Our tour leader, Mark Hunt, met me at the
hotel at 10 a.m. to deliver my "hire bike," a
brand-new 2019 BMW R 1250 GS. Mark
was riding a 2019 BMW S 1000 XR, which I
would also ride during this tour. (See sidebar
for bike comparison.) As with all Motorrad
Tours, I received my route notes ahead of
time, so I had time at home to review the
routes and Google the places the tour would
visit. Mark went over the pre-trip paperwork
and showed me how to use the supplied
BMW GPS, which was pre-loaded with our
routes. After I transferred my clothes and
gear to the panniers and top case, we were
ready to set off on our journey.
It should be noted that this tour does not offer a chase
vehicle, so be prepared to carry everything you'll need for
your trip in your panniers and top case. BMW pannier and
top case liners are supplied, which makes hotel check-ins
easy and convenient. A tank bag is also provided. If you
pack correctly, this shouldn't be an issue—two couples
rode our tour two-up and never complained. One of the
ladies packed so well that she wore a different dress every
evening of the tour. All of my tour partners on this trip were
from the UK, and they all chose to ride their own bikes,
although most were returning customers who had done
this tour before on hire bikes. After a short ride to the ferry
port, we boarded and set sail for Santander, Spain. The
ferry is more like a cruise ship and features entertainment,
a swimming pool, a movie theater, shuffleboard and, of
course, bars everywhere. And since it's owned and oper-
ated by a French company, the food is spectacular. Arriving
at 17:30—get used to this time format, as this is standard in
Europe—we had a quick 75-mile ride to Cosgaya, Spain,
and the second fabulous hotel of our tour.
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