Las Navillas to after Luque

Mady & Marc at looked after me well at Las Navillas MM. Starting the day with an excellent fruit salad and local cheeses etc also  Marc pumped my tyres up to 100 psi  (first time in two weeks) and also fixed the rear mudguard, although, as he mentioned, down here they don’t ride if it rains 🙂

I left, this time turning right at the bridge and keeping on the tarmac road 🙂 so I was soon cruising through MonteFrio, it looks an excellent place to visit but I really find it hard to get the riding/visiting balance right, I love both so much 🙂 I know Graham & Frances (who I met biking in Taiwan) take twice as long as me to do similar distance trips.

It was a Sunday and so like most religious controlled communities no shops are open and where I was staying didn’t do food plus it isn’t a village.

The roads here are a cyclists heaven lovely tarmac, no rain, very few cars or people the only difficulty, for me, is that all the hills are very long grinds typically over a couple of miles at 8% or so but there are decent descents!

I spent some time watching the olive harvest being processed admiring all the conveyor belts and the locals bringing in their little trailers full of olives still on the stems.

I had a Queso Bocadillo in the garage cafe at Priego de Cordoba and then did a little spin around the town, deserted apart from a queue of tiny tots going into a toy shop.

Eventually, after more hills I reached Luque where the hot chicken shop was open, I didn’t bother going to the bar either as it didn’t look too pleasant either. A short way along the road to Zuheros I reached the Los Castillarejos Apartamentos Rural where a quick call at the gate had Antonio rushing to open up.

WOW what a stunning place the Los Castillarejos Apartamentos Rural is! Amazing views of the valleys around even an infinity pool 🙂 🙂  Antonio said the local equally stunning village of Zuheros had a restaurant so that was the evening food sorted!

After a very quick dip in the icy cold pool, I met a Dutch guy who before his 4 stents were fitted was a racing cyclist & journalist, so very interesting to chat too, later he took me down to Zuheros in his coupe 🙂 where I had an excellent meal at Asador Restaurante Los Palancos although it has to be said its more for carnivores although I liked the soup and its presentation.

Today is very much why I love travelling it fulfils my natural curiosity on so many levels 🙂

The days Strava is here:

Flickr pics here: