SFO->Lisbon->Valencia=Moto3 ...

[SFMCjohn]

Moto3 this season has been awesome as usual ... we heard you can buy tix on line, get on a airplane without a visa at SFO, fly direct to Lisbon, Portugal, rent motorcycles, ride 500 miles to Valencia, Spain, and watch the last race of the season ...

so ...

... that’s what we did. :ride

Moto2 and MotoGP will be icing on the cake ... spent our first night in Zafra, and tonight we’re in Ubeda ... tomorrow’s Rio Par and then someplace else and then Valencia on Friday and Moto3 on Sunday ... that’s teh plan, anyway ... we’ll see ... :laughingarty

 

[bikewanker]

This is so cool John! Look forward to your usual excellent updates, without the napping KLR of course. The last few days I’ve been tablet dreaming of a coastal Portuguese driving vacation. Thank you for the vicarious entry.

 

[bikeama]

Living the dream.:thumbup Looking forward to the report on your trip.

 

[matty]

:wow Have a great trip and send my regards to the wife. Envy, I have it.

 

[SFMCjohn]

This is so cool John! Look forward to your usual excellent updates, without the napping KLR of course. The last few days I’ve been tablet dreaming of a coastal Portuguese driving vacation. Thank you for the vicarious entry.

hey Chris! :wave

Lisbon was awesome ... would love to see more, someday, especially the coast ...

Living the dream.:thumbup Looking forward to the report on your trip.

trying to live up to your example ... we only seem to go on a Moto trip to Europe every five years ... :laughing

:wow Have a great trip and send my regards to the wife. Envy, I have it.

hey matty! Cary’s covered herself with glory planning this trip ... will give her a hug for you ...

Cary with Alcaraz in the background ... we’re in Chinchilla de Montearagón tonight, an old (sez 1576 in the cool palazo we’re at tonight) hill-castle town ...

onwards toward Valencia and Moto3 ... :ride

 

[SFMCjohn]

serious moat ...

seriously motivation to dig that with hand tools ... :laughing

off towards teh Med and maybe warmer weather ... been lucky with rain ... some wet roads but haven’t needed our rain gear ... :ride

 

[1962siia]

Wow so awesome John! opcorn

 

[thedub]

Cool

 

[SFMCjohn]

Wow so awesome John! opcorn

Cool

hey, guys, hope to see you both 12/11/19 ... thanks for reading! :ride

We’re in Guadalest tonight, and should make Valencia tomorrow ...

big mountains here that rise up right from the Mediterranean, cool castle town from the 11th Century, wonderful moto roads ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

and ... we made it! :ride

rockin my fav BARF Weaverville Rally hippie shirt in Valencia outside our AirB&B after grocery shopping ... MotoE tomorrow at 4pm ... we’re figuring how to take the train to the track, 20 minutes outside of town ...

in the mountains on the coast south of Valencia ... seeing lots of motos on the roads now ...

document some costs for my future reference:

MotoGP ticket: €130
Air Portugal per person: $985
one BMW F700 GS, 16 days: $1800
gasoline budget for trip per bike: $600
lodging: $75 day
food per person per day: $40
total travel ins.: $170
approximate per day cost per person: $275 ... ouch. :laughing

why we only do Euro-motos every five years ... arty

fun traveling in a “modern” country after Baja and Morocco ... Portugal/Spain (so far) has been super easy ... neither of us speak much Spanish, but so far no problema ...

best $20 we spent was a SIM card for Cary’s phone ... with blue tooth ear plugs and Apple maps takes us right to our lodging in big cities, which is to say crazy narrow narrow ally ways ...

anyway ... :blah

 

[bikewanker]

Glad to know you and Cary are making the best of the situation John. Let’s us know what shirts, flags seats you’ll have at the races so we might see you when the camera pans the crazed fans.

 

[budman]

Awesome...! :banana

Have a great time. ort

Good to see the adventure unfold.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Glad to know you and Cary are making the best of the situation John. Let’s us know what shirts, flags seats you’ll have at the races so we might see you when the camera pans the crazed fans.

Awesome...! :banana

Have a great time. ort

Good to see the adventure unfold.

:thumbup

we’re in Turn 1, by the ambulance, Tribuna Naranja, Sec 3, row 4th from bottom 3 sections back from the end of the stands along the front straightaway ...

Moto3 qualifying:

trying to spot #69 in Moto2 qualifying now ...

awesome track ... :ride

 

[bikewanker]

Was that you and Cary I saw staring the wave?

 

[SFMCjohn]

Was that you and Cary I saw staring the wave?

haha, those waves were so fun ... Valencia basically has nice grandstands around the entire outside of the track, and we could see the wave coming from a mile away, thinking “oh there’s no way it’ll make it around the corner to us” but they always did ...

mission accomplished:

season celebrating Moto3 burn out ... Moto3 with it’s beautiful small bikes, young riders, drafting, KTM v Honda, drafting ... did I mention draft passing? It’s just the essence of our sport ...

historic stuff: first MotoE Champion crowned, J-Lo’s final race.

fun stuff: seeing MM win, CC crash, #69 race tribute, burner Moto2 race w/ my KTM hero taking teh win after a 3 rider race long scrap, Mr Rossi and his fan club ...

scary stuff: crashes ...

idk ... lots to process, we could just about see the entire track, and had our own Turn 1 Jumbotron for replays ... vast sea of parked spectators’ motos ...

Cary met a group of 6 gents from Palo Alto who’d flown into Barcelona and rented Ducati STs and showed off a pic of the snowy roads in mountains ... we spotted ‘em for Yanks thank to an Alice’s cap and Aero Stich gear ... :laughing

 

[budman]

Palo Alto huh??.. I did not get the invite.

Cool stuff John.

It does seem like a great spectator track as far as viewing.
Better Moto3 track than MotoGP track.

Glad you enjoyed it!

@wanker...:rofl

 

[SFMCjohn]

Palo Alto huh??.. I did not get the invite.

Cool stuff John.

It does seem like a great spectator track as far as viewing.
Better Moto3 track than MotoGP track.

Glad you enjoyed it!

it was awesome, so glad to have seen Moto3 at Valencia ... we saw the crux of the MotoGP race unfold in Turn 1 when #20 lost traction in the exit an #93 pounced for the lead in Turn 2 ... :ride

We spent the day in Valencia yesterday with a ton of other MotoGP tourists, and visited The Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia, where we lit a candle and said a prayer for your family’s recent increase ... :thumbup

They keep the Holy Grail in the Valencia Cathedral:

the chalice used at the Last Supper is behind the priest in the pic ... it’s said that the Visigoths worshiped in this spot 2000 years ago, then the Muslims and they began the cathedral at the end of the 12th century and finished it 750 years later.

The Republicans, friends of liberty and democracy, burnt the place in the 1930s, as the Catholic Church was, unfortunately, allied with the Nationalist and fascists ... in any event, it was restored, which is why it’s in such fine shape today ... had fun contemplating the flow of human history and the nature of compassion and mercy.

we’re off south today towards Granada ... have eight days to return to Portugal ...

 

[bikewanker]

I thought the Holy Grail was a movie? Motorcyclist with international culture, what will we think of next!
Enjoy your reporting John, I’m looking forward to tales of the road.

 

[budman]

Wow.. the Cathedral is beautiful. Ornate and I bet inspiring.

Thanks for the good juju. ort

 

[Mellowtonin]

Oh man! I knew from my day ride on the outskirts of Barcelona that Spain would make for a killer week long sport touring trip.
Your report so far pretty much confirmed everything that I'd suspected:laughing:laughing