Biking Archives - Page 37 of 99

Day 27 & 28 Tercel to Valencia and boat to Ibiza

Posted on October 14, 2016

I left Complejo Touristico La Pinada at just before 9am after breakfast. It was a fast ride down to the coast through the gorgeously scented orange groves, the small oranges are a bit sharp to eat 🙂 Valencia seems to starts miles away and has a complex series of bike paths so it was well over an hour before I finally I reached the “Do You Bike” shop.

The guy in the shop said he would replace the spoke whilst I had a coffee across the road unfortunately he didn’t have a spoke the right length 🙁 However, I’ve been carrying a spare spoke for years so one coffee later the job was done 🙂

Next on the agenda was a ferry ticket, so I biked down to the Trasmediterranea terminal to get a ferry.They had one sailing at 10pm reaching Ibiza at 5am unwisely I didn’t book a cabin 🙁

Next job was to find the closest hotel to the terminal as I will be returning with Sally (no Easyjet/Ryanair flights from Ibiza in November) so she will have to return to the UK from the mainland. The hotel closest to the port is hotel Marina Atarazanas so I booked a room for us on booking.com, the receptionist said it was cheaper that way.

I then spent some time biking around the transport terminals of Valencia to see if there is any straightforward way of getting to the Castellon Airport, simple answer is no. Anyway I then discovered that Ryanair also flies from the main Valencia airport with its 15min bus service to the city centre! A wasted 30 minutes on the Ryanair chatline now means that Sally can either fly from Castellon in the morning or Valencia in the late evening 🙂

After all that a visit to the beach was called for and a drink to while away the time before the ferry, Fascinating fact that n Valencia there are several river bridges which no longer cross a river. How weird.

The crossing was smooth but my sleep certainly wasn’t I arrived at 5am to a deserted town, feeling wrecked. I rode around and eventually found the catamaran terminal had a coffee shop 🙂 At 9am I thought I would give the Hotel Lai IBZ a try, amazingly they let me have my room, a quick shower and I was asleep 🙂

Later I explored the old town which is really very pleasant and I found an ironmongers shop as well to get a bolt for my light plus finding Can Manola a bike rental place so Sally can rent a bike when she is over later this month.

The place is winding down for the end of season but I discovered Pacha had a gig on starting at midnight so I bought an amazingly expensive ticket and went to bed again 🙂

The gig itself was disappointing, one thing I can’t stand are bad sound systems, having spent my youth building power amps and sand filled loudspeaker enclosures I just hate resonances when the ceiling starts rattling and putting stuff on loudspeakers so they rattle is just awful. The drinks are a staggering price too. No wonder Pacha own hotels & retail stores.

So after 48 hours I finally went to bed at 3am 🙂

The 18.6 miles to Valencia is on Strava here

A few pics are on Dropbox here

Still trying to work out how to get past heart rate data 🙁

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