I have just come back from Spain. Dave and myself followed the river Ebro for a total of 1200 miles. Nearly all of that was off road. The going ranged from wide loose stone and gravel tracks to mountain goat territory (imagine 60 miles plus of up and down Tally Ho thats around lake Caspe). It was 600 miles down following the river then 600 back.
The route started 50 miles due south of Santander in the pine forrests through the Sierra Nevadas dessert region down to lake Caspe. Most of the time we were no more than a few hundred metres from the river. Here is the route, got as far as stage 33.
Brilliant Nic, have been following you on FB. What as the better bike to take, TTR or the XT Tenere? You won't be coming on our trip next year after this then!
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Culmstock area - Devon TRF Group member - KTM 690 Enduro
Brian I got to be quite an expert at getting off the bike before it had stopped and parking it there saved putting the side stand down.
Harty, the TTR was the far the better bike for the trails (the Tenere was best on the road), some of the going was quite technical and the Tenere could not cope with it, Dave had to turn back a few times. To be fair though he was on standard tyres and a brand new bike that he was trying not to drop (notice I said trying :0 ). Harty, youre not getting rid of me that easy, I am up for going again and I know the good bits. To the Med there is 1000 plus miles of off road so more than one trip is in order.
-- Edited by Simmo on Tuesday 2nd of August 2011 12:44:04 PM
That was as far as the Tenere could go without risking real damage. It was like riding on marbles and very narrow. The drop off on the left was probably 50 feet or more with nothing to stop the bike till it hit the bottom. The TTR coped well but the Tenere was way too heavy and did not stand a chance.
Dave said he would have done more if he wasn't so overloaded with your kit and if he had trail tires on....lol
Is that what he said :)
He carried the gear on the road but on the trails I carried all my own gear I was very surprised how well the TTR coped. He could have easily wrecked a brand new bike, it was not worth the risk. Had Dave been on the DRZ he would have been up and down there like a ferret in a drainpipe :)
-- Edited by Schoe000 on Tuesday 2nd of August 2011 11:11:44 PM
Looks great Nick. Were you rough camping or are there plenty of official campsites on the route?
Stayed in camp sites and one night a local park complete with kids swings and a bandstand. There was not many campsites and were hard to find. The campsite costs ranged from 12 to 18 euros per person per night which I thought was quiet expensive, but good to have a shower and charge netbook ect.