Best day so far.

Last night instead of wasting time going into Almaraz I just ate in the Hotel Alonso de Monroy restaurant, this gave me longer in the pool, a good hour, with a very large European size bottle of lager, I had it all to myself, the pool and the lager. Under the stars in the moonlight.

Today started with a nice sleep in, I got up at 9.30am, packed my things, and had two Nutella 'B-ready' cereal bar type wafer chocolate things and a carton  of chocolate milkshake that I'd been saving as an emergency snack. I could easily replenish them later.

I'd booked the hotel Ibis 'Alcorcon' last night, it was only a 15 minute ride from the centre of Madrid and had secure parking for a reasonable price. So with that address in my SatNav, choosing the medium twisty setting, the journey was planned, ETA 3.30pm and over 220km.

So began the greatest motorcycle ride I've ever experienced. Under blue skies I rode at first on the same route I'd done yesterday to El Alrenal, but instead of turning left at Arenas de San Pedro, the route went on to Santa Cruz del Valle through Serranillos then onto Burgohondo.

Everything was perfect, the bike, the roads, the weather.

Riding into Brunete with only 20 minutes before arrival at the Ibis hotel, I stopped as I'd seen a big Lidl. I got two fresh pastries, a banana, a pear, and a big bottle of orange juice and sat in the shade under the front canopy of the supermarket to enjoy this late lunch.

I got to the hotel for 3.30pm and checked in, lovely room and things as you'd expect from the big hotel chains, (Ibis is like Premier Inn: a bit more luxurious than Holiday Inns) the bike had a nice secure spot behind an electric gate within the fenced off area of the hotel grounds, I could even see it from my room window.

I changed into my casual clothes and then jumped back on the bike, rode into Madrid, parked in a secure underground car park under the Plaza Mayor, and then walked round taking in as many sights as I could. For over four hours I walked round, I saw as much as I could, the architecture rivalled and arguably bettered that of Barcelona. It was just ace.

I had a burger in a Five Guys restaurant at 9pm, and rode back to the hotel. I wandered to the next door petrol station, bought another large bottle of lager and replenished my chocolate milkshake and Nutella B-ready bars emergency supply.

Sitting back in my room with the CNN news channel on (the only one in English) enjoying my bottle of lager, planning tomorrow’s journey north, I was sure time could not have been better spent than the day I had just enjoyed. Today will take some beating.