Helmet law in Portugal/Spain

[rich p]

As far as I can see there is no compulsion to wear one in Portugal but there is in Spain. I don't wear one when touring so I'm wondering if I should run the gauntlet for the 1 week Spanish section of my summer tour or lug it round unused in Portugal for 2 weeks.

Any thoughts on the likelihood of getting nicked in rural N Spain?

 

[mangaman]

Hi rich

As you no doubt know, Spain's helmet laws are a dog's dinner.

You don't need to wear one in a town, going up a hill or if you're too hot.

http://cyclehelmets.org/1076.html

I cycle a lot in Spain - always lidless - and have never been stopped. I can speak Spanish and would tell the plod, if stopped, I felt a bit hot and they would be hard pressed and less bothered to disprove it.

The easier solution is to look bemused, say "soy ingles" in a crap accent - then answer que? to every question.

Oh and look hot / mop your brow etc.

I'm being flippant and I know of no-one who's been done and tested the "too hot" rule in court, but the Guardia Civil will not be arsed to arrest you for something so trivial, for the sake of 90 euros, especially if they think you will need an interpretor (I'm guessing)

 

[Dave Davenport]

This has come up a couple of times in the past. We've started a couple of tours in northern Spain and spent about 15 days or so there in total 'sans helmet' without any problems but I seem to remember some people saying they had, the rules are wooly to say the least. We'll have 4 or 5 days this year before we hit France and I'm not planning on taking a lid.
Where are you going?

 

[rich p]

This has come up a couple of times in the past. We've started a couple of tours in northern Spain and spent about 15 days or so there in total 'sans helmet' without any problems but I seem to remember some people saying they had, the rules are wooly to say the least. We'll have 4 or 5 days this year before we hit France and I'm not planning on taking a lid.
Where are you going?

We're flying to Lisbon and cycling up to Santander in a wiggly way and then getting the ferry back to Pompey.

 

[Dave Davenport]

We're flying to Lisbon and cycling up to Santander in a wiggly way and then getting the ferry back to Pompey.

Sounds great; We're getting the ferry to Santander July 31st heading vaguely south east for a couple of hundred miles, turning 90 deg left then back from Caen Aug 22nd.

Are you going to follow the coast? When are you going?

 

[rich p]

Change your dates Dave and I'll buy you a beer in Santander
We're flying out in late June and getting the ferry on July 16th.

We're going rural I think and probably won't do the Portuguese coast at all but maybe some of the N Spain between Gijon and Santander.

 

[ceepeebee]

That bit of Spain is one of my favourite parts of the world Rich, Gijon is particularly fun, as is Oviedo. Let me know if you need any bar/restaurant tips for the towns (only done trains round the (beautiful)countryside really so I'm not so great further in the sticks). Can be rather rainy on occasion though

 

[dellzeqq]

we had no problems, but then we had £9.99 Decathlon lids strapped to our handlebars.

 

[jay clock]

I have toured in Spain wearing a smugly legal helmet. My touring mate has his strapped to the back and we have not been stopped. North west Spain is great (see blog here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=1756 )

 

[Will1962]

Rich,

Are you aware that the 68th AIT Rally/8th Semaine Europeene de Cyclotourisme Rally is on during the first week of July in Gijon:

http://en.gijoncicloturismo2012.es/

You might find accomodation a bit hard to find around Gijon that week.

I will be attending the rally as part of a CTC cycling holiday:
http://www.cyclingholidays.org/tours/solo.php?Tour=1232

We will be travelling back on the same ferrry as you on 16th, so you will probably run into us.

Will

 

[rich p]

Thanks for the heads-up Will. I suspect I'll still be in N Portugal during the first week of July but you never know.
See you on the boat!

 

[Speicher]

We're flying to Lisbon and cycling up to Santander in a wiggly way and then getting the ferry back to Pompey.

I look forward to the video of you cycling in a wiggly way.

 

[rich p]

Sounds great; We're getting the ferry to Santander July 31st heading vaguely south east for a couple of hundred miles, turning 90 deg left then back from Caen Aug 22nd.

Are you going to follow the coast? When are you going?

Incidentally Dave, I recall you asking last year about taking bikes on BA in a CTC bag. Did you do it and were there any issues?

 

[rich p]

BTW, thanks for the replies everyone. My law-abiding instinct is to take one anyway. They don't weigh really. Mrs rich p takes one every year and barely wears it.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Incidentally Dave, I recall you asking last year about taking bikes on BA in a CTC bag. Did you do it and were there any issues?

I seem to remember a discussion but we got the ferry and did a circular tour of Flanders last summer.