Day5
I awoke early and although I could feel my thighs were tight overall I felt in good shape after the exploits of yesterday. My hotel was excellent albeit I didn,t even leave it last night when I arrived as there was a great bar downstairs with food and drink and free wifi. I looked out and Iwas pleased to see blue sky so I thought fantastic, a decent day for cycling. After showering and re-packing my paniers I headed down to the bar for breakfast and as I stepped onto the street I got a real surprise as there were lumps of snow piled a foot high at the roadside abd carz were going past with 4 to 6 inches of snow on them.
Oh dear I thought, if the City is like that what are the minor roads I would be cycling on like?
I read a spanish newspaper ov breakfast which suggested no rain today, then the tv showed a forecast which showed the temperature not getting above zero which I thought odd (I later guess it was showing the temperatures live at 8am)
Anyway I set off avoiding the metre of slush on the side of the roads meaning I was down the middle but the road I left town on was minor so the traffic was light and I had the usual hill to climb in the first 5miles but today it was only 300 feet and only 2 miles long. At the top the fields were green, brown and white like a massive choc-ice so I lingered to tale photos, it was to become a theme of the day as the weather got better and better and as I was heading south the snow cleared and was replaced with a huge vast plateau with a massive blue sky full of cotton wool clouds.
Also spring ahd sprung in the south og Burgos and the blossom was on the trees, lots more stops cor photos. I had a straignt run of 25 miles to Villahoz and all the signs had been defaced to say Villa z which must mean something to someone, aftert 15 miles I rode through a town called Trevino and had to stop for pictures as Lee Trevino was one of my favourite golfers.
I ventually reached Villahoz and then turned down a Camino Rural which I had looked at on google street view and was pretty sure it was tarmaced all the way but you never know. A long 10 miles and then twoquick 300 feet climbs brought me to Antiguedad where I planned lunch, as I approached town I had to stop and take some more photos because there in the middle of nowhere was a fighter jet mounted on a plinth sitting above the town entrance ... Very unexpected.
I cycled through town and passed a bar that looked closed, then my garmin beeped to say I was off course as I had missed a left turn down what looked a road to oblivion, But before I turned another bar appeared and ir was open.
I went in cor lunch and it resmbled a 1970s club, it had a pool table, plastic tables and even sawdust thrown on the floor, but more impressively it had a blue star on the wall... A proper S&N blue star, albeit it was upside down. The woman behind the bar spoke no English which was a problem, I asked cor a coffe with milk and she showed me a glass tumbler, I asked for a hot sandwich and again she showe me the tumbler, I repeated a hot sandwich in my best Spanish, with chicken or ham & cheese. She then said chorizo and cheese so I said yes and asked fornit hot, once again she showe me the tumbler... I said again a coffee wwith milk and she promptly made me the coffee in the glas tumbler and threw in 2 free biscuits. As I drank the coffe ihad a sinking feeling about the food and sure enough when it arived it was a cold half baguette with cheese and cold chorizo ... Oh dear but it was needed as there was nithing within 20 miles.
doubled back and took the tiny turn my garmin suggested in the knowledge I had 2 qucick back to back 300 feet climbs to negotiate, the back lane twisted through a decrepid town and then ramped up to a ridiculoys gradient cor 100 yards at the top of which it became stone cobbles and next it turned into a grass lane running parallel to the main road I should have stayed on. I dragged my bike across the field and to my surprise I was at the top of the first hill, second negotiated I then had miles of flat country whivh wasbeautiful and peaceful before my last climb of the day up and over a 400 feet climb which dropped me into the esqueva valley which I was to follow vor the last 20 miles into Vallodolid.
The road was straight and into a headwind again limiting me to about 12mph so it was a 90 minute run not helped by milestones every kilometre starting at 32 and working there way down.
I reached 6 and strangely enough for a major city I was still in the country, wthen I reached a turn I should make but they were building a bypass and the road just wasnt there, I only had one option, straight on and after about a mile I reached the edge of townand tried to pick up my route... Which I never quite managed again due to those difficult colours on the garmin.
I was neading into the middle of town and every time I thought I was back on route I wasn't, I then realised I was gojng tge wrong way and it took an eternity to get back as every time I needed to go left or right a one way street prevented me , I never did get back on route I just went for my hotel in ever decreasing circles which worked.
No comments :
Post a Comment