Europe Archives - Page 10 of 15

Day 26 Tercel to just past Gilet. Lifeday 25,276

Posted on October 9, 2016

A late start today due to me not waking up till twenty past eight, the hostel was as quiet as a morgue. I paid my €25 dues and started to load the bike up. When horrors I noticed a rear spoke had snapped 🙁 the wheel still span OK if a bit wobbly, I made a mental note to steer clear of tracks today.

The local panaderia made a delicious breakfast for €3 🙂 So I set of at 9.37 with a view of doing the 100 miles to Valencia, well I had 3,000 feet of vertical descent in my favour so I thought.

First mistake of the day was finding myself UNDER the bridge I was supposed to be crossing, a very fine bridge too. I started climbing on the deserted N234 road when suddenly the programmed Strava route told me to do an abrupt left turn down a track 🙁 and then down a steep 15% descent on loose gravel 🙁 this was then followed by 4 miles of track riding through a forest with only runners looking on bemused. An abrupt left turn up a very steep slope took me onto the old railway line. Followed by amazing viaducts, cuttings, embankments & tunnels. Must have cost a fortune to built in 1907! Even more amazing is a modern railway line runs parallel for most of the way with its own tunnels & cuttings.

The newer the bridge the lower down it is - I'm on the oldest taking the pic — The newer the bridge the lower down it is – I’m on the oldest taking the pic

All the time I was ascending upto 4,000 feet on rough ground equals slow going, suddenly Valencia seemed a long way away 🙁 I suspect using Strava for route creation is not sp good in areas of high MTB usage 🙁 The downhill stretch of the line is even more amazing with gradients unheard of in UK railways. Just before Masias I rejoined the N234 and proceeded to bomb down the hills at high pace 🙂

Just before Alger I left the N234, hopped across the tracks of the new railway and rejoined the Via Verde, (I could see a hill coming up). rejoining the N234 before Torres Torres.

It was starting to get late so I got booking.com to find the cheapest and most local place. They gave me the €25 a night Complejo Touristico La Pinada with its 25 metre outdoor pool etc. (water is about 20deg according to my white fingers after 8 lengths). Problem is there is no evening meal as such so it’s a Tortilla for me.

So the ‘easy’ descent turned into a 3,931 feet of ascent as well 🙁 and 83.7 miles according to Strava

The pictures on dropbox here

My heartrate is reaching new highs:

Day 25 Baguena to Teruel Lifeday-25,275

Posted on October 8, 2016December 28, 2016

Today started with no real breakfast as all, as the Auberge was only offering a coffee and a cellophane wrapped bun 🙁 But I guess for €25 a night it’s all to be expected.

At 8.15 outside it was a cold morning, only 7 degrees which in shorts & tee shirt is cold! I had to put my rain jacket on. In fact I didn’t get warm till 11.30 with the sun out full blast. Adding to the cold was the fact I couldn’t find a bread shop 🙁

For some reason at Luco de Jiloca the route left the N-234 and took me down some of the worst stony lanes yet! At one point it was pedal height in water 🙁 I at to persevere for over two miles before I could hit the tarmac again 🙂

It wasn’t until after 22 miles I found a bread shop and cafe open in Monreal del Campo quite a thriving community compared to the very poor villages like Baguena. All stoked up even with a banana and an apple I set of warmed up at last.

The route was then a totally deserted road to Villafranca and its rather empty bread shop & rather sad bar, Later I found myself on yet another old rail track going around the huge chipboard factory and then going past the Caude-Teruel Airport apparently it’s used for storing upto 225 aeroplanes 🙂

Finally it was a 500 foot drop down from 3,300feet to Teruel plus a pedal up through the town to the Hostel Aragon, a great find right in the centre and very adequate accommodation, The town itself has quite stunning architecture and feels very prosperous,

The 61 mile ride and nearly 1000 feet of ascent is on Strava

I tried uploading pictures to my SmugMug account here, but alas it has gotten itself all screwed up 🙁 So it’s back to Dropbox here, but I’m still seeking some software that will display the location of the images on a map like Picasa used to do 🙂

The heart rate is here:

First 1000 mile Europe trip roundup

Posted on October 7, 2016

The first 1,000 miles of biking.(Sea crossings extra)

I’ve now cycled 1,051 miles on this latest trip and ascended 31,615 feet according to Strava. The elevation gain is slightly more than one Everest.

I’ve cycled on18 days in the 26 days since I left home.Giving an average of 58 miles per day and 1,756 feetof ascent. The missing days were travelling to and fro Cambridge/Kings Lynn

So far it’s been amazingly enjoyable with good weather apart from the Southerly headwind and a jhalf day of rain.

Spain seems to be a great place for touring with some very inexpensive places to stay and lots of accommodation and bars.

Tomorrow I continue towards Valencia which I should reach on Sunday. For some reason ferries to Ibiza are half the price than from Denia even though the crossing is nearly twice as long.

Once on Ibiza I aim to tour the island and maybe to go to a all nighter or two, if the clubs are still open. Plus I’ve got to find somewhere to leave the bike for when I go home to take the twelve of us to Butlins 🙂 Then I’m returning with Sally so she can see the delights of Ibiza and and some of Valencia for a few days

Day24 Zaragoza to Baguena Lifeday 25,274

Posted on October 7, 2016October 7, 2016

Ryanair over the Ebro River coming into to Zaragoza

The more observant of you may wonder what happened to Day23, the answer is not much! I basically I flew back out to Zaragoza on Ryanair for considerably less than the flight the other way! Just as well I called in at home as the central heating had deflated so when Nest told it to wake up nothing would have happened 🙁 The flight back was uneventful except for getting some great aerial pics 🙂 The taxis refused to take me to the hotel (to close I suspect) so told me to to get on the bus instead, The Hotel Diagonal Plaza is OK except for lack of staircases and a shower like in a second rate British B&B 🙁 Their dinner was nothing to write home about either.

So today it was Geoff meeting the Sistema Ibérico mountain range with it’s over 3000 feet passes 🙁 I left Zaragoza on a very stony path alongside The Canal Imperial de Aragón before hitting the really quiet N-330 road, lots of road bikers around all of them happily waving to me. Compare and contrast to Germany 🙂

I noticed that the front light was looking rather limp, poor things bracket had suffered metal fatigue and sheared in two 🙁 I started searching the industrial estates for the likes of McKays but to no avail. Eventually at a garage I worked out a scheme using ty-raps to hold it in place until the next bumpy track.

Then it was the major climbs, really interesting to see how the road has grown over the years, as I crawled up, from a twisty track to the highway I was on to the motorway zooming over my head

The town of Daroca is quite stunning with its castle and medieval centre, should have stopped there but I had booked the Albergue in the next village at Baguena.

A great days biking in excellent weather. Strava says I did 67.9 miles and 3,285 feet of climbing and I’m well pleased with the 11mph too, given the stony track & cruising around industrial estates 🙂

Todays pics should be here

and the heart data is here: