(Title picture is from yesterday in the Parque Natural Sierra de Castril, narrow single track only went for a couple 100m but a good occasion to take a photo and make me look like a badass)
A week in and it's been really great so far. I started in Malaga, stayed a day longer than i wanted to because it was harder to find a fitting gas canistrr than i yhought. The third Decathlon (at the airport) finally had one. I also picked up a windbreaker there because i felt that the wind was really cold but the sun really strong, too warm for my rain jacket. Was a good idea, used it a lot already. From there went into the mountains then down to Granada where i made an early rest day, had a pension for 25€ a night in the heart of the city and wanted to have a look around. Early rest day was also good because i was not in shape at all (last cycled in ocyober really, other than running errands at home), and the first days were pretty tough with lots of climbing and steep grades.
I feel like the grades here may generally a bit steeper than what i know from elsewhere, maybe i am imagining it though due to my form.
- Cycling out of Granada. If you enhance the jpg enough, you can see a crystal clear Alhambra
Went back into the mountains on what i believe is a part of the badlands race route, very lonely and beautiful. Went on through the Gorafe desert. It was drizzling
- Gorafe desert
In the desert there were quite some people, motorbikers, vans. Not too bad though. In the weird sandy riverbed (?) at the bottom of it seemed to be a small cycling race going on. After a river crossing i was all alone again for a good while in amazing landscapes.
Yesterday i went into the parque from the title picture all day along this hiking track. Only at the bottom of it i saw some hikers, the rest of the day i was aline. Slept in one of the refugios up there on the high plateau, it was so good because it is getting really cold in the mountains. It was drizzling, really windy and i was freezing. So happy that i have mu stove with me to eat something hot, also earlier just make a coffee break and wait out the rain. So good when there's no infrastructure around.
- My bike in the refugio. Somehow looks like great weather outside in this photo :)
Refugio also had a water pump. This morning it was real cold again, the nights in the mountains were like 3-5° which i did not really expect tbh. It was raining and i descended. Fucking ice cold hands, cold everything. After about 15km downhill i finally made it to a village, where i hung around in a cafe, eating tostadas con tomate and drinking tea and coffee. Rain kept raining and i didn't want to go back up on the hiking tracks, so i made up a new route to the next village on my original route where i could take a room. Cycled through the rain on mostly asphalt, which was nice for a change, the road was also super calm, met like three cars on 40 km of riding. Beautiful views too.
- Through the trees you can see the village where i'm at now. Every lemmy user here in Siles is invited to as much beer as you can drink, pm me for details :)
So i got a room here now. Somehow the sun is coming out, weather report said it'd rain all day, heavy in the evening. Next two days it's gonna rain too.
I am waiting for a restaurant to open, which is only ever after 8. So i have time to kill writing this post, haha.
The whole 'no dinner before 8' really is not great for my touring time table. Also the siesta fucked me over a few times. I hope i will get used to it.
Very understandable, doing the same route twice when touring somehow can feel like a waste.
Stunning photo again! I opened it before I read the text and was looking for your bike in the picture for some time, since it’s a trademark ;) But now I understand. Have fun!
I rode the canyon road now twice too ;)
But i rode all that i had marked in the map, plus the dotted line from about Zaorejas to Molina de aragon.
When i rolled out of albarracin, a bikepacker came pushing up the hill, riding into town. We greeted each other, then i rode along the canyon again and after a few km turned onto a nice gravel track.
When i was approaching the town Bronchales, the bikepacker i saw earlier caught up with me and we went shopping, ate something on a bench and chatted a bit, then went into a cafe. He was a spanish guy, livong in uk lake district. He rode a single speed bike, that's what he has stored at his parents in spain. Very strong cyclist i guess, he does ultra racing and also trail running etc. Later two more guys showed up in the cafe, they were from a town in the french alps, also here to ride the circle. Spanish guy had to go, he wanted to do another 100km that day, so i chatted a bit more with the french guys, then left. I was sure they would soon overtake me, i was carrying a lot of stuff that made my bike heavy. A bunch of peaches, beer, coke, water.. I was kind of worried to not pass anymore shops or bars because of the warnings of the route creator, but at least on the bit i rode it wasn't bad really. Next town i passed had a warning on the gpx: single trail up the hill. I stumbled around, pushing my bike zig zag up the hill but could not make out anything that looked like a trail. So i just followed the gpx straight up the grass.
Kept cycling, mostly surrounded by trees, to the nacimiento de tajo, i guess the source of the tajo. Few km further i called it a night and made myself comfortable in a refugio.
I wanted to air out my sleeping bag outside a bit but it got all wet from the dew. It was really cold again. Got some cookies and coffee in and then cycled about 35km to the next village to look for a bar to warm up, it was really cold again.
Finally rolled into Checa, found a bar, drank some coffee and ate so.e tostadas just when it started raining. The woman in the bar said it's gonna rain all day, so after another cafe con leche i said fuck it and went out in the rain. It was starting to rain heavier, i was freezing again and hummed the old LL Cool J classic "I need gloves" to lighten up my mood. Why didn't i buy any in Alicante?
In the next valley the rain had stopped and the road looked like it hadn't even rained here. It was a nice quiet climb up a small asphalt road with some really mean short grades, to the spectacular village Chequilla. Crazy red rock formations. From there it kept going on asphalt, spectacular canyon road again along the Tajo river. I stopped in the next village and drank a coke. I called one of my bosses, wanted to ask about only showing up at work in the second week of july, and she asked me if i didn't rather want to take all july off too instead. I said i will be able to kill that time, so yes. This sounds all great but it is due to the fact that the industry i work in is in a crisis and we don't have enough clients willing to work with us right now. I get paid 60% salary though so much better than unpaid leave i guess.
The track following the tajo turns to gravel for the rest of the day, amazing rocks and potential spots to swim in the turqoise water, if it wasn't so cold. Shortly before Zaorejas i turn into a refugio again and call it a night. I am a bit bummed that i haven't met anybody that day, i mean there were a few people, but i was kind of hyped to meet all these cyclists in that one town and thought it would maybe continue a bit like that. Oh well.
Today morning then i went a bit further along the tajo after cookies and coffee, again about 35km to the next town with a bar. Ride aling the tajo the turned to riding up the rio gallo which was still great, it was a really cold morning though once again. "I need gloves".
Rolling into Molina de Aragon, nice looking town, i sat down in a bar for a coffee and some tortilla. Then i spotted the two french guys. I called them over and we talked, was fun. Apparently i clocked in more distance on that first day but they had taken some kind of shortcut to end up there with me. They had slept in their tent last night and actually had a layer of ice on it in the morning. Not mad about my decision to sleep in that refugio, even though it was kinda shoddy. First one was also not that great, at least not compared to those i saw in the sierra castril.
I then left the montañas vacias route to get some regular españa vacia on the way to some lake where i saw there was a campsite.
I was riding a bow to not be on the main road and what was amazing tailwinds in the beginning, turned to side and headwinds on the last 25km. But i can't complain, so far the wind has always been in favor of me. Campsite is 27 fucking €. Definitely stealing at least some toilet paper.
This has been my route so far, if anybody is interested.
It started raining while i was drinking coffee in my tent. It kept going through the second cup, then stopped. Hung out my outer tent to dry, went to take a shower and when i came back all was dry, so i packed it up and went on my way.
Yesterday evening i was still unsure where to go to next, but then i looked up the tip i got for the pyrenees from one of the french guys yesterday. "Riglos, close to Jaca". Looked it up on the mapp, it's kinda close to Huesca, so i had made the decision to ride to Zaragosa, then Huesca and have a first look at pyrenees around Riglos before i hit the coast. Last three days were kinda taxing, so i thought to take it easy to Zaragosa in two days rather than in one, where i'd arrive late and not see of the city much.
So i went around the beautiful lake Tranquera, hung out there for a bit. Lots of vultures here too, they had been all over the cliffs along the tajo and gallo too.
I kept riding and stopped in Ateca for a coffee when a shower set in. Perfect timing. After the coffee i went on to Calatayud, which seemed lovely, drank a fanta and ate the best pincho de tortilla i have had yet, waiting out another shower. Then stopped by a big supermarket, when i came out the clouds looked really angry so i ate some fries at the next door burger king, charged my phone and waited out this shower too. Clouds looked still mean but i cycled towards them.
What a lovely ride from Calatayud to the camp site at Sabiñan, which i had set as my destination. The clouds were somehow only ever in the next valley, super quiet narrow road through the mountains along the rio jalón.
With only a few km to go the clouds were catching up, i pushed it a bit and made it just in time to the roof of the camp sites reception before the shower set in. Waited a bit for the site to dry, set up my tent, went for a beer at the gas station / bar / flower shop combo, now back in my tent and it is drizzling. Won't be for long, sun is still out but i'm sure there'll be more rain later on. Who cares my teng is set up.
A perfect easy cycling day, i loved it. Tomorrow i'll head to Zaragosa, taking a room there and look around town, that's the plan.
Absolutely awesome and beautiful! Will answer more later. Keep posting! :)
Yeah i will keep posting, instead of writing in my notebook.