April 16 – 22, 2023

Sunday, April 16 (Day 26). Our bus ride from Gibralter to Madrid began late Satuday night with our bus driver’s angry “NO!” Wagging finger! Rapid fire Spanish! Another finger wag at our bikes. I get the message! I replied in Spanish, “We have two tickets for our bicycles!” So – as we’ve learned to do – we ignored him and loaded our bikes. His displeasure transcended any language barrier. Things did not improve until we blessedly exited the bus (aka the Sardine Sauna) nine hours later, early Sunday morning in Madrid.

Life improved dramatically as the new day dawned. We procured breakfast at a local mercado and entered the Parque de el Retiro. We spent hours enjoying the sights of this enchanting park. The Crystal Palace. The Fallen Angel statue. The monument to Alfonso XII. A steady stream of  runners and walkers. Dragon boat races on the central pond. Various and sundry buskers. Masses out for a Sunday stroll. We took an immediate liking to Madrid. Later, we made our way to a campground and our first sleep in 36 hours (none to be found on the bus).

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Monday, April 17 (Day 27). Ten miles north of Madrid we entered a random small town and took our first fuel break in the plaza de iglesia (church square). Ten miles later, another plaza de iglesia, another leisurely fuel break – this time bar food and cervesas pequenas. We were feeling good about this more relaxed pace of life. Then life bit our backsides. First the headwinds arrived, then hills reared up in our path. The sun was long gone by the time we’d prepared dinner, set camp, and finally got supine. We decided that perhaps a relaxed pace was not such a great idea after all.

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Tuesday, April 18 (Day 28). Coming north, we jumped back in time. We went from early summer in the south to early spring. 

While it may be a bit frosty some mornings, we still prefer the cooler temps. So much more pleasant riding. Speaking of…our route for the next few days takes us well and truly into the mountains. Today, 3,500′ of climbing… with fully loaded bikes. That may stretch the definition of “fun” – but apart from some hike-a-bike, it was incredible riding. 

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There were a few issues today. My rear tire exploded with a sonic boom! No patching that bad boy. Fortunately I was going uphill at 3 mph at the time.

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Second problem: we ignored Monty Python’s “The Importance of Not Being Seen!” As a result, a police officer paid a visit to our tent just as the sun was setting. He could not have been any nicer or more friendly, but he said, “You can not camp here – it is illegal.” We apologized profusely and asked if he had any suggestions? “Since it is illegal, I can not suggest this, but…if you were to place your tent so it can not be seen from the road…?”  Shoulder shrug. Ah! Si! Comprendo. Muchas gracias!!

Wednesday, April 19 (Day 29). The quantity and quality of climbing yesterday had us rethinking more days with even more climbing. Looking for alternatives, we were reminded that when cycling in Spain, you can’t always get there from here. The only other road north was a closed access freeway. So, further into the mountains we went. Good decision. It was hard, of course. It was also beautiful and remote. Hours passed with nary a car or village in sight. It was no challenge finding an “out of sight” site. Another fantastic day.

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Thursday, April 20 (Day 30). Another top ten camp site. It was eerily quiet overnight. I saw an endless shooting star cover most of the sky. What sounded like wolves howling gave us both the chills. Experiences like this are priceless.

Since we had no opportunity to buy food or fuel through this region, we were down to a single piece of bread with jelly for breakfast. Not much to fuel three hours of climbing. Fortunately, the last eight miles into Riaza was all downhill. What a ride…and the road took us directly to a Lupa grocery store. After four nights of camping we splurged on a room at the vintage Plaza Hotel. Ideally located on the main plaza. Inexpensive. Perfect for our needs.

Friday, April 21 (Day 31). Today was the day we imagined when we imagined cycling in Spain. The road between Riaza and Penaranda de Duero was filled with cool countryside, charming, historic towns, churches, and castles. Perfect temps. A tailwind. It doesn’t get much better.

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Saturday, April 22 (Day 32). On the list of “things we should know by now!” 1. After a night of rain, avoid unpaved route suggestions from Komoot. While the scenery was great, cleaning pounds of sticky mud off the bikes – not great! 2. Letting someone else cook us dinner in another impossibly charming little town – great idea! Forgetting that every afternoon everything closes – not great!

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On the list of “things that seem a bit eerie!” Spanish ghost towns. Not real “ghost” towns. But it is a little unsettling to ride through a village without a single sign of life. No people. No cars. No barking dogs. Nothing. We’ve seen several now. Not sure what to make of it.

Highlights today. 1. Had several conversations with random folks today, both in Spanish and English. We’ve been missing that. 2. A passing motorist stopped and made sure we didn’t miss a beautiful slot canyon hike. A group of cyclists on an organized weekend tour let us park our bikes with theirs to be guarded so we could take the hike with them. 3. Seeing more of the giant vultures common in this area. 4. Several more very old, very lovely villages. 5. Another quiet, secluded camp.

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So that’s the news from northern Spain. Consensus: No offense to the south, but we are loving northern Spain. As painful as it was, we’re glad we changed direction. And now, after eight days of very challenging riding, we have some down time planned in Burgos. But that’s news for next week. Until then…buen dia!! STC!