Do you dream of doing a bike road across the country, or Europe even, but don’t know where to start with planning it?
Let VC roadtrip queen Nuria Perez help you out with her top tips for long rides and road trips!
They dont come more qualified than Nuria who regular rides include rides home to her native Barcelona all the way from London! Throw in some regular long trips around Europe with her ol’ Dad (they even did a 2.5 week tour around the States together) and Nuria is about as qualified to dish the dirt on long road trips as they come!
Hey, I’m Nuria. I’m 36 years old and have been riding since I was legally allowed to (which is 14 in Spain!).
I originally started riding as I wanted the freedom of movement that two wheels gives you (especially at 14!) , so I started out with a 50cc Honda X8R-X red scooter to go around and visit all my friends in the villages around my hometown.
Motorbikes have always been in my family and I really got into riding because of my dad. He used to race MX and enduro and then later on he got into road bikes. I have great memories of travelling to Jerez from Barcelona to see the motorbike races together with him when I was young (about 1000km!).
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The first longish-trip I did on my own was from Barcelona to Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo race track on my yellow Suzuki SV650. The bike was supposed to be restricted but when I went full throttle I got to 195km/ Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! A first road trip remember!
After moving to London I went a few years without really riding, but when a friend’s wedding in Mexico came up, I convinced my dad to meet me in LA and do a 17 day trip around the west coast of the US and the Grand Canyon which kickstarted my love of bikes again. I loved every minute of the 2,750 miles we did - even when we were crossing the desert in the middle of a heatwave! The landscapes were incredible and unforgettable. Me and my Dad make a great riding team and we’ve got lots of stories from that trip, including me running out of petrol (Oops)… After coming back from that trip, I immediately started saving for a new bike and I settled on a Triumph Bonneville which I own until this day.
Before our trip in the States I’d been pillion with my dad 5 years in a row, travelling from Barcelona to the Dolomites, going always through the Stelvio Pass. It’s amazing!
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So what are my top tips for planning and actually going on a long distance road trip? I’ve tried to cover everything here that I would take into consideration when I’m planning and the when I’m actually on the road but you’ll find over time and experience that you’ll want to add you own things to this list too :)
So here we go!
PLANNING MY ROUTE
First up I go old school and look at a road map. I ask myself: What kind of trip am I planning? How many miles? Is there a motorway involved? Any small roads? Which cities and towns will I drive past? Which direction am I taking? Are there any exciting places where I can stop for sightseeing or any cool roads I want to ride through? Phew!
If I'm going to Barcelona, I usually want to do it pretty quickly so it's gonna be all motorway to get there as fast as I can. I can do up to 800KM in one day! My tank will usually see me through around 200-250KM so I factor in a mid morning stop, a lunchtime and mid afternoon. Then I'd refill the following morning, before leaving.
When travelling alone I will start looking for a place to sleep around lunchtime, calculating the afternoon miles depending on my pace, energy levels and road traffic. One note is to not push yourself too hard! London to Barcelona is a day and a half trip so I take regular rests ALWAYS!
So my main tips of things to consider pre trip are:
Will I take the B roads or is it mostly motorways? This depends on how much time I have and when I want or need to get to my destination - Motorways to get to places quickly, but some of the best sightseeing happens on B, C and U roads
The cost of petrol and tolls?
Do I want to beat the rush hour?
Do I want to stop in any particular places?
If I wanna take the scenic route and B roads: Are there any roads that I like or that have been recommended to me?
Maybe famous because of the good surface or views, or because of the bendy turns.... B roads, C roads, and U roads will definitely take longer but the ride will always make me feel happier. They usually offer nicer views on the route, but some of them (ie mountain passes) but these can be physically more demanding so it depends on how much travelling i’ve done before this as to whether I want to rest before I ride them. Also another tip for the lesser travelled B roads is that its best to check where you can find petrol stations, they might be less frequent depending on where you go.
When planning a route for a day of going through mountain passes and bendy roads I wouldn't go over 270KM a day and would choose carefully the place where I stop for food: maybe I have a sandwich with me, but I'd definitely like to eat it looking at some nice views! Also If I'm stopping at a restaurant, maybe I can book ahead of time. Planning, planning planning is key!
So, first I would study the road on the map, and then I'd use my route app https://www.myrouteapp.com/en to create each day's route and copy it into my phone or sat nav. It takes some time to do this.
PACKING UP MY MOTORCYCLE
I always plan in advance how to pack everything on my bike. I do a test run 5-7 days before the ride to test the packing, in case I feel a strap won't be good enough or the aerodynamics of it will cause me problems. Wind and balance are always to be considered. You have to feel comfortable and almost like if you weren't carrying all the bulky gear on your bike. This is very important. Safety first!
When my dad and I travelled to the Dolomites (with me on pillion) we had the two side panniers (one with my clothes, one for him) and the topcase with bath things, change of shoes and for quick access to the extra layers that we might need. Thats kind of a minimum for me. Before my next big trip, I'm going to buy metallic side panniers for my Bonneville: rain proofed and lockable. I don’t really like soft panniers as they aren’t lockable, they become loose easily, and if they get loose and rub on the tyre they might start melting.
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When I travel to Barcelona ( a medium length trip that I want to do fast) , I carry everything in a backpack strapped to my rear seat with RokStrap and a net on top. If I needed to remove my jumper, that would find a place under the net, simple and I don't have to unstrap everything. All I need for this journey is a change of shoes and a change of clothes (t-shirt, trousers, underwear) for the evening and bathroom essentials. I only take one jumper and my down jacket - which I use whilst riding as well. Maybe a jeans jacket too, if I can fit it in. Also a great tip is to buy a waterproof rucksack for your trip but I always put an additional waterproof rucksack cover over it too. You can buy these pretty cheap from Karrimor or similar outdoor brands.
Another top tip is to check the straps/bungees on every stop, make sure they are still tight and that nothing has moved.
I travel pretty light in terms of things I carry on me. In my jacket pockets I carry my wallet, sunnies, tissues, maybe earplugs if I'm gonna do a lot of motorway. I also keep my bank card in an easily accessible place (inside chest pocket) if I know I'm gonna go through tolls.
Pre ride checks
1 or 2 weeks before you should check your tyres before setting out on a long journey (you should know how many miles you've done with your tyres, and how many miles more of rubber they have left too). Bridgestone have a great tyre tread depth gauge that I use (we got them in goody bags at Camp VC in 2019!), and also you need to make sure to check your tyre pressures too. Next up, check your chain, oil level also, your lights, and that there aren’t any loose bolts etc. on the bike before you set out. Finally I usually take a can of Muc-Off chain lube if I’m doing more than 700KM during my whole trip to do a bit of maintenance along the way.
Clothing
My riding gear has always been made of Kevlar or Cordura (try wearing leathers in Spain - you are gonna melt in them!!!). Plus, I find them uncomfortably tight and no space in pockets for sunnies or other things. If you are gonna ride in hot places you will want gear that has mesh all around to get some good ventilation - My jacket was also great for riding through the desert in the States.
Next - Layer up! Think of the climate where you are gonna be riding. I've never used the thermal jacket that motorbike jackets have: mornings are more cold and then it can get quite warm by lunchtime, so I take clothes that I can easily remove. Also if I stop for a picture I can still remove my armoured cordura jacket and I'll still have my down jacket on me keeping me warm.
Here in the UK I usually have my waterproof gear with me, plus my waterproof trousers and jacket to put on top in case it pours. TIP: Always put it on before it starts pouring if you can! Ha ha. Put them on if the sky looks very grey and when you can feel/see the first drops. It's pointless to put it on when you are already soaking wet!
Navigation
Finally - get yourself a good way to navigate while you’re on your trip! As I said, often I use My Road App on my laptop to create the route, then I would import it into the Scenic app because it’s cheap and easy to use. I use this mount, and this case for my phone. This works well for planning scenic rides. Ahead of my trip to Barcelona last year I also bought a TomTom Motorcycle Sat Nav Rider 50. This comes with its own RAM mount to fit it to your handlebars. It worked like a dream!
Even with all this navigation stuff, if I’m doing a long ride I still go old school and bring a paper map of the area I’m riding to, just in case my phone or Sat Nav dies. Sometimes the old ways are the most reliable :)