Ah yes, back in a warm hostel after some of the most brutal weather I have ever endured. Things were rough, but Dale and I like to think that it gives us perspective. Really makes us appreciate those sunny days and downhills. I´m now in Bilbao, going to try to recap the journey.
First, some photos that have been waiting for upload.
How I felt as we stopped for cafe con leche on our way to the Casa de Alderete. Before knowing what splendor awaited us.
Dale in her palatial room
View of the pool and the side of the house in the AM
Next day as we cross into Spain!
Day 7 - We do the pilgrim thing in Santiago de Compostella
After some relocating (Day 6 Hostel was run by Igor from the Adam´s family and was equipped with an early 1990´s computer) we were ready to hit the city. Without our bikes. We went and saw the cathedral at Santiago de Compostella, where the bones of St. James (one of Christ´s deciples) can be found in the crypt. It is a major pilgrimmage destination and we saw a ton of people who had made month long treks just to get to the cathedral. Pretty amazing to see that.
We relaxed. Drank some cafe con leche, my new favorite spanish phrase. Found a Kebab shop, something Oxford is known for.
And then worried about how we were going to get to Bilbao. We saw the forecast and knew that we were going to need to cut off a few hundred km if we were going to make it in time. Decided on a train to Leon for the next morning.
Those who walk for weeks
And us, merely passing through.
For the cathedral.
Day 8 - We get to Leon and get back on the bikes
So at some point we changed time zones (not sure where and pretty sure that nobody in Spain knows either) and also got hit with daylight savings. 7am felt really really early. But we had a 9:25 train to catch so we needed to pack up.
But of course you can´t take bikes on the 9:25 train and nobody speaks English so there was some confusion and lots of pointing and gesturing. Eventually someone was able to explain to us that we would have to take two trains, connecting in Orense, leaving Santiago at 3pm and getting into Leon around 10.
Great. We were both pretty frustrated and ready to get back on the road. Public transportation was not part of our plan for this vacation. With 5+ hours on our hand we decided to hang out at the local park. After being hustled to buy branches (later realizing it was palm Sunday) we sat and watched the locals enjoy a Sunday afternoon. Hilarious.
Train ride was unbelievably gorgeous. Became a big fan of Northern spain, especially when it´s sunny. Opinions were soon to change.
Ending up biking about 10km after getting into Leon and pitched a tent on the side of a bike path along a river. Nobody bothered us and we were set up for the next morning.
Playground and a gym
watching kids and elderly.
Endlessly funny
Day 9 - Tempest Day
Things started off pretty rough. Big hill to wake our legs up and then the rain started. We decided to pull over at a gas station right before the Spanish monsoon hit. Ordered two cafe con leche and then decided to brave the storm.
At the time I didn´t think the conditions could get any worse. But it was hardly noon and the tempest had yet to arrive. We climbed mountains, descended mountains, got really wet. Stopped again at lunch for some cafe con leches. My haiku for the day was composed on the road:
Dear Spanish Mountains,
We could use a little break.
Warm regards, Mike´s Legs.
Standard signage
After lunch, I broke my fifth spoke of the trip and had to fix it on the side of the road while multiple storms passed over us. Dale huddled under the rain fly of our tent. We rode for another hour or so, stopped for our third round of cafe con leche, and decided to find a place to sleep. High of the day came during this third stop.
High: Watching a woman walk into an automatic door at the supermarcado. Also, I Kissed a Girl was playing while we bought dinner and cerveza. Wonderful.
And we met a nice dog who wanted to eat our food
We were biking through Guardo, Spain when the tempest hit. Someone might as well have been pouring buckets of cold water over us while blowing a fan in our faces. Pretty sure at one point I was pedaling DOWN a hill and moving only 7mph. We saw a dilapidated old building that we could sleep under for shelter. We had to cover the ground in hay to keep off the "mushy goop" and we slept in our wet clothes because we had nothing dry.
Dale´s Haiku for the day:
My toes are freezing
up this relentless mountain.
I dream of coffee
Our humble abode
Day 10 - Sun! and snow
Alarm went off at 7:15, but we kindly ignored that and decided to sleep until we could at least partly see the sun. When we stepped outside we saw mountains covered in snow. It was actually that cold. Beautiful, yes, but not what you want to see when you have to bike all day.
Early morning rest. So cold.
The sun broke through and we finally dried off. Also warmed up a little bit and got to shed a few layers. This was my favorite day of riding to date. Gorgeous mountains capped in snow, roads without cars, and sun. I was SO much happier. I think anything would have made me happy after tempest day.
The mountains that we left behind
The roads were empty so we decided to take breaks on the pavement
We camped at our first legal campsite, paying 13 euro for a plot of land and a luke warm shower. Shower felt so nice, even though I had to sit hunched on a stool (shower head was literally fixed at my stomach). Also, there were over 100 plots for tenting and we were the only people there. I guess March isn´t high season in Arija.
The lowest of lows
give us perspective we need
for the not-so-bad
See our tent in the background. See anyone else?
Day 11 - New best day ever
Dale and I are in the habit of sleeping in. I set my alarm for 7 and hung my watch from a loop on the ceiling of the tent, what I thought was a fool proof system for hearing your alarm. Plan fails when your watch gets blown off the loop by gale force winds and hits you in the face. I was too tired to realize what had happened and we never heard the alarm. More sleep for us.
First 10km were pretty pedestrian, both of us nursing sore knees and legs, but after a short snack break and our morning fix of ibuprofen things turned for the better. We saw a sign for a downhill of 8% - finally. Literally, the next 35 km were all downhill. And there was a tailwind. And it was sunny. According to Dale´s odometer we broke into the mid-40 mph range on one of the descents. wwwwwwooooowwwwww. This part of Spain is stunning and we got to coast our way into Bilabo.
Little photo op:
Good tunes playing while we road down the mountain. Some appropriate lyrics that stuck with me:
Assembly of Dust - Roads
I don´t know where I´m going but I get there. Sometimes I´m wondering where will it be.
And Phish´s cover of Loving Cup, by the Rolling Stones.
Oh, what a beautiful buzz. What a beautiful buzz.
Such a beautiful buzz. Couldn´t help smiling the whole way down. Dale blew our first flat of the trip after over 600 miles of riding. A quick fix and then another 20km or so brought us into Bilbao. Another hot shower (this time standing) and then went to a tapas bar for cerveza and pinchos. Followed that with a hamburger dressed in everything (apparently hot dogs are a topping, didn´t realize that when I ordered the "extra" option).
Some random highlights of our night in Bilbao:
Seeing a man wheeling a crate of 10,000 cigarettes through the Old Town. Seriously?
And witnessing one of the processions as part of the Spanish celebration of Easter. Little kids look like part of some strange religious cult. Dale and I were seriously confused before someone explained what was happening.
And I don´t know where
I´m going, but I get there.
Still wondering where.
Day 12 - Bilbao! No Biking!
Slept in (until 8), had some coffee, iced our aching legs with frozen peas, and walked over to the Guggenheim Bilbao. Such an impressive building by Franky G. Enjoyed our sampling of modern art. The first floor was nice - some Rothko, a Richard Serra installation that we could walk through, de Kooning, Warhol. Your standard mid-20th century stuff. Second floor was all Anish Kapoor. We watched as a 10kg wad of wax was shot out of a cannon at the corner of a room. Interesting. Some monochrome yellow square that receded into a wall. Interesting. Not really so down with Kapoor. Third floor had some winners. A big installation of Robert Rauschenberg Gluts, which consists of a lot recycled junk yard scraps put together in some pretty cool combinations. Some of it was impressive, others a bit too far fetched.
All in all, a great day. Nice to rest our legs, see a beautiful city, and enjoy the sunny weather. Tomorrow is another rest day and then we head off to meet Amy and Bianca in Biarritz for the second half of the trip!
No Haiku yet for today. And I realize that I have been slacking on the high and low. I kind of gave up on that.
The Serra piece titled "The Matter of Time"
View of Frank Gehry´s building
Alive and well and almost in France,
MBG
No comments:
Post a Comment