidorm on back roads and gravel trails, just in the reverse direction to the one I take. Also there’s a cycle touring option on the Camino del Cid that gets you from North of Burgos to Alicante. Pm me for links.

My dad had a Scimitar GTE, Ford V6 engine out of a Granada/Capri, rest of the running gear was Austin Rover what possibly could go wrong? The door lock broke and no spares available so it was unlocked for 6 months, the propshaft broke in deepest Wales, left it lying in the road, my dad walked to the nearest phone box and phoned the RAC for a pickup truck but they said they had to send a patrol man first to ascertain whether it was drivable, cue him hitting the receiver with it Basil Fawlty style to show them that it was in his hand rather than attached to the car, oh how we laughed!

I bet this thread is giving you the horn.

I had one for a month or so, came on a car I bought. Right PITA to get rid of, I felt like a proper tool driving round like that.

Was the number BU22SAW .

Boxing day last year there were 2 other cars on the crossing to France ws took. We drove the whole length of the train when boarding and it just set off as we stopped. Something to do with the mountain of rules we had to conform to to get home.May very different now

While we’re doing “what was he in?” anyone spot David Bradley who has done loads of stuff Inc Gervais’ dad in Afterlife playing the tramp that Carson stands up for?

The comparison between SRAM and Shimano Road groupsets goes like this
Red=Durace
Force=Ultegra
Rival=105
Apex=Shimano QA rejects

No, it changed on Tuesday. We are resident in Catalonia but British citizens, before Omicron was discovered we’d booked the tunnel and a couple of hotels in France for a road trip to see the kids for Christmas, 1st time in 2 years for me. The key word was the definition of a compelling reason which stated UK national returning to the UK were allowed and on the return trip, EU residents transiting through France to their home were allowed. We returned on Sunday, just before the French closed the transiting option, otherwise we were faced with a £600 ferry direct to Spain. Smells a lot like Macron playing to the gallery pre elections in April. The vaccination level in France is way behind other EU countries. Our week long trip involved us being triple vaccinated, countless online form filling, 3 PCR tests and to cap it all No1 son tested positive 2 hours before we got to Sheffield so we couldn’t see him anyway!

Think I might try a garbaruk 38t oval chainring initially then if still struggling, an 11-46 cassette or if I’m feeling flush, new wheels with SD driver and 10-46. Bike was a bargain at £1150 so there’s a bit left in the upgrade fund. The issue is that most of my riding is on loose dry trails which cause the rear to spin out if not seated.