That’s right, Motorcycle Words is waking up and rubbing the sleep out of its eyes. Since moving to Spain last year (2022) and selling my bike before I left the USA, I haven’t had the opportunity nor the time to do anything motorcycle related. However, after doing a photo shoot of a friend and travel blogger and her bike here in Valencia, I’ve got the urge to go ahead and put the wheels in motion to get back in the saddle.
Of course, there are a few hoops to jump through before I can take to the streets again. First, I need to get a motorcycle license, which in Spain (and the rest of the EU) is a lot more difficult than it is in the United States. The tests are harder and the tiered licensing system makes you wait a couple of years to move up to a larger/more powerful category of motorcycle.
For me, I’m fine if I have to stay on a smaller (less than 48bhp) bike for a while. In fact, I’d prefer a lighter, smaller bike here in Europe and might never really get a larger machine. Of course if someone drops a Guzzi Mandello in my lap, I’ll go get that A license :). Until that license is acquired I’ll be riding using my AAA international permit. It allows one to ride any size bike but it is only valid for one year in many EU countries and only six months here in Spain (thanks, Spain).
The next step will be to get a bike which I’ll hopefully have in the two to three months assuming I pass the test and get my licenese. Until then, I’ll be renting a bike and taking a few day trips following Jori. While I feel I have a good feel for the rules here I still would prefer to follow someone around who already has seat time here in Europe. There’s a lot of beautiful roads and scenery here which should make for some amazing ride footage.
So what does all this mean?
It means I’ll be back to updating MotorcycleWords.com with content about my experiences here in Spain and hopefully more of Europe too. It also means I’ll be reviewing some gear for my friends over at WebBikeWorld.com again. I already have a new Ridill helmet from Shark as well as a pair of SP-8 gloves from Alpinestars on hand and will be starting those reviews in the next couple of weeks once I start getting out on the rental bike. I also plan on sharing my experience in getting a Motorcycle license here so others that are coming to live here in Spain can understand what it takes to get a license here.
That’s all for now but keep an eye on this space in the coming weeks as I get things rolling again.
