Here is the next instalment of the great adventure…

Sunday 26/01/2020 — Day 11

It was a misty start to the morning which meant I had to use my lights for once. I definitely made a mistake in not checking the route closely enough to notice that the first bit was on dirt/sand tracks. A lot of hard work and not what you want when you have a longish day in front of you!

Once on the road riding was easier and with a tail wind. More and more snow was starting to appear, it had been little drifts on the side of the road or in shade, then it was mostly on the north facing slopes, and then it seemed to be EVERYWHERE! I had been climbing higher and higher so it was kinda going to happen, but still was making me nervous with the wilderness hut plan. I had to re-route a few times as the the plan was taking me down unplowed roads/tracks which I was not prepared to even try. So even more mileage on a planned long day.

Having dithered about the wilderness hut I decided to check it out with a back up plan in mind to ride to the next town. The route to it was less than ideal as I had to follow tyre treads in a snowy road to get to it. But I got there!

The wilderness hut was very close to the road which was a good and bad thing. There was some traffic on the main road which gave me a little bit of a safe feeling that I could get help if I needed it. It was also angled so that I could not be seen from the road when in it. I had a little bit of a worry about staying there because of all the snow but I talked myself through what was the worse that could happen. And then just started to get on with it. Another bonus I think was I also had no phone signal there, so had to just get on and deal with the situation myself.

The lack of phone signal meant I did play with my Garmin inReach satellite device, which is what is allowing you all to track me. It can also be used a little bit like old school phone texts (160 characters and no idea if it goes through) via satellite. I get some free each month in my subscription and haven’t had to use any yet, so thought why not. They worked well but I have to remember to get it to check for messages. I should really do more of a write up about it some time…

The wilderness hut had three sections, two of which had an open side and an enclosed room. The roof wasn’t great throughout, but it did add extra shelter. There was a fireplace and chimney in each part but no dry wood and I have little to no idea how to light a fire anyway (oops?). I chose to set up in one of the open sections as there was a bolt on the outside of the door and I wasn’t all that comfortable inside.

I set up the tent but there was a stone floor so I used bricks to hold out the fly sheet. I didn’t want to use just the inner as there were drips coming through the ceiling, and it adds warmth. That done I started making dinner, more lentil and mushroom stew. It is going to be lentils for a loooong time. (note to self try not to buy 1kg bags of anything). On thing I do really like about this time of year is no bugs! So I can sit outside and it is fine.

There was still a worry about doing it but I felt more comfortable here then I had in the last wild camping place. I am really starting to feel the riding though, my body is getting sluggish and I am loosing some drive to do parts like climbing hills. I think I need a proper rest day. I also remembered to do my exercises and keep the paper journal up to date so not just surviving at this point.

Monday 27/01/2020 — Day 12

Slept reasonably well in the night, only woke up a few times and I wasn’t really cold. Success! The trick of stuffing the clothes for the next day in the sleeping bag seems to have worked. There was a very loud owl around so that might have been what woke me up.

Dozed a bit in the morning which slowed me up. But got moving and treated myself to a Cola Cao in the first cafe I came to, and planned my next move. I had kinda promised myself I would stay in a building so checked out some potential targets. There was also a chance of a campsite…

The weather was grey, not freezing, but cool. There were climbs and head winds to deal with (my least favourite combination). I also had to re-route a few times to try and stick to cleared roads. I really wanted to stop as my knees where hurting, I was running out of motivation and was starting to feel run down. But there was no joy, I had to keep going to try and find somewhere which was open. I did think about camping but with this much snow on the ground it really wasn’t an option. I am not geared up for camping in 6″ of snow. It’s not something I have done before and I am not really there with the confidence to try it just yet, unless I have to.

This next photo is a kinda special one for me. I was really starting to tire and my knee was complaining. When I got to the actual top of a never-ending climb I was met this view… cliché I know but it took my breath away. I don’t think the photo does it justice, but the valley falls away in front of me there are kites/vultures flying in the air and right in the distance I can see more snow capped mountains with a little bit of sun. Having had some ‘why am I doing this’ thoughts and ‘not sure I’m going to be able to keep going’, it was a moment of ‘oh yeah! this is why I am doing it…’ 🙂

I passed through another small town with some interesting sights. Luckily the wind had moved behind me and the ride was much easier for 10-20km. Until I got to the turning for Bronchales, then bam! head wind until I reach the hotel door.

I decided to have a much shorter day tomorrow and a rest day on Wednesday. Ian also found me an Alburgue that was cheap at 15 Euro for a night which has a kitchen. Stopping earlier then I had hoped, but I have to listen to my body or I am going to break myself as I so often do. As people keep telling me… this is a marathon not a sprint! 🙂

Tuesday 28/01/2020 — Day 13

Slow start this morning with a lie-in but I only had 30km to go and had arranged to be there 1300. Even then I did not expect the ride I had, it was amazing. Nearly all of it was down hill, there were huge stretches where I didn’t even pedal I am talking 2-3km at a time. Also look at the difference a couple of 100m descent makes to the conditions!

I ended up getting to the Albergue early but had another Cola Cao in a cafe until the owner could come to book me in. The Albergue is not the most luxurious and I wish there were some comfy couches but it is cheap and although in a 4 bed dorm I have it to myself.

So I focused on chilling this afternoon, got my laundry done and cooked something more adventurous with the stove. I have abused the internet and caught up with some shows. All in all nice and what I needed.

Wednesday 29/01/2020 — Day 14

No alarm for me! Sweet lie in. I made pancakes for brunch with some very yummy Erica Jam. Before sitting down to write instalment 1 of the blog for your reading pleasure.

There isn’t much touristy stuff in Cella, especially compared to some of the places I have been through but that has encouraged me to rest. It does have a very cool fountain/well thing and some pretty churches. From the balcony of the Albergue I can see the mountains I have been through and got a little bit of sun to write up part two while sitting outside.

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I have also done some general matenaince tasks like looking over the bike and darning my boxers.

The plan for the next part of the journey is to ride the Via Verde “Ojos Negros” from here to Valencia. Reading up on it online it sounds amazing and reasonably easy riding compared to what I have been doing. It is a converted disused railway line so should be relatively flat and hopefully faster/easier riding than in the mountains. I am going for camping tomorrow night… not sure how legit the campsite is, but it is not peak season so should be OK. I am going to see if I can get a warmshowers host in Valencia or nearby as a change of pace.

It has been nice having a rest day, catching up on the blog and cooking more adventurous food. I am planning to try and work out some more adventurous meals I can cook on my stove in the next few nights. Been refreshing myself with Tara Alan’s “Bike. Camp. Cook” book which helps with the ideas. Now I need to prep for tomorrow and try to get an early night so I can get some more kilometres under my belt. So close to having crossed Spain :O