https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/ ... m=facebook

Not sure how practical this would be for bikepacking, but could make accessing the offf the beaten track bits more affordable. Great initiative, either way!

Works for me! We heard about this a few days ago, already planning one way trips to some far flung places and rides back. To be fair the fares are pretty cheap already, I did a training ride earlier in the year from here to just short of Valencia, 240km, the train back was €13.

Nice. Heading to Barcelona by train with the family in September. Hopefully we can get further afield using this.

Lune Ranger,if you want any recommendations on nice places to visit,give me a shout, we're 2 hours south of Barcelona.

Bear in mind, masks are still compulsory on Spanish trains, hospitals and pharmacies.

pistonbroke wrote: ↑Sat Jul 16, 2022 7:42 pm Lune Ranger,if you want any recommendations on nice places to visit,give me a shout, we're 2 hours south of Barcelona.

I've just bought a house in the La Romana area, west of Alicante. I've got bikes at the house but no kit for camping so won't be joining on any rides this year. Hopefully I can ship the rest of my kit over later this year.

So far wifey and I have spent five days there as a couple, I went back for a week to sort some stuff out and we're currently in southern France on our way back down in the van to stay for a good while this time.

Guess you'll be driving down the AP7 then, we're near El Perello, km 1,100 if you fancy breaking up the journey. It's 4 hours from here to Alicante.

pistonbroke wrote: ↑Sat Jul 16, 2022 7:42 pm Lune Ranger,if you want any recommendations on nice places to visit,give me a shout, we're 2 hours south of Barcelona.

Thanks. May well pick your brains via PM at some point.

I've been doing a deeper dive into this offer and, surprise surprise , there's a catch. The offer only applies to multi journey tickets such as the 10 journey tickets or season tickets for commuter lines around the big cities called Cercianas or Media Distancia. You can't just rock up to the station in Barcelona and expect to travel to Valencia foc. It's designed to help those who travel daily for work and get cars off the road at peak times. Not sure if this will make much difference to some of the people I know who, due to the lack of ticket inspection, don't pay anyway.

Can't comment on trains, but I filled up with diesel in the Basque country the other day and the €90 was reduced to €78 due to a central government discount of some sort - my Basque isn't good enough* to fully understand what she said.

* who am I kidding, it's non-existent.