Planning a trip to Spain in June/July via Santander and return. looking for a base/place to stay rather than touring. The plan was to just ride out each day, So where would be the best place to base ourselves so we had decent access to nice roads? we normally cover up to 300 miles day.
If you want twisty mountain roads, you won't go far wrong with Potes in the Picos de Europa mountains. About an hour and a half to two hours ride from the Santander ferry. Plenty of hotel options and villas to rent.
A group of 12 of us went last year and stayed at the Hotel valdecoro in Potes. Great location, clean modern rooms, good parking for the bikes and beer at reasonable prices.
Good advice. Just to add, plan a selection of round trips. Keep south side if weather forecast is damp/wet. Tends to be much drier away from the sea. Enjoy. Brilliant biking area.
I'd echo @J biker. Though in June/July you are more likely to encounter heat issues rather than rain. We were there in May last year which was unseasonably mixed weather. It could be continuous rain near the coast, but dry all day 30 miles south at Riano. I have a number of circular routes I worked out. 120 to 190 miles. They are in printed (word) format as I don't do Sat Nav on bikes. If you want them, I can let you have them.
Take a look here....... https://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/country/spain Some good routes to play with.
Went last may to Spain and road in the Pyrenees. Stayed in Ainsa which is a good base to ride the N 260 which you could play on every day . lots of mountain passes off that route . I think you will be optimistic to ride 300 miles a day on roads you dont know. 150 to 200 will be a big day out. We planned to to the Picos on the last part of the trip, but it pissed down.
Mileage all depends on bike and rider. Three of us in the Picos in ‘22. 300-350 mile days, all twisty roads. Routes were pre-planned using myrouteapp and shared, so we all knew where we were going. Two of us in fairness would ride from 1st light till darkness though… night time is for
Hotel del Oso in Cosgaya is nice (on the dead end road to Fuente Dei from Potes). Hotel Picos d’Europa in Las Arenas de Cabrales is also nice and they do a mean G&T there. Plenty of places to eat out in the village too. Pannes to Las Arenas on the AS114 is rather fine on an evening at the end of a ride. The area around Potes is popular in the summer. Book early!
Probably most important, fresh or new tyres. There should be next to no wear in the middles afterwards!
Funnily enough, I wore the front tyre on my Triumph Thruxton R triangular after a week in the Picos last year. I haven't done that since I was in my early 20's on my Guzzi Lemans.
Fair point but when we have been in the Alps we were out all day and was always over 200 miles in a day!
A few years back I had to ride my MV home from the Picos with the tread on the sides of the front tyre down to f all. We got the ferry back so it was only the final day and ride from Plymouth to Herefordshire. The bike was just run in with total mileage around 2,500 miles on the Pirelli Scorpions. Not sure if they were OEM specials with less tread or softer compound but I wasn't expecting that. Chasing my 996 riding touring buddy, braking deep into corners, probably didn't help. Have returned to the area since on the Multistrada. Great roads and scenery, welcoming locals etc. Weather can be iffy and explains why the area is pretty verdant.
Potes has been mentioned as a great base for superb routes; Oviedo is also a great base but a bigger town (city?) with more options for evening entertainment.
We used Hotel Imperion in Cangas de Onis as a base in the Picos when we couldn’t get a hotel in Potes. Decent property, underground parking and plenty of restaurants in the town
We've stayed in various places across the Picos. Particularly liked here, in the small village of Oseja de Sajambre. Only a couple of bars and a restaurant in the village but the N625 to Riano is a fabulous road, as are many in the area.
