‘Don’t Stop Me Now’

A day when Frankia responded to Queen. I left Palencia Motorhome park (it’s free) without disturbing my neighbours Arnnie & Carol, and headed for Vallodolid. The cafe serving cafe sin leche and toastados y tomate was a good choice.

My next stop brought on a panic and shaped the next 500kms. The ‘picnic’ sign and benches/trees would make a nice casual travellers stop. Gas on, pot warmed, tea brewed, happy times. The panic on turning the key with no effect rose with each try. Emergency plans and options were racing round my head, swop the leisure battery over, dismantle the starter solenoid, call breakdown, get the bike out and ride for help, go to sleep for an hour and hope it fixes itself! Key turn numer seven – Frankia starts with a roar. The new plan, the engine doesn’t stop until parked at the Puerto Mazerron sea shore. 

All before me was flat and sunny…. 

Fantastic scenery, empty roads and my fuel top-up done the European way (no problem having a running engine the waiter said, better than a blocked of fuel stand). 

Frankia was purring along at 45mph, not at all hurried by the numerous lorries that seemed to offer us a push along. Sergovia then Madrid for coffee breaks maybe…..or this cute town San Sebastián..

The choice of N-V1 road was made in my usual roaming style – completely in ignorance of any climatic-geographic knowledge. 

The most frantic drive of my life – Frankia is a heavy box on summer tyres. Wiggling our backside uphill was hairy, controlling the front end down winding bends with little view ahead on ice-rink roads – it will take a few days to clean the seat!!

I left the fun roads for the motorway. Another hard time ahead I believed as the roadsigns started to say Madrid Central. The views of this incredible city were distracting me from the inevitable traffic gridlock ahead. The Madrid City traffic split with tunnel lanes as the red lights of countless cars started to dazzle. Saved – What a brilliant job of the Madrid underpass they’ve done, six lanes wide winding for miles under the city, fantastic engineering.

Where to stop after Madrid, maybe Albacete, somewhere handy to repair Frankia if I stop and lose the engine. The last fuel stop I would need done, food and drink on-board to keep me going. Do I sensibly rest and gamble the engine starting in the morning? Or do the night drive in zero traffic but any breakdown being more problematic?  Frankia was running like a dream – onwards….

Albacete, passed by, Murcia no stop, Mazerron eased past and the shore line found before midnight, the morning view maybe one of the nicest I’ve seen (relief playing a big part) – now the fun and house-sitting can begin.