Two to Gibraltar Part 1

Introduction

John Hocking and I met on an organised tour (MSL Tours) to Rouen in 2004. In fact we shared the same B&B, (Bleriots, Dover) on the tour eve. Since we are of an age, John is now 75 and I am rapidly approaching 70, we were thrown together on that tour. We are both ex-servicemen, now classified by the government as Veterans. John is ex-RAF while I am an ex-Sapper. We have since participated together in Round Britain Rallies, 2004-08, mainly in Wales and Scotland plus a trip in 2007 to Northern France.

After our return from Northern France we were pontificating on what to do in 2008. Recalling my time in the army and a trip out to the Far East, in 1958, the troopship should have stopped off at Gibraltar but a late decision by the powers that be, the ship only stopped to collect fresh water. I then suggested to John how about a ride to Gibraltar. John replied go for it. With experience of many visits to France and in 2006 attended my son’s wedding in Spain (I can now even say “Dos caňos, por favor.”) I felt well qualified to plan the ride.

John and I both ride the same machine, Suzuki Burgman AN 400 K4 scooters. This does make the logistics a little easier, especially for pit stops etc. Shopping around in December enabled me to find good prices on the Eurotunnel and Etap chain of hotels; all bookings were made and confirmed on the Internet. As we were mainly staying one night at each stop the Etap standard of accommodation suited us - a bed, a TV and en suite. The Formulae One chain would probably have been cheaper but they are not en suite, which John and I have on our list of requirements. We probably could have managed sharing a room for the same price but being two grumpy old gits we both like our own privacy.

So now for the planning. Making most of the planning decisions I then discussed them with John and those who know John will realise he is a very agreeable type, so planning and organising was simplicity itself.

I decided to sleep the first and last night in Calais Coquelles. This would enable us to ride down to Folkestone, John from Ipswich and me from Macclesfield, take the evening train, thirty-five minutes and check into the hotel and start out fresh the next morning. I then spaced out the overnight stops with riding intervals of approximately 250 miles. The only occasion this was not possible was the 300+ mile stretch between Alicante and Barcelona. So bookings were made to Chartres, Angouleme, Bilbao (Arrigorriaga), Madrid and Granada. As I could not find suitable economical accommodation in Gibraltar or La Linea I decided that we would ride over to Jerez de la Frontera for two days and make a day trip down to Gibraltar. We retraced our route back to Granada then on to Alicante, Barcelona, Beziers, Clermont Ferrand, Orleans and finally back to Calais Coquelles. We had rest days at Bilbao and Beziers. In Jerez there are no Etap hotels so we booked into the Hotel Ibis, a sister chain of hotels under the Accors umbrella. A little more expensive but with a bar, a restaurant and definitely cheaper than the hotel prices in Gibraltar.

So there we were – all booked up in January – just had to be patient until June!!!

As the day of departure loomed into the near future, both John and I had our bikes serviced and given the once over for tyres and brake pads etc. Daily route maps were printed, hotels entered on our satnavs. Little bits of kit added – small electric kettle, washing line to use in the hotel bathroom, teabags, dried milk, cuppa soups – Etap hotels don’t have brew facilities unlike British B&Bs.

Slowly my foreign language skills are improving. “Deux café au lait, s’il vous plait,” and “Dos café con leche, por favor.” OK, OK, not up to UN standard but I’ll never die of thirst!